Dodd to give Swift Boater the boot

Guest posted by David Lightman at 11:46 am CDT

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd said today he will "strongly oppose" the nomination of Sam Fox, a big Republican contributor--and backer of the 2004 Swift Boat Veterans campaign against John Kerry--as ambassador to Belgium.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to vote Wednesday on the Fox matter, a month after Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., the Democrats' 2004 presidential nominee, grilled the St. Louis businessman on why he supported the Swift Boat group.

That group relentlessly attacked Kerry's war record. Dodd's stance puts him directly at odds with Connecticut's junior senator, Joseph I. Lieberman, who last month took the unusual step of appearing before the committee to lavish praise on Fox, saying the nominee "represents what America is all about," and touting him as a potentially "extraordinary ambassador."

Dodd, D-Conn., did not mention Lieberman today, but made it clear he does not want Fox in the job. "U.S. ambassadors need to be both responsible and credible," Dodd said, "and Mr. Fox's support for an organization known to have spread falsehoods illustrates neither."

And, Dodd said, "the fact that Mr. Fox refused to apologize for his behavior during his nomination hearing reinforces my belief that he would not be an acceptable respresentative for the position of U.S. ambassador." The Swift Boat group, which merged with another organization in September 2004 and became Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, was funded largely by wealthy GOP donors, many from Texas.

Fox gave $50,000, and a total of $26 million was raised. Among its charge were that Kerry, a three-time Purple Heart winner, had "exaggerated claims about his own service in Vietnam" and that his initial discharge from the Navy was "less than honorable." It also sponsored a "Kerry lied" rally and ran a series of anti-Kerry ads.

Kerry vigorously denied its charges, and when Fox appeared before the committee, the senator wrestled with him for nearly 10 minutes over the contribution. The senator wanted to know who asked Fox to give the money; Fox could not recall. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., wondered why Fox simply could not say he had made a mistake.

The clips of Kerry and Fox tangling became popular on the Internet--and so did Lieberman's testimony. The Connecticut senator appeared before Kerry, and was not present when Kerry and Fox sparred.