McCain Steals Credit For GI Bill By Heralding His Own Proposal That VFW Called ‘Very Partisan’
McCain Steals Credit For GI Bill By Heralding His Own Proposal That VFW Called ‘Very Partisan’
Speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) once again tried to steal credit for the 21st Century G.I. Bill, which McCain had vigorously opposed, even submitting his own proposal to undermine the chances of success for the main bill. Today, McCain told the audience of veterans that he “sought a better bill” and declared the final passage of the GI bill “the result” of his efforts:
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.
It is audacious for McCain to go before the VFW and claim credit for a bill he nearly destroyed, considering the VFW was one of the bill’s strongest backers. It first endorsed the proposal in June 2007, and continued to press for the bill this year, rejecting McCain’s supposed concerns about military retention and stridently criticizing his alternative proposal:
VFW’s deputy director for legislative affairs Eric Hilleman: The Graham-Burr-McCain plan is “very partisan and is seen as a way to convolute the GI bill, or to slow the Webb-Hagel proposal down.”
VFW National Commander George Lisicki: “People are leaving after their first enlistment because they are tired of being shot at, and their families are tired of the frequent deployments…Whether they stay in four years or 20, we owe this newest, greatest generation the gift of education.”
In fact, tomorrow the VFW will award Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), the original sponsor of the GI Bill, a gold medal and citation of merit for his leadership on the measure. Lisicki praised Webb as the “champion” veterans needed:
The VFW had been pushing for a new GI Bill for 10 years. We had called, written, testified, and met with every (congressional) member and staffer. We were greeted with sympathetic ears, but what we needed was a champion in the corner of America’s newest ‘Greatest Generation.’ We needed someone who could reason and negotiate across party lines like a gentleman, yet push through obstacles with bulldog tenacity. That someone was Jim Webb.
McCain also promoted his radical veterans health plan, which the VFW actively opposes.
UPDATE: Watch McCain’s comments here:
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How very thoughtful of the VFW to provide McCain with a forum to make an idiot of himself — AGAIN.
August 18th, 2008 at 11:53 amWell Trolls, here’s McLame once again flat out lying about his positions. Great candidate huh?
He doesn’t even support the troops and he hangs his hat on his military experience. What a cretin…
August 18th, 2008 at 11:54 amIn fact, tomorrow the VFW will award Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), the original sponsor of the GI Bill, a gold medal and citation of merit for his leadership on the measure.
Maybe the VFW will give McCain a medal for not bothering to go to Washington to vote against Webb’s GI Bill.
August 18th, 2008 at 11:56 amPoor Johnny Boy, he is fast losing the backing of any rational military or Veteran’s organization. And this is supposed to be his sweet spot?
Where are all the trollies at to defend their boy wonder on this thread?
August 18th, 2008 at 11:59 amHow do you trolls live with yourselves when you are backing a man like Mcwars who is an out and out liar about his backing this new G.I. Bill and not to mention evrything else he has lied about.He has voted consistently against Veterans,he sends them off to War but will not vote for their futures when they have served their country, for every dollar spent on a veteran there is a $6 to $7 dollar return on their investment.Did Mcwars even vote on this new G.I.Bill????
August 18th, 2008 at 12:01 pmI’m frequently wondering whether the VFW is interested in veterans or in continuous war.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:01 pmIt always seems so easy for these politicians to pump up the old guys and get them on war footing, time and time again, but when it is time to repair their broken comrades they fall for any old shit through twisted words.
upside99 Says:
“Where are all the trollies at to defend their boy wonder on this thread?”
Probably still masturbating to the plagiarized image of making crosses in the sand with Johnny McCrappedmypants
August 18th, 2008 at 12:02 pmSo McCain LIED to the same group of veterans that were opposed to his version of the GI bill, and the one that passed, not only was he was vocally opposed to it, he didn’t even show up to vote on it.
Call it for what it is TP, he LIED.
When is the media going to call him on his obvious lies?
August 18th, 2008 at 12:03 pmHaven’t the last 8 years of a lying pos in the white house been enough?
This wrinkled old lying sack of shit is taking credit for a Bill he had absolutely nothing at all to do with ?
His claim is what , that his opposition to the Bill , somehow made it better ?
Like his fellow idiotic GOP brethren whose political stunt of staying in DC and hilariously calling for Pelosi to recall the rest of Congress to work on a drilling bill has lowered gas prices ………..
