swiftboats
Undermines with lies
Swiftboat (also swift boat or Swift Boat) originally refers to a small, fast naval patrol craft used during the Vietnam War.
The term gained political meaning from the 2004 presidential campaign, when a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacked John Kerry's war record with disputed claims.
To swiftboat someone now means to undermine a political opponent through coordinated, often misleading attacks on their perceived strengths: They tried to swiftboat her military credentials.
Vietnamese river's coastal plain
- riverineOf or by streams
- inshoreClose to the coast
- Gulf of TonkinInlet between Vietnam, China
- interdictionAuthoritative prohibition or blockade
firefight · insertion · extraction · gunner · coxswain · mortar · ambush · flak jacket
Destroying someone's good name
- discreditingDamaging another's reputation
- defamationFalse statements harming reputation
- mudslingingMalicious personal attacks
- disinformationIntentional deceptive falsehoods
negative campaigning · propaganda · distortion · misleading · unsubstantiated · fabrication · manipulation · partisan
Mekong Delta
Vietnamese river's coastal plain
- riverineOf or by streams
- inshoreClose to the coast
- Gulf of TonkinInlet between Vietnam, China
interdiction · firefight · insertion · extraction · gunner · coxswain · mortar · ambush · flak jacket
character assassination
Destroying someone's good name
- discreditingDamaging another's reputation
- defamationFalse statements harming reputation
- mudslingingMalicious personal attacks
disinformation · negative campaigning · propaganda · distortion · misleading · unsubstantiated · fabrication · manipulation · partisan · innuendo
swiftboatsendorses
Gives public support to
champions · defends · vindicates · vouches for · promotes