Rockland based Anti-McCain effort draws fire
-
- January
- 15
Sen. John McCain’s campaign is blasting a mailing sent to South Carolina residents by “Vietnam Veterans against McCain” — a group that’s led by Rockland resident Jerry Kiley. The campaign called the mailing slanderous and “garbage.”
The two-page mailing includes a cartoon depicting McCain in POW garb, sitting in a prison cell. Scrolled on the cell wall are, among other things, “songbird” and “The POWs I helped leave behind.”
“Today, a shadowy political organization calling itself Vietnam Veterans Against McCain’ launched a vicious attack on John McCain in an attempt to impugn his character in the closing days of the South Carolina Republican Primary,” said former POW Orson Swindle, in a statement released by McCain’s campaign.
“The group claims that John McCain turned his back on his fellow POWs in order to save his own skin,” Swindle said. “Nothing could be further from the truth. I know because I was there.”
Swindle, who also took part in a conference call with reporters, is part of what the McCain campaign is calling its “Truth Squad” to debunk such efforts.
Kiley, a Garnerville resident, was not immediately available for comment. He formed the anti-McCain group in early 2007 and told The Journal News in March that McCain had turned his back on POWs and their families. He calls McCain a traitor to prisoners of war who he believes were left behind in Vietnam.
“If he had the power of the presidency, I’d really fear for this country,” Kiley said.
Of course, such efforts are nothing new for Kiley. He led a similar protest movement against Democrat John Kerry in 2004.
Kiley also once confronted a female Manhattanville basketball player who was protesting American policy by turning her back on the flag. He sneaked past security and interrupted a game to confront the college student on the court with an American flag.
UPDATE – Kiley, in a telephone interview said: “We believe the American people should know the true facts about John McCain. Enough is enough. He is abusing his POW status to try and become president.”
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, January 15th, 2008 at 6:36 pm by Glenn Blain.
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Kiley should be directing his ire at Jug Ears Jenkins, the (then) infamous defector to Korea that helped torture the sailors from the USS Pueblo.
He recently surrendered, court martialed, imprisoned, only to be released after three weeks.
why would the pow’s at the same base, including the senior officer, make accusations against mccain? is mr. swindle saying that these pow’s were not there or they are lying?