Why are the Republicans still fighting the Vietnam War?

In spite of our best efforts to move on, the Republicans insist on bringing up the Swift Boat Vets issue and Kerry’s Vietnam record, while at the same time attacking those who simply wish to move on or point out that the credibility of that particular 527 group (sponsored by major Republican donors) is questionable at best.

First off, I have nothing but respect for ALL of the brave soldiers who have served in Vietnam and other wars and conflicts in which America has been involved. So I am not, as you say, “sick…and bent against the heroes of Vietnam.” I had many relatives and family friends who fought (and yes, died) in the war. The whole affair was a national tradegy, as it became clear the government (Democrat and Republican) was misleading the people and the war was being mismanaged.

John Kerry cannot now and could not then control how he was regarded by the North Vietnamese. That picture that the Repubilcans are touting was taken in 1993, as we tried to normalize relations with Vietnam and recover bodies from the war. As far as his testimony, he felt it was necessary to expose the truths that he saw to the American people (admittedly, perhaps making an error about a venture into Cambodia at Christmastime). It was wholly factual that attrocities were commited by both sides, just as in Iraq today. Would it have been better if Abu Gharab had never been revealed? Certainly that too was a propaganda tool for the enemy. The fact is, its better if such attrocities are never commited in the first place. It was this testimony that turned the Swiftboat Vets against Kerry, along with his activism aimed at bringing the troops home. I can certainly empathize with their feelings, especially when protesters of the time were generally hostile to soldiers. Still, Kerry felt he was doing the right thing, that he was standing up to a government misleading its people and sending soldiers to senseless slaughter. Just as the protesters of today, he too was concerned about the troops, so much so that he believed they ought be brought home.

Its true I’ve never met any of the Swift Boat Vets, but while campaigning for Kerry I did meet other Vietnam Vets who supported him; they did so because, “He was there, and he told those idiots in Washington what it was really like.”
I am a bit confused, however, as to why we are talking about this at all right now. Maybe it’s because a recent poll shows a majority of Americans disapprove of Bush’s handling of Social Security (56%), disapprove of his handling of Iraq (53%), and are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country right now (56%) [Source: http://www.pollingreport.com]. Certainly it’s easier to talk about Vietnam and the 2004 election than the fact that Bush’s “mandate”, such as it was, has vanished before his eyes.