IAVA Director: Faux Walter Reed Background ‘Was As Close As McCain Got To Veterans Issues’ At RNC
IAVA Director: Faux Walter Reed Background ‘Was As Close As McCain Got To Veterans Issues’ At RNC
On Thursday night, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) formally accepted his party’s nomination for president at the Republican National Convention. During his speech, a mysterious image of a building appeared on the screen behind him, which TalkingPointsMemo identified as Walter Reed Middle School, in North Hollywood, CA. (The school did not grant permission to use its image.) Some suspect McCain had intended to show a photo of Walter Reed Medical Center; the McCain campaign has offered conflicting explanations for the bizarre use of the photo.
Appearing on MSNBC’s Countdown last night, Paul Riekhoff, director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, slammed McCain for completely ignoring Iraq and Afghanistan veterans during his speech, saying the mistaken background was “about as close as Sen. McCain got to veterans issues”:
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.
Watch the entire interview:
Rieckhoff also mentioned McCain’s opposition to the 21st Century GI Bill. “We told America that if Sen. McCain was on the wrong side of the G.I. Bill, it would hang around his neck for the election. That’s exactly what’s happening now,” Rieckhoff said.
McCain’s opposition to the GI Bill is just one aspect of his abysmal record on veterans issues. It’s no wonder, as Rieckhoff said, that we saw “a deliberate attempt by the RNC not to put Iraq and Afghanistan vets out in front.”
Transcript:
MADDOW: On Tuesday night, the RNC ran a patriotic video that used fake soldiers — actors — and a staged military funeral and now trying to make sense of the Walter Reed Middle School backdrop. What do you make of all this?
RIECKHOFF: I was at the convention last night and we were trying to figure out ourselves. We thought it was one of Senator McCain’s seven houses. Clearly now we see it was a slip-up, it was sloppy and pretty pathetic. 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. He had an epic, historic opportunity to talk about not just his service as a P.O.W. but what he faced as a veteran coming home and how he was going to learn from that and institute policies and procedures and resources that would help a new generation of veterans. And so I was very disappointed and I think veterans around the country were disappointed.
MADDOW: We did very unexpectedly last night see an Iraq vet, an activist, disrupt part of Sen. McCain’s speech, holding up a sign that said, McCain votes against vets. Before he was dragged out of the hall he yelled that McCain should be asked about his voting record. Do you think McCain is starting to pay a price for his not so great record on veterans’ issues?
RIECKHOFF: He called that veteran “ground noise and static.” That guy’s name is Adam Kokesh, he’s a sergeant in the Marine Corps with Iraq Veterans Against the War, and he’s calling Senator McCain out on his voting record. iI’ve been on this show for a few years talking about the G.I. Bill. We told America that if Senator McCain was on the wrong side of the G.I. Bill it would hang around his neck for the election. That’s exactly what’s happening now. And I also want to note, Kokesh was only one of two veterans who actually got to speak at all during the convention that has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. There was one other guy, Charlie Summers, who was running for Congress in Maine. On the Democratic side, the week before, they had Tammy Duckworth, they had Patrick Murphy, and they had a number of vets from Iraq and Afghanistan who spoke on Thursday night. So it seemed like a deliberate attempt by the RNC not to put Iraq and Afghanistan vets out in front.
MADDOW: And to have one of the two guys getting to speak at the republican national convention, having to speak essentially from rafters without getting dragged out of the room — that says something.
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Off Topic: Does this sound like a christian or a woman who sounds like a reformer and an agent of change?
http://www.laprogressive.com/ 2008/ 09/ 05/ alaskans-speak-in-a-frightened-whisper-palin-is-%E2%80%9Cracist-sexist-vindictive-and-mean%E2%80%9D/
September 6th, 2008 at 3:41 pmI really like Paul Rieckhoff. He’s not particularly progressive in his views, but he is a pit bull in defending the military and fighting for soldier’s rights.
I really wish the IAVA would do a commercial contrasting John Bush’s talk about veterans and his voting records on veterans. The advertisement would be viewed with less skepticism coming form the IAVA than from the Obama campaign.
September 6th, 2008 at 3:43 pmKudos to Paul, and kudos to Rachel for calling a lie a lie earlier in the show. Can’t wait for her new show on Monday night, I think she could end up being tougher on the lying sacks of shite than Keith is.
