Inhofe Quietly Withdraws Support From 21st Century GI Bill
Inhofe Quietly Withdraws Support From 21st Century GI Bill
On Tuesday, around 100 veterans and a dozen congressmen gathered on Capitol Hill to rally in support of Sen. Jim Webb’s (D-VA) 21st Century G.I. Bill, which boasts the bipartisan support of 56 cosponsors.
In seeking the support of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) — whom Webb said “needs to get on the bill” in order to secure more Republican support — Webb told McCain “several times that this is not a political issue.” Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) pointed to the bill’s bipartisan support: “[P]eople like John Warner and James Inhofe are on it.”
According to the Congressional record, however, Inhofe (R-OK) quietly removed his name from the list of cosponsors on Tuesday — the same day as the Capitol Hill rally:
After months of stalling, McCain introduced his own competing bill last week, in an apparent attempt to peel off conservatives supporters from Webb’s bill. McCain suggested Webb’s staff “has not been eager to negotiate,” to which Webb retorted, “He’s so full of it. I have personally talked to John three times.”
Unlike Webb’s bill, McCain’s proposal pegs benefits to the length of time served in active duty, reserving the most generous benefits to older soldiers who signed up before 9/11. He purports to be concerned over military reenlistment, an argument fueled this week when Secretary of Defense Robert Gates asserted on Tuesday that “our first objective is to strengthen the All-Volunteer Force.” He warned that “serious retention issues could arise” under a too-generous GI bill.
Of course, as the Boston Globe pointed out, the “promise of an education in return for serving the country is one of the most frequently cited reasons that young men and women join the military.” What’s more, keeping Americans in the military by denying them better options is simply morally bankrupt, as VoteVets Chairman Jon Soltz and Gen. Wesley Clark wrote recently:
[I]t is morally reprehensible to fix the system so that civilian life is unappealing to service members, in an attempt to force them to re-up. Education assistance is not a handout, it is a sacred promise that we have made for generations in return for service.
Email or call Sen. Inhofe and demand that he get back on the Webb bill: (202) 224-4721.
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suppoting the troops my ass!
May 1st, 2008 at 3:18 pmIt’s so unlike Inhofe to remove himself from reality and take a position based on lies.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:18 pmcorrection: supporting the troops my ass!
we can’t have an enhanced or improved GI Bill, why the troops might not re-up. Let them be cannon fodder for all their lives.
snarking
May 1st, 2008 at 3:20 pmAh – ain’t it just great how these Repukes SUPPORT OUR TROOPS?????
Bastards. Evil bastards.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:21 pmInhofe must no doubt feel this bill endorses the science of global warming. Somehow.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:23 pmAnd how will you be celebrating Memorial Day this year, Sen. Inhofe? A nice big photo op home state parade, with plenty of soldiers in uniform for backdrop?
How about you, St. John McBush? Even bigger photo op moment @ some American Legion post with the cameras rolling?
You bastards.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:24 pmMcCain seems to be trying to walk a razor-thin line: promise enough in benefits so that a tour in the military is attractive to recruits, but don’t promise so much that they’ll actually look forward to a life after the military.
What McCain appears to want is a dynamic similar to what the tighty-righties accuse Democrats of fostering with welfare; draw ‘em in, get ‘em hooked, keep ‘em dependent.
I’m a little surprised it took Imhofe this long to actually recognize this.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:25 pmWhy do Imhofe & McCain hate education?
Apparently this is a recent idea by the RNC to try & discredit Sen. Webb of any significant legislation. He introduced this a long time ago, McCain flip-flopped again, and now the ‘reddest of the red’, Imhofe, realizes he may be accused of supporting Webb. (Crazy, yes, but these are Repukes, after all.)
Now, watch the media avoid telling the truth, but couching the story in words like ‘and today, another prominent Senator withdrew support for Webb’s GI Bill.
Words have power, & the media owns the words, the times, the channels and, apparently, our Democracy.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:25 pmEducation assistance is not a handout, it is a sacred promise that we have made for generations in return for service.
It is especially necessary for this group of GI’s considering what we have put them through. With something like half the returning soldiers having some form of mental problem from their service, having something to look forward to, like getting an education, will go a long way towards their healing. Which do you think will have a better outcome. A soldier who comes home with PTSD who has lost their job and has no real good job prospects in front of them, or the same soldier coming home with the prospect of going to college which will give them a chance for a better future.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:25 pmWebb needs to get a vote on his bill now. He was trying to get 60 Senators so that the Republicans couldn’t filibuster the bill, but he needs to give up on that. This is a perfect time to put his bill forth. If the Republicans filibuster the bill, then the Democrats can scream from the rooftops how the Republicans don’t care about our troops. It will also give Democrats who are running against the Republican Senators who vote against the bill a really good issue for an advertisement. It’s time that the Democrats start pushing back on the Republicans. If they have a bill, make the Republicans vote against it. Don’t fold when the Republicans threaten a filibuster, make them do it! Make them stand there for days reading telephone books. Don’t back down Democrats!
