Swiftboating

"Swiftboat" redirects here. For the naval vessel, see Fast Patrol Craft.

Swiftboating is American political jargon that is used (primarily) as a strong pejorative description of some kind of attack that the speaker considers unfair--for example, an ad hominem attack or a smear campaign.

The term comes from the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth (formerly "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth") and their widely-publicized attacks on 2004 Presidential candidate John Kerry. (For a similar example of a pejorative verb based on a historical incident, see "borking," coined by Republicans in response to Democratic political attacks they considered unfair.)

Historically, terms like "swiftboating", "Swift Boating", "Swift Boat tactics", etc. were given currency by people who had very negative views of SBVT. Others have strongly objected (see below) to the criticism of SBVT implied by such negative usage.

Historical examples of usage

• In a 2005 column "The Swift Boating of Cindy Sheehan," Frank Rich offers such synonyms for the term as "character assassination" and "smear."

• Also in 2005, Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly took note of this usage of the term: "Sympathetic newspaper columnists are putting forth that Cindy is being smeared by people like me. They call it the "Swiftboating" of Cindy Sheehan." O'Reilly implicitly accepted this use of the term when he called such claims "catchy but misleading," saying "All we did was tell the truth about Ms. Sheehan's radical politics and radical pals. That's it! We didn't impugn her character or criticize her Iraq war dissent."

• Also in 2005, a Slate article by John Dickerson used "Swift-boat" as a pejorative verb to imply that an attack by John Kerry on President George W Bush had been dishonest: "Kerry Swift-boats Bush...Like most clever feints in Washington, it's also not entirely honest." This usage is particularly notable because of its implied criticism of SBVT at the same time that it shares their political stance--that is, attacking Kerry on behalf of Bush.

• In 2006, Arianna Huffington characterized what she called "the despicable smear campaign being launched against Jack Murtha" as "the Swift-boating of Murtha." [1]

• In a 2006 op-ed "Swift Boating the Planet," Paul Krugman uses the term to describe repeated use of a doctored chart Krugman labels "a fraud" and what he calls "smears" against climatologist James Hansen. Defining the term in relation to the group from which it takes its name, Krugman states, "There's a concise way to describe what happened to Dr. Hansen: he was Swift-boated. John Kerry, a genuine war hero, didn't realize that he could successfully be portrayed as a coward."

• The Boston Globe in 2006 quoted Senator Edward M. Kennedy describing recent events in the Massachusetts governor's race as "gutter politics" and "the politics of fear and smear," adding "Make no mistake about it, this is swiftboating." The article notes that another Democratic politician had described the same events as "a Swift Boat style of attack."

• The Associated Press in 2006 quoted Wal-Mart critics claiming the company's newest effort paidcritics.com "a name-calling, nastily aggressive little website," adding that "The company's latest move comes right out of the Swift Boat playbook."

• In 2007, the Washington Post quotes Jeff Jarvis using the term to describe a viral video attack on Hillary Clinton, saying "I fear that we're going to have more and more Swift Boating. With the help of the Web, it's low-cost and easily spreadable."

Objections against the pejorative use of "swiftboating"

The use of this term as a pejorative has (since 2006) provoked complaints from people who object to the implied slur on the SBVT. [2] At least one conservative commentator has denounced its repeated negative usage as "a hate term."

A group formed for the purpose of opposing John Murtha's reelection to Congress, Vets for the Truth, posts at its website a definition of "swiftboating" as "exposing the lies, deceit and fraud of self-glorifying public officials or candidates for office who exaggerate their military service by lying about their feats of heroism and combat wounds."

Media usage of the term "swiftboating"

• 7 October 2006. "Kennedy Decries Healey's 'Swiftboating' of Patrick" Glenn Johnson, AP via Boston Globe [3]
• 2 October 2006. "The Democrats' Anxiety Closet" Jed Babbin in The American Spectator. [4]
• 13 July 2006. "How Much Is That Admiral In The Window?" James Boyce in the Huffington Blog alleges that Republicans are planning to swiftboat Iraq War veterans who are running for Congress, like Jim Webb, Joe Sestak and Tammy Duckworth.[5]
• 21 August 2005. "Swift Boating Cindy Sheehan," Frank Rich in the New York Times[6]
• 22 August 2005. O'Reilly Factor, Fox News: "The 'Swiftboating' of Cindy Sheehan, that is the subject of this evening's 'Talking Points Memo'." transcript
• 9 November 2005. "VT: Columnist Says O'Neill Aiming To Use "Swift Boat" Tactics On Sanders," The Frontrunner (via LexisNexis)
• 18 November 2005. "Murtha Stirs Policy Debate," Fox News: A 'Swift-Boating' of Murtha? [7]
• 19 November 2005. "Kerry rap GOP actions as 'shameful,' 'Swift-boating' moves," Worcester (MA) Telegram & GazetteMcGovern (via LexisNexis)
• 22 November 2005. "Does Bush really seek a new tone?" Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN): "Whether it was Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in 2000, former Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga., in 2002, former counterintelligence official Richard Clarke or the Swift Boating of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., in 2004, the no-holds-barred tactic was to go right at the opponent's strength and seek to destroy it." (via LexisNexis)
• 1 December 2005. "Kerry Swift-Boats Bush," Slate Magazine [8]
• 1 December 2005. "Coulter's Swift Boat-style smear of Vietnam veteran Murtha" [9]
• 1 June 2006. "Swiftboating has become a hate term," R. Emmett Tyrrell on CNN Politics [10]

References

1. ^ The group's ad campaign is discussed at length in Swift Boat Veterans For Truth.