September 6th, 2008 at 3:46 pmFor anyone who has become a Palin addict, you can pick up a 69 page document the Democrats created in 2006 when they vetted Palin for her governor run. The Index in the PDF is click able so you can jump to what interests you.
http://mardiweb.com/ politics/ palin-2006-vetting.pdf
I read most of it and I came away with the impression that Sarah Palin is not a nice person and is definitely not someone I want in my government.
September 6th, 2008 at 3:49 pmI read that article, Uncle Fester. It incorporates a lot of the long, detailed email letter that Anne Kilkenny has been sending out. We have her entire email letter at the Zoo.
September 6th, 2008 at 3:52 pmGive them Hell Paul!
Yup Jane, I cannot wait to see The Rachel Maddow show. It will be nice her showcase her intelligence view of the issues in her own way. Wow! America will now have two intelligent cable news programs on the airwaves to compete with the many blowhards and sock puppets from the radical right!
September 6th, 2008 at 3:52 pmWow my last comment shows poor grammar and typo’s. Can I blame it on “No Child Left Behind”? Damn you Bush! :)
September 6th, 2008 at 3:54 pmThank you, Paul Riekhoff (and you, Rachel maddow). If Mr. Riekhoff would be interested, I wouldn’t mind seeing him become Secretary of Veterans Affairs in the Obama Administration.
September 6th, 2008 at 3:55 pmBilbo Hussein Baggins @ 4, thanks for the link! I hope Obama, Biden and the democratic pundits pounce all over this. Has Hillary weighed in on Miss Dragon Queen yet?
September 6th, 2008 at 3:58 pmMcPow has shown disdain for Veterans and Veterans’ issues over the past several years.
September 6th, 2008 at 4:05 pmAs for the Walter Reed Middle School image, McCain’s camp blames the ad man. Ad folks know subliminal imaging.
Jimmy Smitts, playing a Presidential candidate on West Wing, used that very school as the backdrop for his run.
http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/ 2008/ 09/ mccains_speech_backdrop_was_us.php
We might have been slimed by the sublimers…
September 6th, 2008 at 4:07 pmI imagine showing the actual Walter Reed Hospital in DC, in it’s present gloomy and neglected state would be way too much for all of the reoublicans beautiful minds to handle.
I guess when your party pumps happy sunshine up your a$$ 24/7 and shows you misleading photos you too would have a rosy if not misguided view of our country.
September 6th, 2008 at 4:13 pmI just don’t get why McCain is against Veteran’s issues.
September 6th, 2008 at 4:14 pmUncle Fester Lurks Says:
I guess when your party pumps happy sunshine up your a$$ 24/7 and shows you misleading photos you too would have a rosy if not misguided view of our country.
____________
I heard yesterday that while the GOOPers won’t let the press near the Ex-Beauty Queen, she and McStain are already out campaigning. WTF??? Is all of this behind closed doors? What are they saying at these campaign stops they don’t want the rest of us to hear?
Sure our side manages to run a ringer or two inside one of these GOOPer lovefest to bring back an honest report.
September 6th, 2008 at 4:19 pmTRoS, they are repeating the lie about Palin selling the jet on ebay and making a profit.
September 6th, 2008 at 4:26 pmThe fake backdrop, unauthorized, seems of a piece with their cavalier attitude toward Intellectual Property. I guess when it comes to that, using Barracuda (which Heart objected to) and Jackson Browne, bless him, is suing McSame for illegal use of oen of his songs…well, that’s all hunky dory! See:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ 2008/ 08/ 14/ jackson-browne-sues-mccai_n_118977.html
I’m sure tho they’ll preserve the right of Pharma to sell drugs, often researched via NIH at taxpayer expense but licensed to them or on the lives of developing nations, at genocidally high prices because Intellectual Property trumps human life. Meantime, artists don’t count for crap.
It’s all of a piece and sorry for straying a wee bit off topic.
September 6th, 2008 at 4:28 pmOh my, don’t you guys know that George McCain was a POW?
I mean that was news to me….LOL.
And does he care really about the thousands of our young women and men that were thrown into a illegal war and are now trying to pull their lives together after their patriotic duty is done….not so much.
The Iraq Vet that my wife and I housed and fed and took care of for a year till she could pull her life together came by last night to talk, she needed some love and hugs, she is doing much better and is adjusting much better now, thanks to us taking the time to take care of her, the VA had so much paper work that she was over whelemed by it all, but thanks to PROGRESSIVE MORAL VALUES she is now on her way to being a whole person again.
