Dept. of Now He Tells Us
Posted on | February 28, 2007
Sure, George Bush promotes only partisan loyalists to government office, but his chutzpah still raises eyebrows, as when in December he nominated Sam Fox to the post of US Ambassador to Belgium. Fox is best known as a major donor to the inaptly-named Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, purveyors of the lowest of smear campaigns in the 2004 election cycle.
In Tuesday’s Senate confirmation hearing for Mr. Fox, he faced questioning by his victim, Sen. John Kerry, he was quick to duck responsibility, even contradicting the Swifties he bankrolled:
Fox was a major backer of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a so-called non-partisan ‘527′ advocacy group that attacked Senator Kerry’s military service record in the 2004 election. In December, the group paid a large cash settlement to the Federal Election Commission for violating federal election laws. Fox gave $50,000 to the Swift Boat Vets group.
When Kerry confronted Fox on this subject in yesterday’s hearing, Fox criticized all 527 groups, and said “You’re a hero. And there isn’t anybody or anything that’s going to take that away from you. But yet 527s tried to.”
As Kerry followed up, Fox pleaded ignorance, suggesting that he wasn’t fully aware that he had given the large sum to the 527 group. When Kerry asked who had made the request that he give to the Swift Boat Vets, the nominee responded, “I can’t tell you specifically who did because, you know, I don’t remember.”
The senator then asked how he could rationalize giving to 527 groups when he abhors them as a concept and thinks they should be banned.
“I did it because politically, it’s necessary if the other side is doing it,” Fox responded.