There’s road kill that is more intelligent than the entire GOP
August 18th, 2008 at 12:03 pmIsn’t it interesting that McNumbNuts finds it necessary to claim credit for so many things initiated by democratic Senators?
I don’t think McNumbNuts is a “maverick” . . . I think he’s just a “wannabe”. He really doesn’t have any more experience than Obama — just more “time-in-grade”.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:05 pmtom Says:
Isn’t it interesting that McNumbNuts finds it necessary to claim credit for so many things initiated by democratic Senators?
August 18th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
He’s just like his cuddle bunny Bush — claiming credit for shit he never did.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:09 pmtom Says:
“I don’t think McNumbNuts is a “maverick” . . . I think he’s just a “wannabe”.”
I think you just made a big point, tom. May I suggest that Li’l Joey Lieberman is perhaps a Republicon wannabe? Part of what makes them kindred spirits and all.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:10 pmMCMetal Says:
His claim is what , that his opposition to the Bill , somehow made it better ?
I guess he is saying that the Democrats changed the bill out of fear that McCain might actually come back to Washington and cast his first vote in months.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:13 pmNothing says “maverick” like a lying bastard trying to take credit for something he had absolutely nothing to do with , and actually vehemently opposed.
Makes it even worse that Webb’s Bill was in the can for over a year .
What meaningful legislation has McDepends ever penned himself , especially for our Veterans , whom he claims he fights so earnestly for ?
August 18th, 2008 at 12:14 pmUpdateIgor Volsky notes that, in his speech, McCain embraced government-run health care…but only for veterans.
And himself.
McCain, as well as all other Republicans in our government, are on national health care, which must be excellent since none of them have rejected it in order to buy their own private policies instead.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:16 pmshoeless Says:
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MCMetal Says:
His claim is what , that his opposition to the Bill , somehow made it better ?
I guess he is saying that the Democrats changed the bill out of fear that McCain might actually come back to Washington and cast his first vote in months.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
McDepends’ presence (or rather , the lack thereof) , was immaterial ; Webb’s Bill passed overwhelmingly , 75-22.
McStupid would have just looked like a bigger imbecile if he had showed and voted “nay”.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:17 pmWayne Says: When is the media going to call him on his obvious lies?
I think we can safetly count on the corporate-owned media (and we’ve established that 66% of corporations don’t pay taxes under fascist rule) to always side with the Republican candidate no matter what the people actually think or want.
I can tell you, living in a pretty red part of the country that even the red necks are sick of what the Bush regime and his oil cronies have done to our country. The media might be in denial, but when gas is $4 a gallon, no one working class can afford to be.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:20 pmMcCain’s counter-version was all about retaining servicemen and women for the benefit of the military.
Webb’s version was about those same servicemen and women improving themselves and their lives, along with the lives of any dependents, after they’ve done their service.
It might be worth debating which approach benefits the country more in the long run. Because I don’t think we need a debate about which version would be better for the servicemen and women on an individual basis.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:21 pmNext thing you know, McIIIrd will be claiming credit for laying the TransContinental railroad.
You know, the InterState Tubes…
August 18th, 2008 at 12:22 pmtom Says: I don’t think McNumbNuts is a “maverick” . . . I think he’s just a “wannabe”. He really doesn’t have any more experience than Obama — just more “time-in-grade”.
Aside from Thomas Jefferson, Obama has more pre-Presidential experience than each of the heads represented on Mt. Rushmore….
I truly think that greatness isn’t about experience, but about reason and judgment based on reason.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:23 pmI wonder if McGrampa gets government issued bullet-proof Depends to wear on his Baghdad shopping sprees?
August 18th, 2008 at 12:24 pmmary Says:
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McCain’s counter-version was all about retaining servicemen and women for the benefit of the military.
Webb’s version was about those same servicemen and women improving themselves and their lives, along with the lives of any dependents, after they’ve done their service.
It might be worth debating which approach benefits the country more in the long run. Because I don’t think we need a debate about which version would be better for the servicemen and women on an individual basis.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
The most beneficial approach , is the one where everyone is allowed to choose what is best for them ; that’s the American way………….
No Vet should have the decision made for them ; especially by a turd like McDepends ……….
August 18th, 2008 at 12:24 pmHow can this presidential race be so close? Just who is being polled?
I don’t know one single person who is enthused about this candidate.
