RNC says Kerry can't have it both ways

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NEW YORK, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- A top Republican Thursday accused Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry of trying to have it both ways as GOP leaders gathered in New York.

"Shadow groups formed for the expressed purpose of defeating President Bush and electing John Kerry have spent $63 million attacking the president, while John Kerry remained silent," Republican National Chairman Ed Gillespie told members of GOP's national committee.

"But when anti-Kerry groups began to run ads against him," Gillespie said, "(Kerry) thunders in righteous indignation."

Kerry's accusation that the White House has been directing the activities of the anti-Kerry group, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, does not measure up, he said. The mere fact people in the Swift Boat group knew White House adviser Karl Rove does not prove illegal activity, he added.

Likewise, Gillespie said, Kerry cannot hold up the fact that attorney Ben Ginsberg gave legal advice to the Swift Boat Veterans' group while serving as outside counsel to the Bush-Cheney campaign as "evidence of illegal coordination when Bob Bauer serves as legal counsel to both the Kerry campaign and America Coming Together and Joe Sandler serves as general counsel to the Democratic National Committee and to Moveon.Org and Moving America Forward all at the same time."

"John Kerry can't have it both ways," Gillespie told the committee.