Swiftboating

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"Swiftboat" redirects here. For the naval vessel, see Fast Patrol Craft.

Swiftboating is American political jargon that is used as a strong pejorative description of some kind of attack that the speaker considers unfair or untrue—for example, an ad hominem attack or a smear campaign.

The term comes from the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth (formerly "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth") and that group's widely publicized [1] campaign against 2004 Presidential candidate John Kerry. [2]

Originally, terms like "swiftboating", "Swift Boating", "Swift Boat tactics", etc. were mostly used by people who disapproved of the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth. It is now in mainstream use. Conservatives have strongly objected (see below) to the criticism of SBVT implied by such negative usage.

Contents

[edit] Historical Origins

The term 'swift boat' itself refers to a class of US Navy vessel used during the Vietnam War. In 2004, a political 527 organization called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (later called Swift Vets and POWs for Truth), initially composed of Vietnam veterans who served on swift boats, formed with the intent of opposing the presidential candidacy of John Kerry, who himself served as a swift boat commander in Vietnam (for which he was decorated with three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star, and a Bronze Star[3]). The group, using statements of swift boat veterans and Kerry's own 1971 anti-war statements (Kerry had become a spokesman for the anti-war group Vietnam Veterans Against the War), produced a series of television ads and a bestselling book that sought to discredit Kerry's military record and patriotism and characterize him as unfit for the presidency. Since then, the term 'swiftboating' has been widely used (see below) to describe political tactics that are essentially synonymous with a 'smear campaign', though the term comes additionally charged with some of the emotion from both sides of the political spectrum within the context of the recent history of the 2004 US presidential election.

[edit] Examples of usage

  • In a 2005 column "The Swift Boating of Cindy Sheehan," Frank Rich offered such synonyms for the term as "character assassination" and "smear." Rich's use of the term implied a special connection to attacks on someone's military record: "Character assassination is the Karl Rove tactic of choice, eagerly mimicked by his media surrogates, whenever the White House is confronted by a critic who challenges it on matters of war. The Swift Boating is especially vicious if the critic has more battle scars than a president who connived to serve stateside and a vice president who had "other priorities" during Vietnam." [4]
  • Also in 2005, Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly took note of this usage of the term: "Sympathetic newspaper columnists are putting forth that Cindy is being smeared by people like me. They call it the "Swiftboating" of Cindy Sheehan." The article makes no objection to this usage of "swiftboating" to allege an unfair attack on someone's character. O'Reilly calls the claim itself "catchy but misleading", saying "All we did was tell the truth about Ms. Sheehan's radical politics and radical pals. That's it! We didn't impugn her character or criticize her Iraq war dissent."[5]
  • Also in 2005, a Slate article by John Dickerson used "Swift-boat" as a pejorative verb to imply that an attack by John Kerry on President George W Bush had been dishonest: "Kerry Swift-boats Bush.... Like most clever feints in Washington, it's also not entirely honest." This usage is notable because of its implied criticism of SBVT at the same time that it shares their political stance—that is, attacking Kerry on behalf of Bush. [6]
  • In 2006, Arianna Huffington characterized what she called "the despicable smear campaign being launched against Jack Murtha" as "the Swift-boating of Murtha."[7]
  • In a 2006 op-ed "Swift Boating the Planet," Paul Krugman used the term to describe repeated use of a chart Krugman labels "a fraud" and what he calls "smears" against climatologist James Hansen. Defining the term in relation to the group from which it takes its name, Krugman stated, "There's a concise way to describe what happened to Dr. Hansen: he was Swift-boated. John Kerry, a genuine war hero, didn't realize that he could successfully be portrayed as a coward." [8]
  • The Boston Globe in 2006 quoted Senator Edward M. Kennedy describing recent events in the Massachusetts governor's race as "gutter politics" and "the politics of fear and smear," adding "Make no mistake about it, this is swiftboating." The article noted that another Democratic politician had described the same events as "a Swift Boat style of attack." [9]
  • The Associated Press in 2006 quoted Wal-Mart critics claiming the company's newest effort paidcritics.com "a name-calling, nastily aggressive little website," adding that "The company's latest move comes right out of the Swift Boat playbook." [10]
  • In the May 19, 2007 edition, The Economist wrote, in regard to Mrs Clinton's presidential campaign, "It is impossible to imagine her being 'swiftboated' like Mr Kerry. The Clintons have always regarded politics as a continuation of war by other means, and Mrs Clinton is an even tougher fighter than her husband." [12]

[edit] Objections to term

The use of this term as a pejorative has caused objections from conservatives who object to the implied criticism of the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth.[13] At least one conservative commentator has denounced its repeated negative usage as "a hate term."[14]

A group formed for the purpose of opposing John Murtha's reelection to Congress, Vets for the Truth, posts at its website a definition of "swiftboating" as "exposing the lies, deceit and fraud of self-glorifying public officials or candidates for office who exaggerate their military service by lying about their feats of heroism and combat wounds." [15]

In a 2006 Veteran's Day interview, John O'Neill, spokesman for Swift Vets and POWs for Truth commented on the term's usage: "I think that's a word [swiftboating] people will use for however they want to. I have always thought that having left wingers go to bed at night, and put their little children to bed, and [saying] Be good little children or the Swiftboats will get you!... that has never particularly worried me...[16]

