Politics and Hypocrisy

McCain Disses Veterans Again

For a candidate that claims to be pro-veteran, John McCain sure seems to be doing a good job of pissing them off.

Paul Riekhoff, director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, whom already has McCain rated “D” for his voting record on issues related to it members, is slamming the GOP Presidential nominee for completely ignoring Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans during his acceptance speech at the RNC. For some reason he thinks McCain should have done more than show a picture of Walter Reed, that would be the middle school not the hospital, as a backdrop during his speech.

RIECKHOFF: I think honestly that backdrop, whether it was Walter Reed medical center or Walter Reed middle school — that’s about as close as Sen. McCain got to veterans issues last night. He didn’t mention the word veteran once during his entire speech, didn’t talk about post-traumatic stress disorder, didn’t talk about veterans funding. I think he really forgot where he came from last night.

At least McCain can’t be accused of being inconsistent. He ignores all veterans equally except for the one POW who somehow managed to learn how to be President in the Hanoi Hilton which he discusses all the time.

Touching But…

If you happened to catch the “Pledge of Allegiance” video on Tuesday at the GOP convention, you might have thought it to be quite touching. If you missed it, I have embedded it below.

What isn’t as touching and what the GOP failed to mention is despite over 4500 military deaths and a similar number of funerals since we went to “war”, they instead decided to hire actors for the military funeral scene in the video, much to the dismay of some veterans groups.

Brandon Friedman from VetVoice:

The issue here isn’t that the RNC used actors in what might have been a haste. Rather, the underlying problem is that Bush and McCain supporters don’t like to deal with the messy reality of warfare that genuine troops bring to the table. That is, they feel compelled to stage a funeral with actors. Because to show a real military funeral–with the heaving chests of a broken family clutching a flag-draped coffin containing the pieces of their dead soldier–might just make the funny hat-clad, stupid button-wearing audience blanch. And that doesn’t make for good TV. Plus, people just wouldn’t go for it. So they use sanitized actors.

But this is an insult to the military. The use of actors shows an unwillingness to face up to what they’ve done–to the military and to the nation. And it shows that the only way to keep up support for the war is to hide its reality from the American people.

McCain Again Takes Credit For New GI Bill

You may or may not remember the discussions regarding the new 21st Century GI Bill, you know the one that John McCain spoke out against, failed to return to the Senate to vote on, and then took credit for when it passed. Well he is at it again, this time taking credit for the new legislation in a speech at the VFW Convention.

I suppose from my opponent’s vantage point, veterans concerns are just one more issue to be spun or worked to advantage. This would explain why he has also taken liberties with my position on the GI Bill. In its initial version, that bill failed to address the number one education request that I’ve heard from career service members and their families — the freedom to transfer their benefits to a spouse or a child. The bill also did nothing to retain the young officer and enlisted leaders who form the backbone of our all-volunteer force.

As a political proposition, it would have much easier for me to have just signed on to what I considered flawed legislation. But the people of Arizona, and of all America, expect more from their representatives than that, and instead I sought a better bill. I’m proud to say that the result is a law that better serves our military, better serves military families, and better serves the interests of our country. (emphasis mine)

Is he too proud to admit that he had nothing to do with it? Apparently so, but why let something like the truth get in the way of his consistently false pro-veteran talking points.

Good News For McCain

As veterans wait endlessly in line at the various VA facilities or are forced to take up residence in some due to debilitating wartime injuries, victims in part, of  John McCain’s horrible veterans voting record, McCain can at least take solace in the knowledge that they will not be able to register to vote while waiting.

WHAT is the secretary of Veterans Affairs thinking? On May 5, the department led by James B. Peake issued a directive that bans nonpartisan voter registration drives at federally financed nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and shelters for homeless veterans. As a result, too many of our most patriotic American citizens — our injured and ill military veterans — may not be able to vote this November.

Sort of like the old saying that you shouldn’t go to the grocery store on an empty stomach. Something else for McCain to thank his buddy George Bush’s Administration for.

More Irony From McCain

Does anybody else besides me see the irony of having John McCain speak at the Buffalo Chip next Monday at an event to honor veterans when he has one of the poorer veterans issues voting records in the Senate? And considering the somewhat rebellious nature of the Buffalo Chip crowd during Sturgis Rally week, will he be called on his horrible voting record?

Just a reminder for those of you scoring at home:

1. IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans for America) - John McCain “D”
2. Vietnam Veterans Of America (McCain is one of course) - He voted against them 17 out of their last 26 scored votes
3. DAV (Disabled American Veterans) - John McCain has a 20% rating

Blogmore seems to think that if anything, McCain might get bit nationally by the somewhat notorious reputation of the Buffalo Chip. But if you think about it, can things be much more seedy than McCain’s veteran’s support?

