Misguided Liberals

My speedy analysis of the "Stolen Honor" documentary has gotten me some speedy criticism from the left. I want to share with you my responses to the comments made:

"John Kerry is guilty only of hurting the feelings of some pussy soldiers. I thought these were supposed to be tough guys... Men who endured imprisonment for years in Vietnam. I guess what being a POW did to them is turned them into whimpering simps. "Girly-men" who blame their problems in life on the fact that Kerry said something that they didnt agree with - something that hurt their feelings. I feel bad for these guys. Do they have a "candy-ass" ribbon or medal to give to thin-skinned ex-GIs who cry at weddings and kodak commercials? Maybe it should be a pink ribbon. Do you really buy the "War Criminal" argument?"

Incredible. How can I respond to this? I've never seen such hatred of US Soldiers from our own citizens. Of all people, these men have every right to criticize John Kerry. And I don't believe these men have "problems" in their lives. They appear to be just as well-adjusted as most Americans...only that someone who happened to hurt them over 30 years ago happens to be applying for the most powerful position in the world.

I wouldn't go around saying the 'pussy soldiers' comment in front of a lot of people. Not all Vietnam Vets had the opportunity to say what they felt in this documentary. My father is in that category. Although he was drafted in the Army, he was proud of his service and got his citizenship in the United States by serving his country. He remembers the anti-war crowd and still holds a grudge against them.

"Have you seen Kerry's 1971 testimony or read it?"

Yes. I've seen it on CSPAN and read it. And if we are to take his testimony at his word, then to be fair, we must take the testimony of those POW's at their word and make the final judgements ourselves.

"I'd recommend that you read it before you start slinging accusations."

You got it.

"I don't think that it is going to change my mind, but I will try to be open minded about it."

Yeah. I don't think it will, either.

"Are you in a Sinclair market? Were you able to see the program when it aired on Friday night?"

To my knowledge, I don't believe it was played at all. Sinclair pulled the airing. That's why it has been offered on the internet.

"OK, I've paused the movie.

I feel really bad for these guys - they went through true horror... But what does that *really* have to do with John Kerry?

If you read Kerry's 1971 testimony, you will see that he was speaking out against the war - FOR the soldiers fighting there. He wanted the war to end. He wanted to stop the suffering that was being endured by our servicemen in Southeast Asia."

There are several things wrong with his testimony. Kerry is a very smart man. He chose to issue a blanket statement giving the impression that a good majority of the soldiers in Vietnam were taking part in committing atrocities and war crimes. By taking it upon himself to speak for the enlisted and officers serving the country, this former, very junior Lieutenant in the Navy was filling shoes he should never have done. Indeed, while John Kerry may have believed he was acting for the good of the soldiers, others never saw it his way and felt very betrayed by him.

Once Kerry joined the public arena, he must have known that the fallout from his testimony would eventually reach him. i'm just suprised he chose to look back on his Vietnam service with fondness; it's why it struck such a bad chord with old vets.

"Answering your questions:

1. Is Kerry a hypocrite when looking back fondly on his Vietnam war service? No, he isn't. Not any more or less than anybody else who served. I would imagine that Kerry's two enlisted tours in the Navy (2 years of which took place in Vietnam) were bittersweet overall. I'm sure that there were good moments and bad. He certainly fell into some enduring friendships there."

You can separate building lifelong friendships due to a common experience and actually serving your country in a conflict. Sure, Kerry did his job in Vietnam; I don't deny that. But how can you look back fondly on your service in Vietnam after those actions of 1971? There had to have been some anger there. And to use his service as a vehicle for his campaign for the President of the United States? That's a cause for anger of some Vietnam vets.

"2. Is Kerry a war criminal or a criminal liar due to his testimony? No, of course not. He wasn't accusing the soldiers (who he again saw as victims) of being war criminals. He didn't sugar coat his participation in violent acts. These things occurred during war. Nobody has been held responsible. Why should he? One of the great things about the Kerry/McCain relationship is that they can work together, setting aside the Vietnam chapter as something that happened in the past. Did Kerry lie? Absolutely not. Read the transcript. Kerry testified as to what testimony he heard from other ex-GIs in the course of the winter soldier investigation."

The winter soldier investigation was with, what, 150 vets? Kerry probably didn't lie as much as he exaggerated. Simply put, all war is horrible. But the point is that Kerry took part in damaging the good name of many soldiers who fought in the conflict. He chose to make the statement as he did, and should be prepared to face the consequences.

"3. Is it stupid for the media to scrutinize Bush's TANG service? Well, it doesn't really matter, does it? I mean, the scrutiny is gone and it backfired. America clearly doesn't care that Bush received preferential treatment so why beat a dead horse? I even think that daddy pulling strings to keep GW out of Vietnam is nothing to be ashamed of. Like Kerry, I believe that it was a senseless war and if I had been a powerful father during Vietnam, I would have pulled strings to keep my sons out of the war as well."

Much like Clinton, when daddy sent him away to Oxford to escape Vietnam. Isn't it funny now that because it has backfired on the liberals, it's now a non-issue?

"4. My support for Kerry had previously been in the "anybody but Bush" category. I have grown more fond of him in the past couple of weeks, however, and support him more enthusiastically now."

Now that he's finally started nailing down his shifty positions...I suspect there are many more voters out there in the "anybody but Bush" category who are more misguided in their decision-making skills.

"My question for you is to ask question #4 right back at you.
How on earth can you support George W. Bush as president?"

I'm a McCain republican. Socially moderate, a fiscal conservative, and very pro-military. While I don't agree with some of what GWB believes, he has everything that is important to me. And additionally, the Democrats made a very divisive and poor choice with Kerry as their candidate.

"OK, I've seen it.

What can I say other than:

1. Gee, it's unfortunate that those guys had such a bad time serving their country in Vietnam. They are true heroes.

2. What on earth does this have to do with John Kerry?

This seems lika (sic) great deal of misdirected anger.. There are a lot of people who these POWs can blame for their hardships. Realistically, blaming John Kerry is a major stretch."

1. Big change from when you called them "Girly-men" earlier. I agree. I can't imagine going through what they did for as many years as they did.
2. Maybe after spending 6 years in a prison camp I could tell you.

Perhaps it is misdirected anger. I don't know. There are other people with whom to be angry, but to my knowledge, they are not running for President of the United States.

"By the way, I read that a Chinese-dubbed version of Stolen Honor has been created. Any idea where I can download it?"

Sorry, no idea.

There's more criticism of me here: The Liberal Avenger