What does it say when even the veterans call foul on McCain?
PEACE
August 18th, 2008 at 12:25 pmLie, spin, accuse, distort, plagiarize, pander, piss & moan.
This is your McChurian candidate.
If you’re proud of him, maybe you should take a look in the mirror…
BOO!
August 18th, 2008 at 12:25 pmDr. Hussein Matt Says:
“I built the Great Wall of China”
~McGrampa, 2008
“Right after I won 8 gold medals”
PEACE
August 18th, 2008 at 12:28 pmmary Says: It might be worth debating which approach benefits the country more in the long run.
Without a doubt, education benefits a society. Just pick any well-educated country and comnpare it to anyone uneducated country. The educated country will have a higher standard of living for all its citizens.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:28 pmspencers mom Says:
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How can this presidential race be so close? Just who is being polled?
Bush approval ratings show conclusively that 25% of the population are unthinking Republican drones. Obviously, the other 20% who say they favor McCain are racists.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:29 pmI can tell you, living in a pretty red part of the country that even the red necks are sick of what the Bush regime and his oil cronies have done to our country. The media might be in denial, but when gas is $4 a gallon, no one working class can afford to be.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Okay, so they might vote for a Dim…
August 18th, 2008 at 12:30 pmBut will they vote for a Dim who’s also a Knee-grow?
The polls indicate pretty nearly a dead heat.
This when the GOP ought to be tarred for at least a generation with the shame, scandal, and corruption of the man who, by acclimation, is the “WORST FNUKING PRESIDENT IN HISTORY.” He’s allied with economic chaos at home, the decline of Constitutional liberties, and lock-step, fazscist loyalty at home, and international aggression abroad, and the race–according to the polls–is too close to call?
What the Phuque?
Which suggests to me that, when the ‘curtain closes,’ a LOT of white Dims are not gonna vote for Obama, and I’d hazard the fundamental reason is racial.
The McStain campaign is one-dimensional: Give EVERY WHITE VOTER in Murka a plausibly deniable ‘REASON’ (no matter how specious the logic or how spurious the claim) NOT to vote for the Dim, even if they also don’t vote for the Puke…
If the polls show anything, they show it’s working.
spencers mom Says: How can this presidential race be so close? Just who is being polled?
It isn’t. That’s just what the corporate-owned media outlets want you to think so you’ll watch their coverage and improve their ratings.
Only thing is, it’s a self-defeating strategy since more Obama supporters will be goaded to vote thinking that their vote for him (or against a third Bush term) is more important than ever.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:33 pmNone of this matters since McCain will be winning the election. He will win as the Republicans have won the last two presidential election. He will simply out fight and destroy the reputation of the Democratic nominee. Dukakis fouund this out and was painted as an idiot. Gore learned and Kerry learned the same thing.
The Democrats will not win until such time as they learn how to develop and unleash a uniform and disciplined message. The highroad is simply not going to work. The Repbulicans are the traditional bully kicking sand in the face of the wimpy little chicken. We let them get away with it. The people are frightened. Bush succeeded with AQ and Iraq. Now they are frightened about the economy. However, they will stick with the Republicans for one simple reason: Picking a rightwinger working against your interest is still better than picking a girlie boy who cannont or will not even defend themselves.
Until such time as we learn this simple lesson, we will be irrelevant. When we lose this election, I will become a Republican and do whatever I can to destroy the Democrats. The nation needs better than you can possibly provide because you are nothing but guttless cowards and you will prove to be totally irrelevant when once again beaten because you let the Republicans paint you as simply being worse no matter how bad. corrupt and incompetent they are.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:33 pmMcMetal said:
The most beneficial approach , is the one where everyone is allowed to choose what is best for them ; that’s the American way………….
No Vet should have the decision made for them ; especially by a turd like McDepends ……….
I’m all for personal choice! But the right seems to think that we’re supposed to choose the good of the country first and worry about our own needs second. Of course, for most of the right-wingers, they’d want THEIR child to be able to choose!
August 18th, 2008 at 12:33 pmHow about someone, anyone making McCain pay for his lies. He’s become the Baghdad Bob of canidates.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:36 pmtokin librul – think about 1) who is doing the polling, and 2) who they poll.
It’s not as close as the media portrays.
From personal experience, I’ve seen one McCain bumpersticker in the last two weeks of conscious looking. W stickers were prolific in 2000 (I didn’t live here in 2004).
