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Bush urges halt to 3rd party ads Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2755509http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2755509
Aug. 24, 2004, 12:55AM
Bush urges halt to 3rd party ads
Swift boat vets vow to redouble anti-Kerry effort
By BENNETT ROTH
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
CRAWFORD - President Bush demanded Monday that television ads attacking John Kerry's Vietnam military service should be taken off the air, along with spots by other independent groups that have criticized the president.
But leaders of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, whose anti-Kerry ads have dominated the presidential campaign in recent weeks, immediately rejected Bush's request and vowed to pour more money into new anti-Kerry ads.
Though it was the first time Bush called for the group to withdraw its ads, he refrained from condemning the men behind it, including Houston attorney John O'Neill and Houston homebuilder and major GOP donor Bob Perry.
Although Kerry's campaign claims the ads amount to a smear campaign orchestrated by the Bush camp, the president praised the Democrat's military service Monday, saying "Kerry served admirably, and he ought to be proud of his record."
Bush reprimanded the swift boat ads Monday as part of a continuing complaint that such ads violate campaign finance laws he approved in 2002. He called for a ban of unlimited contributions to all outside groups that run political spots. The White House has noted that most of these so-called "527" fund-raising committees, such as America Coming Together and Move
On.org, have spent tens of millions of dollars on anti-Bush ads.
"I'm denouncing all the stuff being on TV of the 527s," Bush said, adding he wanted all the ads stopped.
Asked whether he was specifically referring to the swift boat ads, Bush said, "that means that ad, every other ad."
Although Bush had previously called for the ending of all independent group ads, he had not specifically addressed the swift boat spot. Aired only in key swing states, the ads suggest Kerry did not deserve the Silver and Bronze stars and the three Purple Hearts he was awarded while commanding a swift boat in Vietnam.
On Monday, O'Neill made it clear his group plans to ignore the president's request. It will launch a new ad today in which a number of veterans condemn Kerry's criticism of "atrocities" committed by American soldiers during the Vietnam War. He made the comments in testimony before a Senate committee in 1971.
'To the last drop of money'
"We intend to go forth with our ads to the last drop of money and effort that we have," said O'Neill, who commanded the same swift boat as Kerry after he left Vietnam.
The Kerry campaign, which has called on Bush to condemn the swift boat ads, was not satisfied with the president's response.
"The moment of truth came and went, and the president still couldn't bring himself to do the right thing," said Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards. "Instead of hiding behind a front group, George Bush needs to take responsibility and demand that the ad come off the air."
Kerry's campaign has argued that Bush is tied to the Swift Boat Veterans because Perry has given the group its largest single contribution, $200,000. Perry has contributed to Bush's gubernatorial and presidential campaigns, and knows Bush's top political aide Karl Rove.
O'Neill, who solicited the request from Perry, denied that his group is politically connected. O'Neill, who said he has had lunch with Perry four or five times in the past 30 years, said he knew the homebuilder through some of his legal clients.
O'Neill said his largest political contributions have been to Democrats, including Houston Mayor Bill White, who ran last year for the nonpartisan city job. O'Neill said he gave White $10,000.
Woman tied to Armey
However, the swift boat group acknowledged Monday that a woman who helped set up the group and works for it is an officer of a political action committee affiliated with the former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, a Texas Republican, the New York Times reported. Records show Perry has given $300,000 to Armey's PAC, Majority Leaders Fund, since August 2000.
The swift boat group has raised more than $1.5 million since it was organized last spring. O'Neill said the book he co-authored about Kerry, Unfit to Serve, has sold a half million copies. O'Neill said he plans to donate the royalties from the book to the charity.
The Kerry campaign has been working furiously to blunt the impact of the swift boat ads, which experts say has the potential to undercut the Democrat's major campaign pitch that he has the military credentials to lead the war on terror.
Although the ads are playing in limited number of cities, they have received wide publicity in the media and the Internet.
Bush volunteer dismissed
Over the weekend the Bush campaign dismissed a veteran volunteer who appears in one of the swift boat ads.
The Kerry campaign has noted that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, has condemned the swift boat ads and called for them to be halted.
On its Web site, the Kerry campaign has posted a spot in which McCain criticizes Bush during the 2000 Republican presidential primary for allowing his supporters to question McCain's Vietnam service.
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