You know I’m having kind of a lazy day on the blog when — twice in a single day — I’m like, “Hey, did you see that awesome story Ace had two hours ago?” Anyway . . .
Wade Sanders was the “Swift Boat” officer who introduced Courageous Vietnam War Hero John Kerry at the 2004 Democratic National Convention:
During the 2004 campaign, Sanders functioned as Kerry lead attack dog against the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, repeatedly denouncing the veterans on the air as liars and comparing them to Nazi propagandists.
If Sanders had been a Republican (or a Catholic priest) you might have heard a bit more about this little news item a few years ago:
Agents took Wade Rowland Sanders into custody on November 7 [2008] following a two-and-a-half year investigation. They say — and Sanders, in court, admitted — he had hundreds of images showing minors in sexual acts. The files included a 21-minute video depicting young girls engaged with an adult man, court records obtained by the San Diego Union Tribune indicate.
So why would his motives be “pure and innocent,” as Wade Sanders is quoted as saying in the Tribune‘s report? He had worked with the Clinton administration on helping child sex abuse victims internationally, he says, and had downloaded the files to research an article related to the subject. He claims he didn’t know viewing the material for research purposes would constitute a crime.
“I have no sexual attraction to children whatsoever,” Sanders tells the paper. “There was no evil intent.”
Ah, yes — the old “research” defense: Your honor, I didn’t actually mean to rob that bank. I was just researching the psychological impact of waving a pistol in the face of a bank teller!
(Aside: Did you ever notice that it’s always “hundreds of images” in these arrests? Never just one or two.)
OK, so it’s really awful that this guy turned out to be a creepazoid felon doing a three-year stretch in prison, but he’s still a legit war hero, right? Eh, not so much:
The Navy Times (no link) reported last week that Navy Secretary Ray Mabus stripped the Silver Star from a Vietnam swift boat veteran, Capt. Wade Sanders . . . Sanders is . . . best known as the man who introduced John Kerry at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and, ironically, vouched for the authenticity of Kerry’s service.
C’mon, Ben Smith, “ironically”? Because if you really think about it, there’s no irony at all: John Kerry is a dishonest braggart, and who else is going to “vouch for the authenticity” of a dishonest braggart’s tale, except a craven liar?
John Kerry is a “hero.” Wade Sanders is a “researcher.”
And I’m not stealing Ace’s stuff, I’m paying tribute.
That’s a 9 pound, nearly 2 foot long piece of pissed off American right there. Fortunately, we calmed him down for a better pose with dad:
