Kate Phillips has a post up at the NY Times' Caucus Blog, in which she states, "A group known as VoteVets.org just put up a negative ad against Senator George Allen, Republican of Virginia…" A couple paragraphs later she declares, "And its debut, right now flying around the Web, promises a new ad cycle during which soldiers on the Democrats’ side will swift-boat Republicans."
The very first comment, from reader Texana, kicks Phillips' egregiously bogus parallel square in it's dishonest GOP serving ass: "Swift-boating refers to utterly false extreme negative ads. It connotes the use of allegations that are 180 degrees from the truth. It means much more than simply negative."
Comment number 3, from Evan: "I agree 100% - swift-boating = lying, not campaigning."
Comment number 10, from Skipjohn: "Further, I would ask what definition Ms. Phillips uses to characterize a “tough” and “powerful” advertisement as “negative”?"
Every one of the several comments posted as of 1:30 AM Pacific Time either criticized Phillips' characterization, approved of the VoteVets ad directly, or lamented how the Bush administration and GOP Congress have failed in genuine support for our troops, and one asked why Phillips didn't provide some more information about which other members of Congress joined George Allen in his vote against the body armor.
The comments are moderated, so somebody is reading them. Perhaps Ms. Phillips can be prevailed upon to respond to her readers.
Please consider supporting our work.
I hope you found this article important. Before you leave, I want to ask you to consider supporting our work with a donation. In These Times needs readers like you to help sustain our mission. We don’t depend on—or want—corporate advertising or deep-pocketed billionaires to fund our journalism. We’re supported by you, the reader, so we can focus on covering the issues that matter most to the progressive movement without fear or compromise.
Our work isn’t hidden behind a paywall because of people like you who support our journalism. We want to keep it that way. If you value the work we do and the movements we cover, please consider donating to In These Times.
