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Texans for Truth

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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. The group was founded by Glenn Smith, a Texas Democratic political consultant. Smith is an Austin resident who ran Democrat Tony Sanchez's unsuccessful 2002 campaign for Texas governor. 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.

Membership and organization

On its website, the TfT states that it was established by "the 20,000-member Texas online activist group, DriveDemocracy.org". DriveDemocracy is an organization started in April 2004 by MoveOn.org, a large advocacy group opposing Bush. Glenn Smith, the head of TfT, once a political reporter for the Houston Chronicle and Houston Post, has worked as a Democratic political consultant on several campaigns, including 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]

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], and maintains that "the president served honorably in the National Guard, fulfilled his duties and was honorably discharged." [3] Questions about his National Guard record, including the recent revelations of some military documents, have dogged Bush since 2000 when he first ran for President. See George W. Bush military service controversy for more information.

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. (See the video and the transcript.) 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?" See George W. Bush military service controversy for a detailed discussion of this allegation.

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]

News articles about TfT

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