Birds of a feather

We remember our buddy, Steve Gardner, from the Not-Too-Swift Bitter Old Men Who Lost the Last Big War. When we last left Steve he claimed that he was fired for opposing John Kerry (tall guy with a Bronze Star, a Silver Star and three Purple Hearts…that guy). The truth…maybe not what he said:

Gardner’s claims were first described November 29 by Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Laney in a column titled “How Kerry whistleblower suffered for truth”; it was linked to by the high-traffic Internet gossip website The Drudge Report on the same day under the headline “John Kerry Swiftboat ‘brother’ destroyed after speaking out…” FOX News Channel host Brit Hume repeated the allegations during the “Grapevine” segment of Special Report that evening. On November 30, Gardner was a guest on FOX News Channel’s Hannity & Colmes. A December 1 Washington Times editorial, titled “A Veteran in Need,” called for financial donations to Gardner, who described himself as “broke” in the Sun-Times article.

During his November 30 Hannity & Colmes appearance, Gardner claimed he was fired “24 hours” after a March 9 TIME magazine article titled “The Tenth Brother” by Kerry biographer and historian Douglas Brinkley noted Gardner’s opposition to Kerry’s presidential bid. But co-host Alan Colmes told Gardner that he had contacted Gardner’s former employer, Millennium Information Services, and the company claimed it “had no idea of your political connections.” Colmes also reported the company’s contention that “two other people were let go the same day having nothing to do with politics.” Company officials noted this in a statement PDF; the company also claims that Gardner has declined other employment opportunities within the company.

[…]

In at least two interviews, Gardner claimed personal knowledge of the circumstances leading to Kerry’s first Purple Heart; and spoke with authority about the events leading to Kerry’s Bronze Star, despite the fact that he had admitted that he was not present for the incidents leading to Kerry’s receipt of the medal or any of Kerry’s three Purple Hearts. Gardner has also falsely claimed that three of Kerry’s other crewmates — James Wasser, Drew Whitlow, and Steven Hatch — “felt the same way that I felt about John Kerry” before they joined the Kerry campaign. But, as Media Matters previously noted, comments from Wasser in Brinkley’s TIME article directly contradict Gardner’s claim. Further, although Gardner claimed in the Sun-Times article that “I had no and have no political agenda whatsoever,” Brinkley reported that Gardner expressed disdain for Democrats: “[H]arsh as this may sound or as good as it sounds to any Democrat, out there, John Kerry is another ‘Slick Willy.’ He’s another Bill Clinton and that’s exactly what he is. And I’m telling you right now, that if John Kerry gets to be president of these United States, it’ll be a sorry day in this world for us. We can’t stand another Democrat like that in there again.”

So, is Steve Gardner living in a refrigerator box in some alley with the riff-raff? Well, no. But he is hanging out with riff-raff:

Steve Gardner, member of the effective 527 group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, is getting legal and financial help from Gary Aldrich, former whistle-blower and president of The Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty. Gardner, also know as “The 10th Brother”, was one of two men who courageously refused to stand with Senator John Kerry at the Democratic convention. As a result of this and an interview he gave stressing his strong opposition to a Kerry presidency, Gardner suffered threats, insults, and, finally, a mysterious firing from his lucrative employment. Gardner, an exemplary manager, was fired within 24-hours of the release of the article detailing his strong opinions against Kerry. In a phone call, Gardner’s former manager admitted that top company officials were “Democrats” but denied that Gardner’s anti-Kerry stance played any part.

[…]

Gary Aldrich: “I contacted Steve Gardner and offered my help. It’s very important that when a whistle-blower has the courage to reveal significant truth bearing on important decisions made by our countrymen, that that whistle-blower is not punished, and at the end of the day is no worse off for doing the right thing.”

Gary Aldrich suffered similar retaliation when his best-selling book, Unlimited Access: An FBI Agent Inside the Clinton White House, rankled the Clintons’ and the Reno Justice Department where Aldrich was employed as an FBI agent in the White House in 1996. Because of the attacks on Aldrich and his subsequent vindication, he formed The Patrick Henry Center to assist and inspire other whistle-blowers to come forward.

That would be Gary “Crack Pipes & Condoms On The Clinton Christmas Tree” Aldrich.

I imagine that Gardner and Aldrich will spend many an evening swapping stories over a Zima or two, like the time John Kerry spit on Gardner and called him a “baby killer” when he returned from Viet Nam.

It really happened because you just read it on the internets.