|
|
What is swiftboat?
A political ploy whereby allegations, falsehoods, exaggerations, or distortions are publicized to discredit a person or entity and have the intended effect that public attention is drawn to the ensuing controversy about the veracity of the allegations and away from some other political embarrassment.
Questions about Kerry’s military service and whether he deserved purple heart medals was swiftboating the public’s attention from whether or not Bush was AWOL.
swiftboat - video
Swiftboat - what is it?
to be smeared by the president or his administration in a tastless and slanderous way.
They're gonna totally swiftboat this soldier's mom the way they did kerry.
What does "swiftboat" mean?
To be unfairly and inaccurately attacked relentlessly in the media
They swiftboated the Gold Star mom on the news by questioning her credibility when she refused to back off with her antiwar protest in the presidents back yard.
Swiftboat - what does it mean?
The process of smearing a military veteran's service record for political purposes. Named after the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, who discredited John Kerry's war record during the 2004 U.S. presidential election.
He was a popular candidate, until the swiftboating started.
Swiftboat - meaning
exposure of a false hero by people who are fimiliar with claimed heroic acts
John claimed to have saved a life in the local tragic fire. However, after noting that John was aat the time, actually in a bar 20 miles away by the bartender, John was Swiftboated by several other people the entire week following the fictitious claim.
Swiftboat - definition
To have your credibility attacked by an a dishonest political machine. Named for four ads run by a conservative group of Vietnam War veterans called Swiftboat Veterans for Truth (SBVT) during the 2004 presidential campaign.
The ads featured Vietnam veterans corroborating falsehoods about Kerry's service in Vietnam, and criticizing his testimony as a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The accuracy of the ads was discredited by official Navy records, other veterans, and several of the SBVT's own members. In spite of media sources openly questioning their validity, they were effective in raising doubts about Kerry's war record in critical swing states. Bush, a draft-dodger, managed to win his second term in the 2004 election, largely due to the Swiftboat ads.
These days, when media figures have their image attacked, they claim they've been swiftboated in order to imply that the attackers are dishonest or using false information.
Steve: The New York Post ran a story that Al Pacino is a child molester. They're trying to swiftboat him.
Bob: Wait, I read what that means on Urban Dictionary. According to the highest rated definitions, that means he's raping little boys.
Steve: What? That's not what swiftboated means at all, just look on wikipedia. Those definitions must have been written by Bush supporters.
Swiftboat - slang
the act of exposing something true, but unpleasant or politically inconvenient about a progressive.
refers to the swiftboat veterans for truth. when john kerry attempted to capitalize on his brief service in vietnam, a group comprised of all but a handful of veterans who served in the same combat area of operations and mos came forward to underline what a bullshitter kerry was. among other things, they demonstrated that kerry didn't earn his combat medals, lied about christmas in cambodia, and seemingly only enlisted so he could turn directly around and participate in an effort to brand all veterans as war criminals.
the term has since been turned into a generic pejorative for any revelation about a public progressive which progressives can't dismiss on a factual basis. the idea is to name the "crime" of telling the truth about progressives on the same axiomatic level as "theft" or "rape". progressives are implicit totalitarians who don't like having their authority challenged.
"now they're trying to swiftboat bernie ward by publishing the chat transcript in which he talked about having his daughter blow his son in front of him."
Swiftboat
To bravely expose the lies and manipulations of a powerful person seeking to achieve self promotion based on a falsified personal history and thereby prevent the success of his or her deception.
It took a lot of guts to go up against the lying billionaire, but they were able to swiftboat his dreams of taking over the country.
Swiftboat
to attack an anti-war politician on the basis of their military service record
"Man, did they swiftboat Murtha."
Swiftboat
to distort history for political purposes, especially in a vicious personal attack
The upcoming ABC documentary 'The Path to 9/11' is expected to swiftboat the Clinton administration, accusing it of ignoring the terrorist threat.