Texans for Truth (TfT) is a political advocacy organization, registered under Section 527 of the United States tax code, formed to oppose George W. Bush's re-election efforts in the 2004 presidential election. In September 2004, the group began airing advertisements in various swing states that challenged Bush's National Guard record, particularly as to whether or not he fulfilled his obligations to serve. A 527 group, named after a section of the United States tax code, is a tax-exempt organization that is created primarily to influence the nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates for public office. ... A tax is an involuntary fee paid by individuals or businesses to a state, or to functional equivalents of a state, including tribes, secessionist movements or revolutionary movements. ... Order: 43rd President Vice President: Dick Cheney Term of office: January 20, 2001 – Present Preceded by: Bill Clinton Succeeded by: Incumbent Date of birth: July 6, 1946 Place of birth: New Haven, Connecticut First Lady: Laura Welch Bush Political party: Republican George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In United States presidential politics, a swing state (also, battleground state) is a state in which no candidate has overwhelming support, meaning that any of the major candidates have a reasonable chance of winning the states electoral college votes. ... George W. Bush in uniform The George W. Bush military service controversy is an ongoing American political controversy regarding U.S. President George W. Bush and the differing contentions about his service with the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. ...

Membership and organization

On its website, the TfT states that it was established by "the 20,000-member Texas online activist group, DriveDemocracy.org (http://www.drivedemocracy.org)". DriveDemocracy is an organization started in April 2004 by MoveOn.org, a large advocacy group opposing Bush. Glenn Smith of Austin, the founder and head of TfT, is a former political reporter for the Houston Chronicle and Houston Post. He has worked as a Democratic political consultant on several campaigns, including Democrat Tony Sanchez's campaign for governor of Texas in 2002. Smith said he started TfT in response to another 527 group, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, that challenged the legitimacy of how Senator John Kerry received his Vietnam War medals as well as his accounts about the Vietnam War. [1] (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6693-2004Sep8.html) State nickname: Lone Star State Other U.S. States Capital Austin Largest city Houston Governor Rick Perry Official languages None. ... A group of MoveOn volunteers helped the get-out-the-vote drive in Cincinnati in the run-up to the 2004 U.S. presidential election. ... Skyline from Town Lake Austin is the capital of the state of Texas, within the United States of America. ... The Houston Chronicle is a daily newspaper in Houston, Texas. ... The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States. ... You may be looking for the Puerto Rican actor/producer or the Mexican jazz drummer, both named Antonio Sanchez. ... In politics, Governor of Texas is the title given to the chief executive of the state of Texas. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, formerly known as the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT), is an organization of American Swift boat veterans and former prisoners of war of the Vietnam War, formed during the 2004 presidential election campaign. ... John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts. ... The Vietnam War was a war fought roughly from 1957 to 1975 after the North Vietnamese government secretly agreed to begin involvement in South Vietnam. ...

The Bush-Cheney campaign dismissed TfT as "a smear group launching baseless attacks on behalf of John Kerry's campaign that will be rejected by the American people" [2] (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6693-2004Sep8_2.html), and maintains that "the president served honorably in the National Guard, fulfilled his duties and was honorably discharged." [3] (http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-09-07-texas-ad_x.htm) Various questions about his National Guard record, including those based on information from military documents, have been raised against Bush since the 2000 presidential campaign and even before that, in 1994 and 1998 when he twice won election as the Governor of Texas. This article describes only the participation in this long-standing dispute by the Texans for Truth organization. For a comprehensive review of the allegations, responses, and evidence, see George W. Bush military service controversy. 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1994 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... George W. Bush in uniform The George W. Bush military service controversy is an ongoing American political controversy regarding U.S. President George W. Bush and the differing contentions about his service with the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. ...

Media activities

First television advertisement

The first advertisement features testimony from Bob Mintz, a lieutenant colonel in the 187th Alabama Air National Guard unit in 1972, where George Bush was assigned to serve that year. (video (http://www.texansfortruth.com/)| transcript (http://www.texansfortruth.com/script.html)) In the video, Mintz claims that he never saw George Bush, and is quoted contending that "It would be impossible to be unseen in a unit of that size." The ad concludes by asking: "Was George W. Bush AWOL in Alabama?"

Second television advertisement

The second advertisement (video (http://www.texansfortruth.com/watch.html)) reiterates the charges against George W. Bush that he did not fulfill his military service requirements but also accuses George H. W. Bush of pulling strings in order for his son to get into the Texas Air National Guard. In addition, the advertisement quotes Bush's statement on Meet the Press (February 8, 2004) that he would authorize release of his records, and it criticizes him because he has not signed the actual form (Standard Form 180) to effect the release: "You pledged to release all of your military records, but you've not signed the papers to do so. Sign them now. Keep your word." February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Reward

In September 2004, Texans for Truth offered a $50,000 reward to anyone who could prove that Bush fulfilled his service requirements by either "first-hand, eye-witness testimony," or authentic "documentary evidence." [4] (http://www.texansfortruth.com/reward.html) The offer expired on September 30 with the prize not having been awarded.

FEC complaint

On September 25, 2004 the Houston Chronicle reported that Democracy 21, the Campaign Legal Center and the Center for Responsive Politics had filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Texans for Truth, alleging violations of campaign finance laws. September 25 is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years). ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Houston Chronicle is a daily newspaper in Houston, Texas. ... The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an agency created to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1975 (FECA), the statute that regulates the financing of federal elections in the United States. ...

These watchdog organizations also previously complained to the FEC about Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and other pro-Republican groups.

External links

• Texans for Truth (http://www.texansfortruth.com)
• "Texans for Truth" (http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Texans_for_Truth) Disinfopedia article

News articles about Texans for Truth

• "'Texans for Truth' ad challenges Bush on Guard service" (http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-09-07-texas-ad_x.htm) USA Today, September 7, 2004
• "Records Say Bush Balked at Order" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6693-2004Sep8.html) - Washington Post, September 9, 2004
• "TV writer gives $100G to Texans for Truth" (http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040909_1900.html) ABC News - Sept. 9, 2004
• "Swift Boat Vets, Texans Battle for 'Truth' " (http://www.adweek.com/aw/national/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000641141) Adweek.com - Sept. 23 2004