Return of the Swift Boaters

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"More than three years after John Kerry's bitter defeat, at the dawn of what looks like a far more promising campaign cycle for the Democrats, the party is still haunted by the specter of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth," observes Christopher Hayes. The Swift Boaters, a front group for the Republican party, spread disinformation about Kerry's war record in Vietnam, contributing to his defeat in the 2004 U.S. presidential election. As the 2008 election intensifies, Hayes writes, "Federal Election Commission records of the group's top twenty donors" reveal that "they've been remarkably active in this cycle, contributing and bundling nearly $200,000 to presidential candidates," including several of the top Republican contenders. "We may wish we were done with the Swift Boaters," Hayes writes, "but they aren't done with us."