Patriot Project writer exposes right wing smears of Jim Webb

By: beachmom
Published On: 9/30/2006 4:58:12 PM

The Patriot Project is working to expose the conservative front groups, their funding, their connections and their tactics. A close friend of John Kerry, Judith Droz Keyes, is President of the organization. Max Cleland is also involved with it.  I'm heartened that this organization is trying to right the wrongs of 2004 (and 2002) by making sure smears by the Right are exposed for what they are -- blatant lies.  Here is the research they have come up with about the recent smears of Jim Webb.
From Huff Post:

"A Vietnam vet who interviewed U.S. Senate candidate Jim Webb for a newspaper article in 1983 says the Democrat told him of college pranks he took part in 20 years earlier in which racial epithets were used and guns pointed at African Americans on the streets of Watts.

Dan Cragg, who later worked with Webb at the Pentagon during the Reagan Administration, says Webb's account is missing both from the tape recording and transcript of his interview with the rising star among Vietnam veterans. Cragg says he doesn't remember if he erased that part of the tape or failed to record that part of the interview."

snip

Dan Cragg is a prolific Gǣmilitary science fictionGǥ author, who has written Op-Eds and over 100 book reviews for the Unification Church (GǣMooniesGǥ) publication The Washington Times.  He is described in his author bio as Gǣan analyst for the Defense Department.Gǥ  A search for Dan Cragg does, in fact, turn up several recent (as in Bush administration employee) Defense Department references.  So while the story is correct that Cragg worked for the Reagan administration, it omits the information that Cragg also worked or recently worked for the Bush administration.

There is something else we have come to expect from a smear: a very wide echo and amplification effect from conservative outlets.  Note how the accusation is amplified and extended into Gǣracist past,Gǥ and Gǣterrorized Black Americans.Gǥ

He goes on to give ten links to various right wing sites, illustrating in stark terms the viral, conspiratorial nature of the right wing media world.

Suffice it say, anyone giving these charges a closer look has to dismiss them, given their lack of corroborating evidence.  Just another day in the right wing smear biz, I guess.

Comments



"It's vile. (Jeff B - 9/30/2006 7:29:58 PM)
It's more sad than anything else, to see someone with such potential throw it all down the drain because of a sexual addiction."

--Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL), commenting on President Clinton, following release of the Starr Report, September 12, 1998.



Great site (Kathy Gerber - 9/30/2006 7:30:13 PM)
Thanks, beachmom, for pointing it out.

Link:
http://www.patriotpr...



That site is about honor (beachmom - 9/30/2006 7:41:23 PM)
It's an organization that just wants to preserve the honor of patriots, and protect them from the right wing attack machine.  These organizations weren't around for Max and John, but it's just so wonderful that they're here now for Jim and all the other veterans running for Congress.

I also am very impressed with votevets.org



Legal Action (AERO - 9/30/2006 7:48:46 PM)
Can't this moron be sued?


Nearly impossible with public figures (beachmom - 9/30/2006 7:55:30 PM)
The bar is set very high for public figures, unfortunately.


My Diary (Mark - 9/30/2006 7:53:11 PM)
from a while back was also by the Patriot Project, talking about Paul Galanti, Allen's so-called "Veterans Coordinator".

Mark's Diary



Hey Mark, check this out. (Kathy Gerber - 9/30/2006 8:03:37 PM)
We need to make a cool chart like the one on this page -
http://www.patriotpr...


Thanks for the link, Mark (beachmom - 9/30/2006 8:10:03 PM)
It really is a baffling story, of someone who served so honorably, and decided to attack other veterans with lies and vitriol.  I just will never understand it.  Also, in light of new revelations coming from declassified Pentagon papers, Kerry's testimony in 1971 was no doubt the truth:

http://www.latimes.c...

It's a case of people not being able to "handle the truth".



I can't believe this... (libra - 9/30/2006 9:01:23 PM)
Three days after the House passed a bill which, the next day, was confirmed by the Senate. A bill which will pass into history as the most smelly piece of dishonor on collective American psyche in modern history...

And here we are, discussing "he said, she said"? We're trying to nail these guys for *relatively* minor offenses??? I have no doubt whatsoever that Allen has said the n-word many times if he thought he was n "safe" company. And that he lied when he'd denied it. But he's a disgusting moron of the neo-Repub variety, so it's par for the course.

But he might have thought twice (if he can still think) before giving the Great Delusioner a free hand to arrest, hold in secret and torture *anyone* -- American or foreign nationals -- *without a shread of proof*, just on the Shrubya's "say so"?

He hadn't. And he should be nailed to the cross for it, together with all his companion hyenas. If all the miorities (gender, religious, racial, you name it) wanted to assist, I wouldn't blame them, though count me out, personally; I'm not fond of gory images.

But... Were is Webb? He should be slamming Allen to hell and gone for this; I can't (I *won't* -- everyone needs a ray of hope in one's life) believe he'd have voted for this piece of excrement. If he's branded "soft on terra", so be it... He'd be *strong on honor* instead.

Where are all the other (House races) Dem challengers from VA? Our district (6th) doesn't have a contender to Goodlattte's hegemony and I'm not sufficiently informed of other districts to say for certain-sure who's who and where but... Davis voted for Torture With Abandon (and retroactive pardon), as did Wolf. I hope their challengers aren't silent on the issue and forsaking their honor for nothing...

OTOH... 21 yrs ago, when my son was 8, a little friend of his cheated in some childish game and won. Whereupon, my son promptly cheated in the next round and won. His friend's morals weren't my business, but my son's behavior *was*, so I intervened. "But he'd done it first" said my son. "Honor is worth more than winning a stupid game and cheating is not honorable behavior" was my counter-offer. When the mother of the other boy came to pick him up, I heard him ask "what's honorable behavior?" and his mother was unable to tell him. I knew then that I was "past due date" with my ideals and, at the same time, that this country was heading for trouble.

I'm still glad though, that my son's doing well-enough in this New World and, so far as I know, has never compromised his honor.



Bobby Scott voted against torture (beachmom - 9/30/2006 9:21:59 PM)
But, true, far too many Dems (12 in the Senate) voted for it out of fear of being painted "weak on terror", which I think is pretty darn pathetic.  I think Jim Webb is honest and principled and would not vote for it.  Remember, he has a libertarian streak in him, and that law was as big an affront to libertarianism as it was to liberalism and civil liberties.


New article up now about McCain (beachmom - 9/30/2006 10:06:39 PM)
It's actually the entire history of all the shady characters involved in getting Bush elected by smearing McCain in 2000, and how now McCain is HIRING these people, something I can't begin to fathom.  That's the GOP today, people:

http://www.huffingto...