Kerry: Give money to stop Republican ‘swiftboating’ of Obama

Democratic Sen. John Kerry charged in an Obama campaign fundraising appeal on Thursday that Republicans planned to "swiftboat" the president in the run-up to the elections and pleaded for donations to fight back, stressing that he wished "like hell" that the term would vanish from politics.

"When I was the Democratic nominee for president in one of the closest and toughest elections in history, a group of billionaires did something unprecedented: They wrote million-dollar checks to fund lies about my service on what were called 'Swift Boats' in Vietnam—and in so doing, they turned the boats my crewmates and I served on into a new political shorthand for the most vicious smears imaginable: 'swiftboating,'" Kerry said, referring to his 2004 run against then-President George W. Bush.

"I wish like hell that the term was retired from the American political lexicon, and returned to its real meaning," said Kerry. "But guess what: Bob Perry, the deep-pocketed funder of the 'Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,' just gave $3 million to Mitt Romney's super PAC.

"I know all too clearly that these guys will do or say anything to win. They'll stop at nothing. But forewarned is forearmed. Their multi-million dollar smear tactics were new in 2004; in 2012 we know their playbook, and shame on us if we don't tear it into shreds. Join me and we will stop the 'swiftboating' of President Obama," the Massachusetts lawmaker said.The Obama campaign has outraised all of the president's Republican opponents, but top aides have openly worried that some supporters may be sitting on the sidelines and they have complained that the long Republican primary season has deflated their fundraising efforts. At times, the campaign has walked a fine line between expressing confidence that Obama will win another term and trying to motivate Democrats with dire warnings about his prospects.

More popular Yahoo! News stories:

• Gingrich cuts staff for lean march to convention

• Nancy Pelosi applauds Bobby Rush's 'courage' for wearing a hoodie on House floor

• Obama goads Congress to end tax breaks for large oil companies

Want more of our best political stories? Visit The Ticket or connect with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or add us on Tumblr. Handy with a camera? Join our Election 2012 Flickr group to submit your photos of the campaign in action.