VoteVets.org, which has begun running attack ads against Republican presidential candidate John McCain, is ostensibly a grassroots group of soldiers against the war in Iraq, but in reality it is little more than a front group for the anti-war left wing of the Democratic party. Jim Geraghty has some information about VoteVets.org in a must-read piece at National Review Online.
VoteDems, Er, I Mean, VoteVets Goes After John McCain
I suspect John McCain and his staff will take a certain pride in the fact that they're the first Republican candidate to be the target of a paid attack ad campaign by a Democratic group. Yes, this ungodly sped-up primary process now has across-the-aisle attack ads.
The group is the perfectly-generically-named VoteVets, which makes you think they might be associated with the VFW or American Legion or something. Nope.
VoteVets advisory board members include former Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark, former Democratic congressional candidates Paul Hackett, Tammy Duckworth and Andrew Horne, and former Democratic Senator Bob Kerrey.
Co-founder and chairman Jon Soltz headed "Veterans for Kerry 2004", hosted events for Kerry, and during the 2004 campaign criticized Bush for his attacks on McCain in 2000. (I guess McCain is only useful to Soltz when he can be used to criticize another Republican.)
VoteVets' communications director, Eric Schmeltzer, was a staffer for Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York, and was deputy director of Howard Dean's New York campaign. The group's finance director, Malea Stenzel, was a fundraiser for unsuccessful Democratic House candidates Judy Aydelott and Shaun McNally. Political Director Evan Hutchison was regional director for Wesley Clark's presidential campaign in 2004.
In the 2006 election cycle, VoteVets.org contributed $29,700 To Democratic candidates and organizations; the group contributed $2,100 to Sam Schultz, a primary challenger to GOP Rep. Mike Sodrel of Indiana.
VoteVets.org is just the latest attempt by the Democratic Left to undermine America in the war. And while it portrays itself as the voice of America's military vets, the truth is it represents only the views of some vets. Plenty of miltary veterans have nice things to say about John McCain.
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