The majority of the conservatives I know call McCain ’scary’ and plan to vote Obama, Barr or not at all. And unfortunately, I know quite a few. Even the clerks at the grocery stores are anti-Bush.
I just don’t see it, and if anyone should, it should be those of us living in the bible belt.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:38 pmI suspect that the VFW is a lot smarter than McCain gives them credit for. The 21st century G.I. Bill is something they care a great deal about and have been paying attention to. They know who the supporters were and who the detracters were.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:39 pmunbelievable said:
Without a doubt, education benefits a society.
I certainly agree with you. But, I get the impression that the right thinks that the military’s needs should come first because our society needs a strong military. You know, for all the “defending” we need to do…
August 18th, 2008 at 12:39 pmWhen all is said and done, all benefits will be paid in dollars and that my friends is the crazy aunt at the dinner table.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:42 pmWhat a maverick, that mccain is . . . he cheats, he takes false credit, he lies . . . He sure has learned a lot from bush-cheney-rove.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:44 pmJMOHR,
I feel your anger and disgust. It’s hard to support the Dems when they act so wimpy, oh I mean when they take the high road all the time. As though they’re afraid of getting a little dirty.
I agree with you that the Dems need to get good and feisty. The entire campaign should hightlight how good republicans are at winning elections by swiftboating the other candidate, twisting the other candidate’s words, by lying, by exploiting fears and insecurites, but, man oh man the republicans are just downright awful at running the government!!!
The Dems need to get better at controlling the dialogue. They need to get way better at showing some spine!
August 18th, 2008 at 12:45 pmmary Says: I get the impression that the right thinks that the military’s needs should come first because our society needs a strong military.
Maybe the military’s budget comes first, but certainly not the military’s troops. They’re more willing to spend money on bombs, bullets and tanks than body armor, medical care and education for the troops.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:46 pmspencers mom Says
August 18th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
How can this presidential race be so close? Just who is being polled?
____________________________________________________________
The polls are closer than they ought to be, and that’s because the conditions under which they are conducted favor McCain. Here’s why:
1. Pollsters generally contact “likely voters” instead of merely registered voters, since there are many people on the voter rolls who don’t bother to vote. A “likely voter” is one who has voted in a certain number (usually two) recent elections. This year, an unprecedented number of new voters have registered (thanks to Obamania in general and to the Obama/Clinton primary race), and these new voters, mostly Democrats by far, are not being polled.
2. Pollsters generally contact people with land line telephones, which means that people whose only phone contact is by cell phone (mostly younger people who tend to vote Democratic) are not being polled.
This is working in the media’s favor — they WANT the race to be close, because it’s good for ratings. Therefore, you won’t hear a lot from them about polling factors.
I predict that when Obama wins in a landslide, most polling organizations are going to re-evaluate how they do business, to better reflect the 21st century.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:46 pmspencers mom Says:
How can this presidential race be so close? Just who is being polled?
I’ve asked myself the same question every time I see some sort of crap publication saying how close it is.
August 18th, 2008 at 12:46 pmI was recently at a performance by a very famous stand up comedian. The venue seated approximately 10 to 12 thousand people. This fellow voiced his support of Obama during his act and said things like ‘I strongly urge you to vote for Barack Obama’ at least four times.
Every time he said something regarding support for Obama the crowd roared with approval. I didn’t hear a single boo or hiss or anything else.
If it’s as ‘close’ as we’re being told it is, I definitely don’t see any of it in our town.
Really, then why do veterans give him a D for his efforts to help vets?
Who really supports the troops? Not republicans obviously. Why isn’t this public information being circulated in the media?
August 18th, 2008 at 12:48 pmMcCain embraced government-run health care
(AND FOR SENATORS)
August 18th, 2008 at 12:50 pmSo did anyone call McCain on his lies and obfuscations? Or did they just clap and let it go?
August 18th, 2008 at 12:54 pmhelenahandbasket Says:
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What a maverick,
Yes, McCain is such a Maverick that he isn’t going to let McCain stop him from taking credit for a bill that he opposed.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:01 pmObama needs some brass and start swiftboating Mcwars on his 30 plus propaganda films he made for the commies while a POW and swiftboat him on his voting record for Veterans,LIHEAP,Bushes tax cuts and his missing all of these alternative energy votes.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:02 pmFred Says:
McCain embraced government-run health care…but only for veterans.