May 1st, 2008 at 3:33 pmCaption: I solemnly swear my entire family has never had a gay member, a divorce within it, we have never missed Church, we don’t curse, and we believe Bush is God…
May 1st, 2008 at 3:37 pmThe idea that retention will suffer under a better G.I. Bill is absurd. There are more reasons right now with our economy on the slide for service members to remain Active. The seventies are good example. Even with very good education benefits many of us stayed in because of rapid promotion and a poor economy. After I got out of the service the G.I. Bill then was my ticket to a college education, but it wasn’t my reason for leaving.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:39 pmFor McCain and others to suggest the opposite is another example of the shabby treatment of our soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen today. What an upside down thinking bunch of idiots. Scratch the word “thinking”.
McNutzi needs to stop worrying about an incentive that makes leaving the military too attractive and start being concerned about whether even the most patriotic will see an incentive to enlist knowing how poorly and insensitively the government misuses its troops. Get this bill to the floor and vote now so everyone can see who supports the troops and who just wears a stupid lapel pin for cover.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:40 pmMcCain, Graham, Collins, Domenici and Lieberman? Add Craig and Stevens, and you’ve got a flush!
PEACE
May 1st, 2008 at 3:41 pm“morally reprehensible”
May 1st, 2008 at 3:42 pmPretty much sums up the Rethuglican party in two words.
OOPS! forgot Inhofe… sorry!
What a rogue’s gallery!
May 1st, 2008 at 3:42 pmHe’s got a red face to go with that red state of his.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:43 pmTo Republicans it’s not about doing the right thing for the troops, it’s about the Republican party and how much damage they can do to any thing Democrats bring up to the floor.
War Whores, the lot of them.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:46 pmHe has made a deal to be the secretary of interior for McSame.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:46 pmleftcoast; how long did you serve?
me, I did the minimum time required 2.5 years active, 3.5 ready reserve and got the hell out of Dodge.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:46 pmQ:When we make leaving the military ‘too attractive’, who benefits?
A: Everybody on the Planet.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:48 pmUncle Ho Says:
leftcoast; how long did you serve?
Served 12 years. I know, didn’t have far for 20, but the service had changed and I had greater earning potential having crossed trained into Club Management.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:52 pmleftcoast; you did 10 more years than I would have done. I went in during Vietnam, and it was GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!
May 1st, 2008 at 3:56 pmThe juxsaposition of these two pictures is priceless. Thanks TP.
Obviously Bush is the recipient of Proctologist Inhofe’s gently probing finger.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:59 pmInhofe is a prime schmuck and I don’t mean a jewel! He may have been concerned that the bill might have a beneficial impact upon the environment and withdrew?
May 1st, 2008 at 4:00 pmUncle Ho- also went in during Vietnam. Wound up as a medtech working on the psychiatric wards. We worked with so many guys returning from Vietnam. It was a sad job but one that helped me grow.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:04 pmleftcoast,
May 1st, 2008 at 4:07 pmI was in charge of an amputee ward in Alameda for awhile in ‘69.
Ever work up at the Naval Hospital there?
Zimzone Says:
leftcoast,
I was in charge of an amputee ward in Alameda for awhile in ‘69.
Ever work up at the Naval Hospital there?
Zimone- that must have a rough job. No, I was Air Force, stationed at Sheppard in Texas. Clarke AB, and Lackland. Two tours at the first two.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:10 pmActually the original GI Bill provided for post-war education because millions of high-school students volunteered to serve INSTEAD of pursuing higher education, whilst the slightly later draft simply removed the option .
The modern military folded the GI-bill concept into the recruitment package. which sounded like a terrific deal when the prospects of serving a combat tour were next to nil.
Today though, we have former high-school educated kids, promised a significan college education subsidy (of credits and money), who are on their third tours (or more). IF they avoid physical injury and/or PSTD, they are coming back to a recession and higher educational costs, AND, as they are all SIOP-LOSSED, they don’t get their public education grants UNTIL THE PENTAGON SAYS THEIR SERVICE OBLIGATION IS OVER!
I know of one young Natiional Giard soldier from my neighbourhood who will begin his second Iraq tour in June. Despite being National Guard and having enrolled in college after his first tour, he’s now facing an enforced and potentially deadly sabbatical. He’s 20 now.
He may not live to see the education benefits he’s been promised and now denied, and even if he does, he won’t be able to use them properly whilst the Iraq occupation continues and stop-loss continues.
It’s chilling to know he joined the National Guard when he KNEW they had a high chance of deployment, and that upon his return from his first tour he signed-up to study Political Science. He doesn’t want to go back to Iraq, but he feels obligated to do so.
The Bush Administration, McCain, Inhofe apparently don’t feel the same kind of obligation to fulfill their ‘contract with America’ as this young man feels, and will satisfy–even if it kills him.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:10 pmnot be able to use them
Zimzone- sorry for the misspelling.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:11 pmDemocrats, make this an issue in the campaign. It’s an O’Reilly (no brainer).
