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May 20, 2008

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I won't go so far as to say that McCain is "against the troops" or any such nonsense, but I think it's crystal clear that taking care of veterans does not rank high on his priority list. At least, not when weighed against tax cuts for the wealthy, corporate interests, or other conservative ideological bugaboos.

Not that I'm surprised, but...wow.

Good for you for actually taking the time to check facts. Far too often quantity reigns over quality in the blogesphere.

He doesn't want his wife to have to pay for it, huh?

Great research. Too many times, in the cloak rooms, deals are formed and the veteran gets hammered. I guess McCain and his cronies think providing veterans with good care amounts to pork barrel spending. McCain received the benefit of good care when he returned from Vietnam. Present day vets deserve the same. If we didn't have to pay for this tragic war, the money would probably be there.

We need to take care of our veterans and for sure the Vietnam vet.

That McCain takes no real flak for opposing Sen. Webb's bill that would expand veterans' benefits is amazing.

Dan Abrams created a regular McMain segment on his 9 pm MSNBC show a couple of months ago that summed things up regarding the media's affection for the Senator.

Its title: "Teflon John."

"and for sure the Vietnam vet."

Why do you write that vets of other wars are vets we should be less sure about supporting?

Clearly he doesn't want to raise taxes to pay for increased benifits, and 'closing corporate tax loopholes' is a snarky way of saying 'raising comporate taxes', which are the second highest in the world BTW - eliminating the mortgage interest deduction would also be closing a 'tax loophole'.

What earmarks were also attached to these bills? Is it unwarranted for him to vote against a bill that includes massive amounts of waste or duplication of bureaucracy? In these cases is it McCain who is doing a disservice to veterans, or is it the other senator that is holding veterans hostage to their pet project by attaching it to their bill?

And is it good for the country to allow veterans to declare bankruptcy no matter their income and assets?

Josh,

You raise some legit questions.

But shouldn't McCain -- perhaps the most famous veteran in this country -- put his money where his mouth is and author a bill of his own that would truly (and without earmarks) help our veterans?

He's a flip flopper...pretty clear!!

did you hear McCains excuse for voting against expanded education funding for vets? He was afraid it would make them want to leave the service, crippling whatever strategy they are pushing now...

McCain is looking more and more like that Effing Clinton.
"I abhore the Military"
Clinton said that before he was elected and still a lot of Vetrans voted for him.

McCain has a lot of nerve accusing Hussein of changing his positions. McCain changed his daily.

For a Vietnam Vet like him it's so sad to see someone whose medical care and benefits is paid for by our taxes short change and short sheet today's and previous Vets from all Wars.
I'm not for the War on Terror, but you can't short supply the Americans that are willing to fight it!! To vote against Vets benefits,education,job training,etc. one might as well be having tea with the Taliban.

Typical Republican, all Blood and Guts for the fight, but run for cover whe it comes to caring for the Vets!!

He voted against bills that "funded themselves" because they included JACKED UP TAXES that the Democrats included which he believed were wrong. He didn't vote against the benefits, he voted against the TAXES!

As a VietNam vet I can speak with some authority when I say that the Republican party is very good at sending our men and women into battle while doing what ever is necessary to deny them the benefits they were promised when they signed on the dotted line.
The Bush administration including McCain have let the Iraq war consume so much of our budget to the point that we are borrowing trillions from foreign countries in order to keep the war going that they cannot afford to HONOR the promises made to returning vets. McCain has voted 12 times against increased VA funding in the past 4 years as indicated in this article. That is reprehensible. And it is not limited to middle east veterans. I have seen my benefits erode away year after year.
Agent Orange has faded away as a footnote in history books. My 92 yo father, a WWII vet never asked for a dime from the VA his entire life. That is until he needed medication that costs him $150 a month which is not paid for by medicare. It took 18 months and Congressional intervention before the VA finally gave him what he was entitled to. He could have died in the interim just as many elderly do because they cannot afford the medicine they need.
What you all forget is that these politicians whether they are veterans or not get their health care free for the rest of their lives. And YOU pay for it!

my dad is a vietnam vet, and thinks john mccain has voted FOR vets on every single bill that's ever existed. why? because he watches FOX NEWS. i try and explain to my parents that he's voted against vets more times than for them, i've even printed out his voting record for them to see- since FOX NEWS once mentioned web sites feeding false info online, they don't believe anything i've sent. they are all for the mccain/idiot ticket all the way- it's sad, we don't talk much anymore.

It has been my understanding for many years that bills get rejected due to the add-ons which include too much pork barrell spending. Many times these slip through the cracks, but with the economy headed downhill the past few years more people are looking at the "pork" spending and calling their elected representatives to ask about it.

Thank you. For your incisive writing and your hard work. Wish you were one of the Op Ed writers for the NY Times. You've got your feet on the ground.

And Palin? I keep remembering something my late Special Forces partner said, "Hunt? You mean animals? Hell, no. Hunting animals with a gun is pure arrogance and cowardice. When it's human against human, then it is a different story.

Fats, try not to feel bad. Its the same way with most veterans, and those serving in the military right now. They see and hear POW in all the Fox accounts, and automatically assume he's their guy. They dont WANT to see or hear the truth. Its pitiful. Those same guy will be echoing your thoughts 20 years from now when the VA sends them they're "disability not found to be service connected" letter. Its a vicious cycle...

And now...the rest of the story. You got who you wanted for President. Now, instead of complaining that McCain isn't "increasing" benefits, you get your candidate and find that he is proposing cuts in benefits, e.g., requiring service connected injuries to be covered by private health insurance. He is so dumb, he doesn't even realize that private insurance policies do not cover pre-existing conditions, do not cover injuries caused by war, and have lifetime maximums of about 1 million which is used up by treatment for one war injury, thereby leaving our wounded with no coverage at all for the rest of their lives. BO didn't even listen to 11 veterans groups, and only scrapped the idea after being told it was DOA by Congress who were inundated by millions of angry letters and phone calls. Be careful what you wish for........it may be a lot worse than you can imagine. Change....yes, it is change all right, but none for the better.

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