And now it’s starting again. Political extremists operating behind the scenes in both national parties have brought out their old tactics and attacked the military careers of both vice presidential candidates. Such attacks even have a name. It’s called “Swift Boating.”
The name comes from the brutal attacks against former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004. Kerry had been a highly decorated naval officer during the Vietnam War, where he received numerous combat medals as well as three Purple Hearts for wounds. He was undoubtedly an American hero and was commander of a patrol boat called Swift Boat. The leadership of both political parties should have condemned the vicious campaign against his valiant service to America. I visited with Kerry at length several years ago, when he told me that the outrageous false accusations against him at the time were absurd and devastating.
Fast forward to the current presidential campaign, and the speedboaters are rearing their ugly heads again. The accusations are coming from people who have never served a day in the military and who, instead of supporting and praising the military achievements of the two vice presidential candidates, have chosen to sink their toes into the mud of un-American cowardice.
JD Vance, the current Republican vice presidential candidate, volunteered for the Marine Corps and served in Iraq for four years. He was accused of not actually being involved in combat, but of having a desk job. But look, the Ohio senator volunteered to go to Iraq and serve in a war zone. The vast majority of his contemporaries enjoyed the freedom to do what they wanted, while soldiers like Vance protected their right to do so.
The same goes for Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. His military record is extensive and quite commendable. Walz served in the Army National Guard for 24 years, retiring in 2005 as a master sergeant. During his active duty service, Walsh and his battalion served throughout Europe and Turkey. Yet today he is being “swift boated” for leaving the National Guard to run for Congress. Let me be clear: The man served in uniform for 24 years, but he was criticized for not staying long enough to go to Iraq when his Guard unit was deployed several months after his retirement? What a lame critique
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I know how to get ripped off. After I graduated from law school, my draft board told me I was exempt from military service. I was 26 years old and over draft age. I volunteered for the Army and Army National Guard anyway, then spent 12 years in the National Guard and retired as a captain. But when I ran for the Louisiana State Senate in 1971, one of my opponents accused me of draft evasion. I found out he had never served a day in the military, and yet he had the nerve to attack my record.
I understand, of course, that biased or inaccurate allegations are often used when running for public office. I was an elected official in Louisiana for 28 years, so I have many stories of distorted, misleading, or even outright untrue political allegations. Such political attacks against those who choose to serve and defend their country should be completely off the table.
Less than one percent of Americans volunteer to serve their country in the military. That means that over 99 percent of the population enjoys the freedoms and protections that these handful of men and women actually provide. False political attacks that we are currently seeing in both parties should be off limits. We have far too many warmongers attacking the achievements of those who actually serve and want to continue that public service. It is high time to put an end to the cheap attacks of Swift Boating.
Peace and justice
Jim Brown
