WASHINGTON—In response to a 2004 complaint by a coalition of nonpartisan watchdog groups that included the Center for Responsive Politics, the Federal Election Commission announced today that Swift Boat Veterans for Truth will pay a fine of under $300,000 and disband the 527 organization that expressly (and illegally) advocated for the defeat of Sen. John Kerry in the ‘04 presidential election.

The SwiftVets group raised more than $25 million in unlimited individual and corporate donations during the 2004 election cycle with the chief purpose of convincing voters through advertising, direct mail and other communications that Kerry was “unfit for command.” Such overt messages opposing a candidate should have required SwiftVets to register with the FEC as a political committee and abide by contribution limits.

By registering only with the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt 527 organization....

http://www.opensecrets.org/pressrele...p?from_rss=yes
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Ah yes the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth who spent the entire fall of 2004 rentlessly trashing John Kerry's record of service in Vietnam. They spent $22 million dollars in ads to slander Kerry and even hired an Repubhlican operative to write a fake book to peddle their lies about Kerry.

History has proven all of those liberals were correct when they accused the Swiftboat Veterans of being a Bush for President campaign front organiztion.

Remember in 2004 when all of those shreiking right wingers were expressing mock horror at us paranoid liberals?

In the most condescending of manners the right wingers swore up and down that the Swifties had no connection to Bush. Now it's just another lie to add to the Liar Archives at the George W. Bush Presidential LIEbrary.

The FEC rules that the Swifties had no other major purpose than being a committee to reelect Bush. The Swifties were given a stiff fine for misrepresenting themselves as a 527 "issue oriented" committee when they were just a bunch of political hacks that was an illegal committee to reelect Bush/Cheney.

Since the Swifties are already 5 million dollars in debt for their lavish spending to trash John Kerry, the $300,000 fine is likely to put the Swifties in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and they will sail no more. That's okay by me! ... a politically bankrupt organization should aim for fisical bankruptcy to have a internally consistent ideology.

The final voyage of the Lying Swiftboat veterans.

I was never a fan of Kerry's policies, but the Swiftboat group was really a dirty politics organization. First of all, anybody that was a Swiftboat captain should be recognized as filling a very dangerous and difficult job. Driving small boat up and down the Delta waiting for the Vietcong to shoot at you is a job no one wanted, as I recall. Also, Kerry would have been in his early 20's at the time. To look back that far in anybodies life to judge "hero or unfit" is simply wrong. On top of that, they used this one issue to muddy up the waters that that public barely got around to looking at Kerry circa the 21st century.

It is a dirt tricks move by Rove & Co., and represents the worst in how a democracy can be manipulated by people with devious intentions. Good riddance.

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Hobo
Charter member of 'Republicans Who Hate Bush" Club

A paltry $300,000 fine will be easily absorbed by the Repugnacan Borg. The swiftboating of Kerry was, far and away, they're most productive investment.

To once again have the FEC come down and say you can't talk during a presidential race is another form of censorship and a trampling of the freedom of speech. Why is it ok to bash Bush, but oh no not Kerry or the dems. PLease, if the ads were untrue Kerry should have been able to beat them but oh yea he wasn't. Just more proof that America is headed to a Freedom of the speech the politicians like. Everyone should be scared by this censorship.

Oh, boo-hoo-hoo! Those mean men made Lurch lose the election! It's not fair! Oh, boo-hoo-hoo! I need a hug!

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"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival."
Winston Churchill