May 1st, 2008 at 4:11 pmignore the very last line of text.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:11 pmStop-loss is a backdoor draft. We either draft or get out of the kitchen. But of course the draft is not in the cards until the attack on Iran which will no doubt come before the end of the Bush non-presidency.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:13 pmMy eldest brother did two tours in Vietnam- his first started during the Tet Offensive, lucky guy. My 2nd oldest bro went there when I was still in grade school- don’t worry, I’ll be back sooner’n you know to help you with your homework, kid. They found his body eventually; his name’s on the Black Wall.
McBush can go to hell- stop trying to re-fight Vietnam, run on your record since you came back, St. John. Those actions are what are important for attaining the privilege of being our President.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:18 pmAnd Yet- My heart goes out to you and to your family.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:22 pmpaleolib Says:
McNutzi needs to stop worrying about an incentive that makes leaving the military too attractive and start being concerned about whether even the most patriotic will see an incentive to enlist knowing how poorly and insensitively the government misuses its troops.
This can’t be emphasized enough. Bush has broken the military to the point where young men and women would rather be poor with no real job prospects than to join the military. At least they will be alive.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:25 pmThanks, leftcoast.
Let’s all work hard to make sure McCain doesn’t get into the WH & prolong this senseless war.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:27 pmWho’s playing politics Sen. McCain? His name would have been right at the top of this bill…next to Sen. Webb’s if he (McCain) was not running for president. He’s a no good political hack and Inhofe is right behind him. Umm..what a picture that makes! Here’s the sad news. No one will ever hear about McCain thumbing his nose at the new GI Bill because Mathews, Gregory, Abrams, O’Reilly, Hannity, Colmes, Anderson, Moe, Larry and Curly must focus on the Rev. Wright. It’s the All-Jeremiah Wright Channels. 24 hours after Obama spoke out and basically ended his relationship with his pastor, Gregory spent a full hour on it. He needed to explore the possibility that Obama might not have been sincere enough. Did you say the right things for the right people? Give it a rest people! This election process is about the three candidates; not you!!!!
May 1st, 2008 at 4:44 pmI want to say again that,while I don’t normally like brutal negative campaign ads, this year I am eagerly awaiting them from the Democratic Party supporters and candidates. I hope some group is amassing the easily obtained numerous flipflops and idiotic comments by McCain, makes a slick montage of them, and fills the TV airwaves with them. I want to bury the Republican Party so we don’t have to bury anymore of our troops.
May 1st, 2008 at 4:46 pmwhat PLC just said,
May 1st, 2008 at 5:00 pmI want to bury the Republican Party so we don’t have to bury anymore of our troops.
Mr. Webb, the nation is behind you 100%. Be patient, November is coming Mr.Vice President.
Just remember those who have turned there back on the soldiers.
I’m dumbfounded by the Republican. Hopefully this party will be destroyed after the election.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:13 pmUnlike Webb’s bill, McCain’s proposal pegs benefits to the length of time served in active duty, reserving the most generous benefits to older soldiers who signed up before 9/11.
The main problem with McCain’s plan is that most will not live long enough to reap the benefits. He knows this. That is what makes him truly evil…
May 1st, 2008 at 5:19 pmMcCains plan, give education to those who signed up knowing they didn’t have to put there lives on the line but the soldiers who signed up knowing they were going to war get nothing? WTF , WTF ? The American people are really concidering this idiot for President? WTF again.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:23 pmFascism is not about doing what is morally correct for the heroes who carry the water of the military industrial complex, it about using the heroes to carry the water for the military industrial complex…and it is carried out by scumbags, cowards, crooks, and liars.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:30 pmseek the truth http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com Once you have viewed the complete movie, you will know why the Republicans wont stop the war and not just this war. Watch it and tell your friends.
People in Europe protest anytime there governments try to take advantage of the people in favor of Corporations. What happened to the great people of this nation. If we sit back, this is what we get.
It’s time to take back our country from domestic terrorists, the Republican.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:30 pmIf you are in the military . . . get a goddamned clue . . . Republicans don’t give a good damn about you.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:48 pmTell me again how much they support the troops.
May 1st, 2008 at 7:22 pmThis bunch of morally bankrupt Republicans who only think of themselves. Lying demagogues.
Did I miss something? Is 50 votes so longer sufficient to pass something in the senate? Why, why , why dont the democratic senate leaders make the republicans fillibuster this? Are these people so incredibly retarded that they dont realize how much damage the republicans would do if they fillibustered this? Why are the dems agreeing to not force republicans to fillibuster things and just requiring 60 votes?
May 1st, 2008 at 8:17 pmDid the rethhugs do them this favor when they were in charge? Dont they realize there is no negotiation with these people? The republican idea of negotiation is to let us hand them a jar of lube before they violate us..
How about cutting the defense budget by 50% and giving the military a pay raise of 50%? Guess what – the military industrial complex wouldn’t go for that. Soldiers are an expendable asset used for for political and financial expediency. Truthfully, politicians don’t “really” give a hoot about the soldiers and their families.
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:18 amhttp://www.comedianforpresident.com/