Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

PATRIOT PROJECT: John O'Neil Threatens Lawsuit –updated–

Talk about a way to get attention.

John O'Neill, yes, that one, the guy who lied and said he served in the same
boat with John Kerry, but was nowhere near John Kerry during Vietnam.

O'Neill and some unknown organization \”Democracy Project\”
are making tut-tut sounds that they're going to sue James Boyce
and the Patriot Project.

Come on, make our day. Do it, baby.

See, what O'Neill and the other swiftboaters don't get is that Boyce used public
information to prove his post over at Huffington Post. Boyce's response is up
at the Patriot Project
today.

Here's a little introduction to the Patriot Project, before I became involved.

But something else about the Democracy Project is that they evidently are close enough to have O'Neill's ear. This is what he sent to them via email today: “I guess this is how a weasel retracts and disappears into the shadows or to Cambodia for Christmas (as the case may be).\”

UPDATE: Just got off the phone with James Boyce. What these liars at Democracy Project charge is that James Boyce's piece has been nuked from Huffington Post. WRONG. They didn't put in the full URL, so it just appears that way. Here's Boyce's piece. Now, go back to Democracy Project and check out their bogus URL.

The other thing is that Dave Johnson has a terrific post up entitled The
Swiftboaters Are Back in the Water. It's a terrific piece, following
up on the one I did last week on John
Murtha: Anatomy of a Smear, which launched the beginning of original content
on the Patriot Project.

Here's a really juicy part from Dave's piece:

… Christopher A. LaCivita is an example of a professional Republican operative working with the swiftboaters. LaCivita served as the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth media strategy advisor. Previously LaCivita served as the political director for the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, and Executive Director for the Bush-campaign-associated Progress For America organization (founded by 2000 Bush campaign political director Tony Feather). He was an employee of DCI Group when he went to work for the Swiftboat Vets. (snip) Following the Swift-Boat episode, LaCivita went to work for USA Next, shown above attacking the AARP. LaCivita now advises George Allen's Virginia Senate campaign against Jim Webb. And it didn't take long for the swiftboating to begin. But that is also saved for later. The Swiftboaters Are Back in the Water

Another swiftboating campaign has already been launched against Democratic
senatorial candidate James Webb, compliments of George Allen.

Here was Webb's response to one of the opening salvos.

\”George Felix Allen Jr. and his bush-league lapdog, [Dick Wadhams], have not earned the right to challenge [Jim Webb]'s position on free speech and flag burning,\” Webb spokesman Steve Jarding said in a press release. \”Jim Webb served and fought for our flag and what it stands for, while George Felix Allen Jr. chose to cut and run. \”While Jim Webb and others of George Felix Allen Jr.'s generation were fighting for our freedoms and for our symbols of freedom in Vietnam, George Felix Allen Jr. was playing cowboy at a dude ranch in Nevada,\” Jarding said. \”People who live in glass dude ranches should not question the patriotism of real soldiers who fought and bled for this country on a real battlefield.\” Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, agreed with [Larry Sabato]. \”It's said the best defense is a good offense and it's clear Webb isn't going to be bullied like [John Kerry] was two years ago,\” Farnsworth said. WEBB RIPS INTO ALLEN OVER FLAG

As Dave Johnson says in his Patriot Project piece today, it's about exposing
and fighting back. That's what we're doing. That's how we're going to beat
them this time around.