The Bush White House has denied any connection to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth - the group that has been airing factually unsupportable smear ads against Sen. John Kerry's war record. But a new report today shows that one of the key accusers in the smear ads was a lobbyist for a company that recently received a massive federal contract from the Bush administration.
As the Washington Post reports, Rear Admiral William L. Schachte Jr., the man who claims Kerry was not under fire when he received his first Purple Heart, is a top lobbyist for a defense contractor that recently won a $40 million grant from the Bush administration. According to a March 18 legal filing by Schachte's firm, Blank Rome, Schachte was one of the lobbyists working for FastShip's effort to secure federal contracts. On Feb. 2, FastShip announced the Bush administration had awarded it $40 million.
Schachte has other connections to the Bush administration. The Washington Post notes David Norcross, Schachte's colleague in the Washington office of Blank Rome, is chairman of this week's Republican convention in New York. Records show that Schachte gave $1,000 to Bush's 2000 and 2004 campaigns. Additionally, Schachte helped organize veterans' efforts against Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and for Bush in the 2000 South Carolina primary.
This is not the first member of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth who has been revealed to be connected to the President. The Bush-Cheney campaign's top outside lawyer was forced to resign after he admitted providing legal services to the veterans group. The Bush-Cheney campaign's veterans adviser was also featured in one of the smear ads.
Wow, a defense contractor being awarded a defense contract. Stop the presses, that's hot news. Please, the ad had nothing to do with the defense contract. And what's so strange about a former REAR ADMIRAL, one of the highest positions in the navy, lobbying for a defense firm when he retires. The man obviously has quite a bit of military experience, and is therefore QUALIFIED FOR THE JOB. I agree that the ads should be pulled, but you should give up trying to link Bush to the ads. There's nothing there.
-Wilks
Posted by: Wilks at September 1, 2004 07:54 PMoh yea, it's all just pure coincidence that all the folks behind the goats for truth and justice are somehow connected to bush. hey wilk, i hope they reinstate the draft. we'll see if you can walk the walk and serve your country...
Posted by: charlie chingas at September 1, 2004 08:05 PMI find it funny you can question my patriotism without even knowing me. I come from 3 generations of veterans, and if I were of legal age I would have joined the military after 9/11. Oh, and fyi, since that man was a REAR ADMIRAL he has connections to everyone in the government. He occupies a top position in the military. You don't get there without connections.
-Wilks
Posted by: Wilks at September 2, 2004 03:38 PMso does that mean you will willingly go to war and give your life for your country? it don't mean shit if you are 3rd generation blah blah blah. i co-worker of mine says he's right because his dad served in WWII and received a purple heart, bronze star, yet he praises the purple heart bandage. By the way, his Dad is dead, so now his fat ass son who 's lived at home his whole live now speaks for him. If you were of age. Let's wait until you're 'of age' and we'll see if you join, when this shit is still hitting the fan, and a third of those who go come back in a coffin. you talk the talk, but can you walk the walk? i can talk and WALK because I HAVE been there (comabat). So don't give me your 'i would join if i were of age' crap. that's what cheney and company said, until that time came. daddy's is sure doing a great job raising the sheep...
Posted by: charlie chingas at September 2, 2004 10:17 PMand it's funny how the goats for truth are ALL repuplicans. you are SO brainwashed, you can't even see beyon the picture to notice. it's a shame about the next generation. they have it ez. i remember when my dad's remote control was me with a pair of pliers: get up and change the tv, and black and white for that matter. shit, my dad didn't even HAVE a tv when he was young. so it's ez for you to spew your piehole when you have it ezier then the previous generations. yeah, come, put me in my place, child...
Posted by: charlie chingas at September 2, 2004 10:19 PMYou're really something. I'm delusioned? You're the one who's so blinded by your own radical thougts that your borderline delusional. Let's lay some things down. One, Bush is not some psychotic moron who bungled his way into office. He is not hiding some secret plan of destroying America, and he does not hate the common man. In fact, he's more of a common man than Kerry. Kerry's the one with two homes in Massachusets, one in DC, two in Pennsylvania, and one in Idaho. Kerry's the one with the billionaire wife. Two, I find it funny that you question my patriotism without ever knowing me. Have I once questioned your patriotism--no. I may question your intelligence, but never your patriotism. I am very grateful for your service to our nation, but that does not give you the right to hold it over the heads of others. Three--yes I have it so easy. Because I don't go to school, or make good grades, or anything like that. It's not like I do anything after school either. I just sit at home all day (another example of sarcasm).
-Wilks
Posted by: Wilks at September 3, 2004 02:46 PMboy, wilks, you put me in my place allright. i bet you showed this to all your buddied and said 'i'm tha man!'. One thing you do have going for you: as a teenager, you are more passionate about anything than you'll ever be in your life. thus, extreme emotions cloude your thinking. and i don't think i questioned your patriotism. i said if there were a draft, will you be the first in line? you talk the talk, but can u walk walk? that is not questioning someone's patriotism. but alas, i tire of this site. most likely, this post will be deleted. like others.
Posted by: charlie chingas at September 5, 2004 11:33 AM