[edit] Media usage

  • 7 October 2006. "Kennedy Decries Healey's 'Swiftboating' of Patrick" Glenn Johnson, AP via Boston Globe.[17]
  • 2 October 2006. "The Democrats' Anxiety Closet" Jed Babbin in The American Spectator.[18]
  • 13 July 2006. "How Much Is That Admiral In The Window?" James Boyce in the Huffington Blog alleges that Republicans are planning to swiftboat Iraq War veterans who are running for Congress, like Jim Webb, Joe Sestak and Tammy Duckworth.[19]
  • 21 August 2005. "Swift Boating Cindy Sheehan," Frank Rich in the New York Times[4]
  • 22 August 2005. O'Reilly Factor, Fox News: "The 'Swiftboating' of Cindy Sheehan, that is the subject of this evening's 'Talking Points Memo'."[5]
  • 9 November 2005. "VT: Columnist Says O'Neill Aiming To Use "Swift Boat" Tactics On Sanders," The Frontrunner (via LexisNexis)
  • 18 November 2005. "Murtha Stirs Policy Debate," Fox News: A 'Swift-Boating' of Murtha?[20]
  • 19 November 2005. "Kerry rap GOP actions as 'shameful,' 'Swift-boating' moves," Worcester (MA) Telegram & GazetteMcGovern (via LexisNexis)
  • 22 November 2005. "Does Bush really seek a new tone?" Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN): "Whether it was Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in 2000, former Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga., in 2002, former counterintelligence official Richard Clarke or the Swift Boating of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., in 2004, the no-holds-barred tactic was to go right at the opponent's strength and seek to destroy it." (via LexisNexis)
  • 1 December 2005. "Kerry Swift-Boats Bush," Slate Magazine[21]
  • 1 December 2005. "Coulter's Swift Boat-style smear of Vietnam veteran Murtha"[22]
  • 1 June 2006. "Swiftboating has become a hate term," R. Emmett Tyrrell on CNN Politics[14]
  • 10 October 2007. "The Swift-Boating of Graeme Frost." Time Magazine.[23]
  • 19 November 2007. "The fact is, I am tired of this word 'swiftboat' being used as a pejorative, because when we talk about the Swift Boat Vets for Truth, these are brave American heroes, and the only thing they did was point out that John Kerry ... they said his story is inaccurate, and they told their story." Sean Hannity, Hannity & Colmes.[24]

[edit] References

  1. ^ University of Pennsylvania National Annenberg Election Survey. PollingReport.com (conducted Aug. 9-16, 2004). Retrieved on 2007-03-30.
  2. ^ "The Vets Attack", Newsweek, 2004-11-15. Retrieved on 2007-03-30. 
  3. ^ John Kerry's military service. wikipedia.org.
  4. ^ a b Rich, Frank. "The Swift Boating of Cindy Sheehan", New York Times, 2005-08-21. Retrieved on 2007-06-13. 
  5. ^ a b O'Reilly, Bill. "The 'Swiftboating' of Cindy Sheehan", FoxNews, 2005-08-22. Retrieved on 2007-06-13. 
  6. ^ Dickerson, John. "Kerry Swift-boats Bush", Slate, 2005-12-03. Retrieved on 2007-06-13. 
  7. ^ Huffington, Arianna (2006-01-16). The President Needs to Denounce the Swift-Boating of Murtha... Now!. Huffington Post. Retrieved on 2007-06-14.
  8. ^ Krugman, Paul. "Swift Boating the Planet", New York Times, 2006-05-29. Retrieved on 2007-06-13. 
  9. ^ Johnson, Glen. "Kennedy decries Healey's 'Swift Boating' of Patrick", Boston Globe, 2006-10-07. Retrieved on 2007-06-13. 
  10. ^ Kabel, Marcus. "Gloves come off as Wal-Mart, critics slam each other on Web", USATODAY, 2006-07-18. Retrieved on 2007-06-13. 
  11. ^ Vargas, Jose Antonia. "Watching Big Sister", Washington Post, 2007-03-20. Retrieved on 2007-06-13. 
  12. ^ "The candidates: Hillary Clinton, Her latest incarnation, Presidential Front Runner", The Economist, 2007-05-17. Retrieved on 2008-02-01. 
  13. ^ Rosen, Mike. "Story is none too 'swift'", Rocky Mountain News, 2006-10-26. Retrieved on 2007-06-14. 
  14. ^ a b Tyrrell, R. Emmett Jr.. "Swiftboating has become a hate term", CNN, 2006-06-04. Retrieved on 2007-03-30. 
  15. ^ McMichael, William H.. "Former SEAL wages campaign to defeat Murtha", Army Times, 2006-08-14. Retrieved on 2007-03-30. 
  16. ^ Moore, John. "Behind the Scenes: Swift Boat Veterans vs. John Kerry", Useful Fools, 2006-11-16. Retrieved on 2007-11-14. 
  17. ^ Johnson, Glen. "Kennedy decries Healey's "Swiftboating" of Patrick", AP/Boston Globe, 2006-10-07. Retrieved on 2007-06-14. 
  18. ^ Babbin, Jed. "The Democrats' Anxiety Closet", American Spectator, 2006-10-02. Retrieved on 2007-06-14. 
  19. ^ Boyce, James (2006-07-13). How Much Is That Admiral In The Window?. Huffington Post. Retrieved on 2007-06-16.
  20. ^ "Murtha Stirs Policy Debate", Fox News, 2005-11-18. Retrieved on 2007-06-16. 
  21. ^ Dickerson, John (2005-12-02). Kerry Swift-Boats Bush. Slate. Retrieved on 2007-06-16.
  22. ^ Coulter's Swift Boat-style smear of Vietnam veteran Murtha. MediaMatters (2005-12-01). Retrieved on 2007-06-16.
  23. ^ Tumulty, Karen. "The Swift-Boating of Graeme Frost", TIME Magazine, 2007-10-10. Retrieved on 2007-11-22. 
  24. ^ "Hannity & Colmes: T. Boone Pickens on $1 Million Challenge to Sen. John Kerry", transcript, Fox News, 2007-11-19. Retrieved on 2007-11-22.