A local PR firm is claiming credit for Rathergate push from blogs.
Creative Response Concepts (CRC), the VA-based agency promoting the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, used right-wing blogs and news sites to turn a CBS report casting doubt on President George W. Bush’s National Guard service into a potential black eye for both the network and the Democrats.
Read Charles Johnson’s note concerning these guys. For the record I’ve never heard of them or been contacted by them either.
Update: On the bring down Dan front, check Jim Geraghty’s suggestions.
Update 2: CRC has apologized quickly and sincerely (full text in the extended entry). If you want to know why so many of the blogs covering this story were upset read the last paragraph of this post from Allah.
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– The last wheel just fell off the wagon –
“>http://ratherbiased.com/news.html#45>
– The original piece –
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Politics/Vote2004/staudt_bush_040917-1.html
Col. Staudt, former commanding officer of the Texas Air National Guard, tells ABC News that no one gave Bush preferential treatment and that Bush was well respected. He also says that he did not pressure subordinates to do anything on behalf of Bush.
As to the subject of the post, “Master Manipulators” crap like these guys are trying to pull needs to be nipped.in.the.bud.
I agree with Jumbo (^^).
Trying to give this P.R. group the benefit of the doubt, however, perhaps what they’ve released to the public is just a Press Release explaining what their actions were. Do they actually SAY in print or video that they were responsible for “breaking the story”?
I do get from that article, on the other hand, that there’s a definite allusion to that line of credit, content speaking.
Bloggers need to now straighten out THIS area of the Rathergate/Fraudgate issue because I see an Oliver Stone film in the pipeline, wherein the SwiftVets own the Kinko’s in Abilene, have hired Burkett to get Karl Rove because Castro wants another viewing of Micheal Moore’s “documentary…”
Aargh. The flow of reality and how it unfolded really needs to be clearly charted now and not later. I’m not informed enough about the series of events, otherwise I’d work on a flow chart visual tonight/tomorrow.
BUT, I’ll certainly be happy to compose that sort of imagery if someone else composes the information with certainty…who did what, wrote what and when.
I bet LGF could come up with some sort of flow chart and/or graph about this, however, and pretty thoroughly, reliably.
I would still like to know this:
Has there ever been any evidence that Bush didn’t complete his requirements? or is it just another talking point/conspirecy that made it all the way to 60 minutes?
How about this, restore SOME of CBS’s cred by saying that it was a PR firm and not just some random people who brought up the story, i.e. busted by the professionals, not the amateurs, and therefore not as derelict in their duty to the truth…..
There is a retraction up already. LFG, Allah and Reynolds have it up.
On CNN, they have their question of the day. It says: Do you believe CBS or President Bush. Guess who’s ahead? So no, the mainstream media is not putting this down at all.
~cindy