But Republicans, including John McCain, always tell us that government run health care is a bad thing. Does that mean McCain hates veterans?
August 18th, 2008 at 1:07 pmGrampy McSame says – My friends back in the day when I invented fire, other people were taking credit for it, just because they had seen fire doesn’t make it so, no sir, I invented fire and the wheel, why I remember like it was just yesterday, we were sitting around the fire, which I invented, and were talking about starting a war with that other bunch of cavemen, we needed some way of getting loads of rocks near them so we could ‘”shock and awe” them, so I was rolling some round rocks and had a thought, what if we could roll our rocks on round rocks, we could rule the world, yes RULE the WORLD, then it was lunch time and I had a peanut butter and rock sandwich, which was the style at the time…I think I just sat in some warm peanut butter.
Grampy, you can’t remember what you had for breakfast much less yesterday.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:09 pmOT: The religious organizations in my red state are illegally but sucessfully pushing the Obama is a Muslim mime to the extent that it is being accepted as fact.
When you confront people with the truth you are attacked by multiple so called christians who will not let your side be told.
Anyone else encountering this? There is much hatred being spread again for political gain.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:22 pmYes, I hear that Obama is an elite, unAmerican, secret Muslim, who belonged to a scary black Christian church, and hates all white people, including his own grandmother.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:33 pmUntil such time as we learn this simple lesson, we will be irrelevant. When we lose this election, I will become a Republican and do whatever I can to destroy the Democrats.
I would question who this “we” is, turncoat.
So, if the dems win, you’ll stay a registered dem, but if they lose you’re jumping ship – to the party that has done the damage to our country? Don’t let the door hit you on the way out
I would posit you never were a dem., with thinking like that.
I had some respect for your previous comments, but this statement is just a petulant response to feelings of hopelessness. Lest we forget, a McCain presidency will still have to deal with a projected veto-proof majority of dems in the House and Senate, and there is no polling that shows this political fact changing before the elections.
So sign that republican registration card now, and quit hanging on the fence – then you can complain about how the dems aren’t playing fair, by giving McCain all he wants, legislatively.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:34 pmWhat bothers me about McCain is that he’s only talking about the active duty just turning veteran. He completely has neglected the rest of us.
In February 2003, I was laid off work. I had just turned 50 and my personal heath insurance premiums went from $300 a month to over $800 a month. So I went to the local VA hospital to apply for VA medical benefits. I was told that I was two weeks too late. Bu$h had signed an Executive Order restricting veterans from applying for medical benefits; minimum requirement to receive benefits was a purple heart.
I entered the service in the early 70’s and my first assignment was to Europe. Since Europe was not a war zone, I didn’t have much of a chance to earn a purple heart. By the time my tour had ended, we were pulling out of Vietnam. My veteran’s medical benefit was eliminated by the stroke of a pen without discussion or consultation with Congress.
It really annoys me when politicians forget veterans are more than just the current group of soldiers they send into harms way.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:38 pmbarfly Says:
So, if the dems win, you’ll stay a registered dem, but if they lose you’re jumping ship – to the party that has done the damage to our country?
That’s like joining a band of thieves in order to avoid getting robbed.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:40 pmThe problem with lying is that you have to be sufficiently mentally agile to remember what you said and all its ramifications. McCain has lied often, but his mental acuity is not sharp enough for him to support his own lies.
As a POW — there was the football team he gave as false information (notwithstanding that it undermines his opinion that torture works) was it Steelers or Packers? He’s changed his story.
As a POW — his early memoirs of his captivity carried no mention of the Christmas Day cross in the dirt, that was apparently so moving to him.
As a POW — he relates the connection to his favorite Abba song, but it was not released until 1977.
He has deliberately distorted his own record on veterans’ issues to favor himself now that he needs to pander to them.
He has distorted Obama’s record on veterans’ issues in order to defame Obama.
He claims credit for legislation he worked against; he denies support for Bush’s policies that deny aid to veterans.
What more is it gonna take before veterans – all Americans – awaken to the false candidacy fo John McCain. We all should have learned this 8 years ago; but some conservatives have convenient memories.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:45 pmTahut Says:
August 18th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
That’s really unforgivable.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:48 pmTo all the trolls on this board and others, your party has always won with lies because if they tell the truth, they have nothing to offer. They take credit for Democratic success while they steal from the tax coffers to pay their lobbyist cronies. Rethuglicans are liars, thieves and morons too stupid to not vote against their own self interests. This can only be because they are stupid or hateful or bigoted racists.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:48 pmtokin librul Says:
Okay, so they might vote for a Dim…
But will they vote for a Dim who’s also a Knee-grow?
