Swiftboating: Immunity From Accountability

Our mainstream and alternative media should be ashamed that they are accomplices in accepting "Swiftboating" as a verb, synonymous with "smearing." Cindy Sheehan, Ariana Huffington, Ted Kennedy, Michael Kingsley and Paul Krugman, all radical left advocates, have led a campaign re-defining and changing this word from a noun to a verb.
This was accomplished through speeches, blogging and writing articles. The silence of the media when this campaign was occurring is an irresponsible and cowardly act. It has far reaching negative consequences to our representative government.
According to Wikipedia, "Swiftboating" "is political jargon that is used as a strong pejorative description of some kind of attack that the speaker considers unfair or untrue; a personal, ad hominem attack or a smear campaign."
This means any examination of a powerful person's record can easily be dismissed by an individual by merely saying that he feels "it is unfair or untrue." Through a simple announcement of his being "swiftboated" he is off the hook for being accountable for present or past behavior. This tactic allows the elite individual the power to disparage the truth seeker while at the same time avoiding answering penetrating and probing questions.
This is nothing more than the powerful granting themselves immunity from accounting for their unethical, criminal and immoral deeds. This is the same immunity from prosecution that we have granted foreign embassy and U.N. officials in New York City and it inevitably has lead to abuse of power. Our representative government cannot exist in an environment where we can no longer question our leader's actions -- past or current.
The strategy of accusing someone of "swiftboating" was developed as a means of counteracting the incredible success of more than 250 swift boat sailors who put their finances and reputations on the line. They informed the American voters during the past election of the truth of John Kerry's record during his brief service in Vietnam. The Swift boat Vets and POWs for Truth (SBVT) used Kerry's own 1971 anti-war statements to demonstrate his blatant lies, fraud and deceit for all Americans to see.
The Swift boat Vet's purpose and motivation is clearly written on their Web site. "Kerry's phony war crime charges, his exaggerated claims about his own service in Vietnam and his deliberate misrepresentation of the nature and effectiveness of swift boat operations compelled us to step forward." These men were not political hacks. They were patriots, war heroes.
No one has successfully been able to dispute the accuracy and truth of their words, including John Kerry.
It is the responsibility of our leaders to be honestly transparent in their actions and motives. Only by seeking the truth from our representatives can we hope to keep them from exploiting their immense power for their own self-interest rather than doing their elected duty for the public's interest.
When the "George Soroses" of the world are able to use their millions to buy off their minions to make it off-limits to ask questions and say the truth, then we have lost our right of free speech. Our beloved country cannot be free when citizens are ridiculed and silenced by accusing them of "swiftboating." This is an insidious means of shutting down debate by labeling the speaking of the truth a deplorable act.