UPDATE 8/4 - It appears that not all veterans in South Dakota on the day that McCain will be at the Chip will be supporting his veterans positions. From the South Dakota Democratic Party via SD Watch:

P.O. Box 1485, Sioux Falls, SD 57101

August 3, 2008

MEDIA ADVISORY

CONTACT: Rick Hauffe, Executive Director

PHONE: (605) 271-5405

South Dakota Veterans Question McCain’s Record
Sturgis, South Dakota—On Monday, August 4, 2008, at 10:00 AM, local veterans will gather at the Freedom Memorial in Sturgis City Park to call on John McCain to abandon his suggestion to ration VA care, and to highlight his unsatisfactory record on veteran’s issues including his votes against funding for service members and veterans and his opposition to the GI Bill.

McCain To Vets: I Would Ration Your Heathcare

The self proclaimed pro-veteran candidate, John McCain, is again looking to stick it to the veterans he supposedly fights for. This time he wants to ration veteran heathcare by concentrating the VA’s efforts on those with combat injuries.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s call to “concentrate” veterans’ health care on those with combat injuries is raising questions about the Arizona senator’s commitment to funding the failing VA system.

Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., said a system that treats combat veterans and non-combat veterans differently is inherently unfair. “We can care for both combat veterans and non-combat veterans if we just decide it is an important thing to do,” Filner said Thursday, one day after McCain talked at a Dover, N.H., town hall meeting about the need to concentrate veterans’ health care on people with injuries that “are a direct result of combat.”

So McCain’s idea of being pro-vet is to further limit access to heathcare to veterans? Here’s an idea Senator McCain, instead of screwing over some veterans so that others can get the care they already deserve, why don’t you work to fix the system so that none of our veterans get left out?

Then again considering McCain’s voting record on veterans issues, this latest from him should come as no surprise.

UPDATE: Retired General Robert Gard poses a few questions for Senator McCain like which one of the “non combat related injuries” should we ignore? The thousands suffering from PTSD from repeated 15 month deployments in a combat zone? How about the 15% of women soldiers that have screened positive for military sexual trama?

McCain’s Veteran Voting Record Not Very Veteran Like

If you question John McCain on why his military experience qualifies him to run the country as he likes to assert, you get everything from righteous indignation to outright changing of the subject. No matter which reaction he gives you, his surrogates come to the rescue by playing the hero card while at the same time calling the questioner’s patriotism into question.

Unfortunately for McCain, his bait and switch tactic hasn’t stopped the questioning which has started to bleed over to his lack of support for veterans. Now not only is he ignoring the tough questions about his experience, he has had to resort to lying in an attempt to preserve his veteran friendly resume as well. The latest lie fest occurred earlier this week at a town hall in Denver where a real live veteran of all people had the audacity to question McCain’s support of veterans healthcare.

McCain: “I don’t know what bill you’re referring to…and I’ll be glad to have you refer to it. The reason why I have a perfect voting record from organizations like Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion and all the other veterans’ service organizations is because I support them.”

And when further called out on this McCain added: (emphasis mine)

“I thank you and I’d be glad to examine what your version of my record is. Again, I’ve been endorsed in every election by all of the veterans’ organizations that do that. I’ve been supported by them and received the highest awards from all of those organizations, so I guess they don’t know something you know. I thank you very much and I will continue to be proud of my support for the veterans of this country.”

Excuse me, his version of McCain’s record!? Let’s look at McCain’s veterans report card as reported by the veterans groups themselves and not some John McCain fantasy to see just how much he supports those of us that have served. Why don’t we start with the just passed GI Bill.

While George Bush made sure to thank McCain’s efforts getting this passed, McCain not only didn’t support this bill, he was a vocal opponent of the legislation from day one refusing to sponsor the bill and then had such high regard for it that he didn’t even bother showing up to vote when it passed. How’s that for support?

Ok so maybe the GI bill was just a minor blip. After all even George Bush, the man that has done more to increase the number of combat veterans since Lyndon Johnson didn’t like the bill either, so how do real life veterans groups rate McCain’s veteran voting record?

1. IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans for America) - John McCain “D”
2. Vietnam Veterans Of America (McCain is one of course) - He voted against them 17 out of their last 26 scored votes
3. DAV (Disabled American Veterans) - John McCain has a 20% rating

So Mr McCain despite your claims to the contrary, you are not pro-veteran and any claim you make to that effect is an out and out lie. And while Barack Obama hasn’t played the pro-veteran card like you consistently do, he did feel it was important enough to show up and vote to pass the 21st century GI Bill and his score card from the same veterans groups paints a slightly different picture:

1. IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans for America) - Barack Obama “B+”
2. Vietnam Veterans Of America - He voted for them all but 1 time.
3. DAV - Barack Obama has an 80% rating

So who exactly is the pro-veteran candidate again? I will give you a hint, it isn’t the one that likes to play the veteran card.

Labor union veterans have figured that out and one day maybe even the MSM will as well. But then again if they call him out on it they might lose their seat on the “Straight Talk Express” so I wouldn’t hold your breath.