The polls indicate pretty nearly a dead heat.
This when the GOP ought to be tarred for at least a generation with the shame, scandal, and corruption of the man who, by acclimation, is the “WORST FNUKING PRESIDENT IN HISTORY.”
This is why I think that the Democrats need to be running against the Republicans not against just McCain. There should be ads on every day pounding home all the harm that this administration and the Obstructionist Republicans have done to this country.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:52 pmTahut says:
Bu$h had signed an Executive Order restricting veterans from applying for medical benefits; minimum requirement to receive benefits was a purple heart.
Fight it.
There are quite a few veteran groups that will help
try National Veterans Foundation, http://www.nvf.org, 1-888-7774443 and tell them the situation.
Good luck.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:05 pmBut even with all his lies and pandering andtastelss jokes, why are there still apparently so many veterans supporting this nincompoop? Why wasn’t there an article following up on the VFW speech with some reactions to his falsely taking credit for the GI Bill? Why aren’t people standing up to all his BS?
August 18th, 2008 at 2:12 pmshoeless Says:
That’s like joining a band of thieves in order to avoid getting robbed.
After having been robbed, for eight years…
August 18th, 2008 at 2:18 pmdaveincolorado Says:
Why aren’t people standing up to all his BS?
His war wounds. They are his Get Out of Hypocrisy Free card.
And he plays that card, with every flubbed line, and seeming inconsistency.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:22 pmWell polygamy is the dominant biological reproductive system. Still I am sort of kean on polyandry…
August 18th, 2008 at 3:39 pmSlime would be insulted to be called McCain after that performance.
August 18th, 2008 at 4:26 pmIf memory serves me correctly, McCain recommended that Bush veto the Webb-Hagel bill if it ever reached his desk. Now McCain wants to claim he championed the bill? That is one strange way to champion a bill.
So, why doesn’t anybody outside the blog world ever challenge these false statements? Should we ask Dan Bartlett? Oops, I answered my own question.
August 18th, 2008 at 11:01 pmMcCain does not FLIP FLOP when voting for the American Military – He always votes against them:
John McCain claims that his military service is one of his qualifications to be commander in chief. I seriously doubt his dedication to the American military. His voting record shows his lack of concern for our bravest men and women.
John McCain missed 10 of the past 14 votes on Iraq.
John McCain in September 2007: voted against the Webb amendment calling for adequate troop rest between deployments.
John McCain in July 2007: voted against a plan to drawdown troop levels in Iraq.
John McCain in March 2007 was too busy to vote on a bill that would require the start of a drawdown in troop levels within 120 days with a goal of withdrawing nearly all-combat troops within one year.
John McCain in February 2007 didn’t even bother to show up to vote against a resolution condemning it. For such a strong supporter of the escalation, McCain didn’t even bother to show up and vote for it.
John McCain in June 2006, voted against a resolution that Bush start withdrawing troops but with no timeline to do so.
John McCain in May 2006, voted against an amendment that would provide $20 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for health care facilities.
John McCain in April 2006, was one of only 13 Senators to vote against $430,000,000 for the Department of Veteran Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient care and treatment for veterans.
John McCain in March 2006, voted against increasing Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in FY 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.
John McCain in March 2004, once again voted for abusive tax loopholes over veterans when he voted against creating a reserve fund to allow for an increase in Veterans’ medical care by $1.8 billion by eliminating abusive tax loopholes. Jeez, McCain really loves those tax loopholes for corporations, since he voted for them over our veterans’ needs.
John McCain in October 2003, voted to table an amendment by Senator Dodd that called for an additional $322,000,000 for safety equipment for United States forces in Iraq and to reduce the amount provided for reconstruction in Iraq by $322,000,000.
John McCain in April 2003, urged other Senate members to table a vote (which never passed) to provide more than $1 billion for National Guard and Reserve equipment in Iraq related to a shortage of helmets, tents, bullet-proof inserts, and tactical vests.
If he believes that we should stay the course for as long as possible he should be willing to support the people he puts in harms way.
John McCain is not a friend of the American Military.
August 26th, 2008 at 3:57 pm