n e r b l e

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=38760


Anti-Kerry vets
to sue candidate?
Men in Vietnam photo Democrat uses in ad threaten legal action

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Posted: June 3, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern



© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

An attorney representing 11 swift-boat veterans whose images appear in a Vietnam-era photo with presumptive Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry has issued a cease-and-desist letter to the candidate threatening legal action if he does not stop using the picture publicly.


Most of the veterans in this 1969 photo don't want John Kerry to use it in his presidential campaign.


As WorldNetDaily reported, last month the 11 veterans signed a letter indicating their opposition to Kerry and their wish not to be pictured with the candidate.

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which has declared the Massachusetts senator "unfit to be commander in chief," organized the opposition to the photo.

By using the photo, the veterans argue, Kerry is suggesting all the men pictured with him have endorsed his candidacy.

Of the 20 officers in the photograph, two openly support Kerry, 11 of them oppose his bid for the presidency, four wish to remain uninvolved and two are deceased, the veteran organization said in a statement.

Alvin Horne, the attorney for the veterans, wrote in his letter to Kerry's lawyer: "Lest anyone yawn and be tempted to write this demand off to political hyperbole during the election season, please convey to Sen. Kerry that his blatant and continued corrupt use of this photograph is at least on par with successful claims made by individuals suing commercial advertisers for non-consented use of their images. They sought profit in dollars; he seeks profits in votes."

According to the letter, Kerry sent the photo to Newsweek for publication and has also used it in a television ad.

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"There may not be anything anymore that outpaces the hatred the right
feels for the left or the tonnage of disrespect the left feels for the right." - Josh Lyman, The West Wing.

You know, it's a sign of how true that statement is when the first thing I thought upon reading the article was: "How much did the RNC pay them to do this?"

Sigh. Shouldn't politics be about more than who could slander each other more and what may or may not have happened 30 years ago (this also includes the Dems inability to shut up about Bush's (lack of?) military service)? Shouldn't politics be about visions and ideals and statemanship?

ceilirose

This link shows that the group has one member - John O'Neill - who was handpicked by Nixon to go on TV to debate Kerry about Vietnam over 30 years ago.

I could link other articles since this topic was hotly discussed in some left wing blogs but cbs is more mainstream -

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/...in615566.shtml

I don't think the RNC are behind them directly but they're not unhappy with them either.