Kerry: Let's Push Back Against The "Smear Machine"

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Democrats

Sen. John Kerry today announced he is "launching a new website that empowers you to fight back" against the Republican "smear machine."

"The Republicans have nothing to run on, no ideas to push, no solutions for America," Kerry writes. "They'll run a campaign of laughable gimmicks and outright distortions and lies. But we can fight back with the truth - and the truth can win this time."

The Web site, TruthFightsBack.com, allows people to "report smears when you see them to keep us on track on what the smear machine is up to at every moment."

Kerry ties the launch of the site to a New York Times report today that Jerome Corsi's "The Obama Nation," which paints Obama as a radical liberal with ties to Islam who may presently be using drugs, will soon come in at #1 on the Times bestseller list. Corsi wrote "Unfit for Command," which attacked Kerry's military record when he was the Democratic nominee in 2004.

"The book is being pushed along by a large volume of bulk sales, intense voter interest in Mr. Obama and a broad marketing campaign that has already included 100 author interviews with talk radio hosts across the country, like Sean Hannity and G. Gordon Liddy," according to Corsi, who told the Times, "The goal is to defeat Obama."

As the Times notes, Corsi's book on Kerry "included various accusations that were ultimately undermined by news reports pointing out the contradictions." As for the new book on Obama, the newspaper writes that several of its accusations are "unsubstantiated, misleading or inaccurate."

"We've seen this movie before," Kerry writes in his release. "The Republicans, without ideas, start running a negative campaign filled with personal attacks and misleading ads. The attacks get condemned, but they get lots of attention and get played on TV endlessly. We've got to fight every way we can."

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by joycegian-2009 August 15, 2008 4:37 PM EDT: Readers need to go to Fact Check and Snopes web sites and research the lies in Corsi''s book. Be armed with facts, not hype and opinion like the right wingers. Obama needs to directly address these lies with truth.; Reply to this comment


by joycegian-2009 August 15, 2008 4:35 PM EDT: Readers need to go to Fact Check and Snopes web sites and research the lies in Corsi''s book. Be armed with facts, not hype and opinion like the right wingers. Obama needs to directly address these lies with truth.; Reply to this comment


by justanyone August 14, 2008 8:58 PM EDT: IMPORTANT: BOOK SALES are inflated by BULK purchases by rich supporters. This tactic is widely used in the record industry (who record sales as ''shipped'' items - to record stores), by Scientology (apparently to push L. Ron Hubbard''s book to the best seller list), and others. The only reason this book has traction is the wingnuts (O''Reilly, Limbaugh, most of Fox News) are promoting it. Real sales numbers would almost certainly indicate a much lower interest level. Say, people asking for it at libraries.

Why are there no big book launches of expose types on McSame''s career? What TV network would promote it like Fox would the other side? Is it fair (will it last long as a condition) that there is a well-financed Right Wing media machine built on corporate money and now liberal, progressive media empire pushing the opposite memes/ideas?; Reply to this comment


by justanyone August 14, 2008 8:57 PM EDT: IMPORTANT: BOOK SALES are inflated by BULK purchases by rich supporters. This tactic is widely used in the record industry (who record sales as ''shipped'' items - to record stores), by Scientology (apparently to push L. Ron Hubbard''s book to the best seller list), and others. The only reason this book has traction is the wingnuts (O''Reilly, Limbaugh, most of Fox News) are promoting it. Real sales numbers would almost certainly indicate a much lower interest level. Say, people asking for it at libraries.

Why are there no big book launches of expose types on McSame''s career? What TV network would promote it like Fox would the other side? Is it fair (will it last long as a condition) that there is a well-financed Right Wing media machine built on corporate money and now liberal, progressive media empire pushing the opposite memes/ideas?; Reply to this comment


by justanyone August 14, 2008 8:50 PM EDT: IMPORTANT: BOOK SALES are inflated by BULK purchases by rich supporters. This tactic is widely used in the record industry (who record sales as ''shipped'' items - to record stores), by Scientology (apparently to push L. Ron Hubbard''s book to the best seller list), and others. The only reason this book has traction is the wingnuts (O''Reilly, Limbaugh, most of Fox News) are promoting it. Real sales numbers would almost certainly indicate a much lower interest level. Say, people asking for it at libraries.

Why are there no big book launches of expose types on McSame''s career? What TV network would promote it like Fox would the other side? Is it fair (will it last long as a condition) that there is a well-financed Right Wing media machine built on corporate money and now liberal, progressive media empire pushing the opposite memes/ideas?; Reply to this comment


by chuckamok August 14, 2008 10:46 AM EDT: Amazing. Kerry has never had an original thought in his life.

Why don''t Massachusetts voters dump this complete zero?; Reply to this comment


by jefflz-2009 August 14, 2008 2:21 AM EDT: This pig slop passing itself off as a book is a digrace to the memory of the house of Simon and Schuster. Karl Rove''s fingerprints are all over this unadulterated pack of lies. All right minded people should be outraged at this Swift Boat style attack. The Obama campaign needs to strike back with a vengeance. A complete boycott of Simon and Schuster would be a great place to start. Getting out the full story about McCain and the Keating Five might be useful. One thing is certain Obama cannot stand idly by and let the RNC/Rove/McCain thugs get away with this assault.; Reply to this comment


by billo1409 August 13, 2008 7:50 PM EDT: Well the simple truth is that the Republicans don''t have good ideas or policies to offer the American people.So what they resort to is a continuing dirty tricks approach to try to shift the emphasis from policy to person.If Americans have learned anything over the last 8 years,it''s the danger in letting the elephants run things.; Reply to this comment


by luvienne August 13, 2008 7:08 PM EDT: Mccain is only a puppet. He can''t even keep his facts straight. So he has to fight dirty. No substance. No ideas of his own. Runs on war record of so long ago. This is 2008. We need someone who can use his thought process and excute with Americans in mind, not the few rich Republicans. We have to learn from our past mistakes. We don''t need another dud in the White House.; Reply to this comment


by allurfears August 13, 2008 6:28 PM EDT: Put a few facts in with a pack of lies and call it a "book". Typical Rove/Republican smear and fear tactics. Will Americans fall for it again?; Reply to this comment