PS I hate Repukian scum.
September 6th, 2008 at 4:33 pmIgnoranceIsNotBliss Says:
TRoS, they are repeating the lie about Palin selling the jet on ebay and making a profit.
__________
Hadn’t heard that one before… not the least bit surprising, given what we’re already learned about “the lovely Sarah”…
September 6th, 2008 at 4:37 pmTRoS,
You hadn’t heard? She’s claiming that she sold her predessor’s official luxury airplane on e-bay and made a profit. Except that this was a lie. It was offered on e-bay, but in the end, it was sold to a supporter of hers and at a half-million loss to the state.
And McCain was repeating that lie as recently (to my knowledge) as yesterday. And since change doesn’t come easy to a Republican, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was repeating it today.
September 6th, 2008 at 4:41 pmPlease do not criticize Riekhoff for not being sufficiently progressive. I have heard him interviewed by Rachel many times and he really does not take positions other than on veteran issues, I believe that the man has a deep commitment to his group and to veterans and believes that straying from that focus detracts from his effectiveness. I think that we should acknowledge the courage it takes for anyone in the veteran affairs community to speak truth to power (or, in this case, media driven idolatry) and lambaste McCain for his continuing hypocrisy. Paul Riekhoff I salute you!
September 6th, 2008 at 4:52 pmWayne, and if by chance mccain gets called on the lie and he admits he was wrong, you can bet the next day he’ll be lying again. It’s how these people work.
September 6th, 2008 at 4:54 pmBuckie Boy, good for you for helping a vet try to get her mind and life back. Next time she stops by, give her extra hugs and thanks from us Americans who actually honor her service and care about what happens to her after she comes home.
September 6th, 2008 at 4:55 pmAs a Vietnam vet and frustrated user of the VA system, I have found that about the only Vet Organizations that have any backbone and stand up to the Repugs are the VVA, IAVA and Votevets.org.
These groups care about the veterans, not just about politics.
And they ALL find Johnny Boy lacking in almost every aspect of Veteran’s and Active Duty soldiers’ support.
September 6th, 2008 at 4:57 pmWayne A. Schneider Says:
TRoS,
You hadn’t heard?
__________
This was the first time for this one… geez, Wayne, gimme a break… you need an F-in’ scorecard, or Tivo, to keep up w/ all the lies the GOOPers tell.
September 6th, 2008 at 5:02 pmHere you go TRoS.
September 6th, 2008 at 5:15 pmDid anyone else fall down on the floor rolling in laughter and then instantly kicking your television after this line from Cindy McCain?
Cindy McCain: My father was a WWII hero, he didn’t like to talk about his war experiences, just like my husband John McCain.
Is she serious! And why didn’t the media jump on that obvious lie!?!
September 6th, 2008 at 5:18 pmCNN just reported McCain’s son, Andrew, is on the board of directors of America’s latest failed bank.
Andrew McCain served on the Silver State Bank board. The bank is now insolvent.
September 6th, 2008 at 5:24 pm#Wayne A. Schneider Says:
TRoS,
And McCain was repeating that lie as recently (to my knowledge) as yesterday. And since change doesn’t come easy to a Republican, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was repeating it today.
She repeated the lie again today along with dissing community organizers again with the same line she used before. All she is doing is repeating the speech that were written for her for her acceptance speech. She hasn’t had anything new to add.
I believe that they canceled their appearance in Florida on Monday because Hillary is going to be in Florida on Monday. I can hardly wait to hear what Hillary has to say about the lovely Miss Sarah.
I’m really hoping that the affair rumor turns out to be true. I would love to see how the religious right would spin that one.
September 6th, 2008 at 6:30 pmjaf Says:
Please do not criticize Riekhoff for not being sufficiently progressive.
I was not criticizing Reikhoff, I just mentioned the fact that he isn’t particularly progressive. That’s fine by me. Even if he turned out to be a total conservative, I will still admire him for the things he does for veterans and for his fighting spirit.
September 6th, 2008 at 6:35 pmBilbo,
Then she must not watch “Countdown with Keith Olbermann Except When Rachel Maddow Fills In”, because Rachel was more than happy to point out that Palin’s story about the plane was a lie. The strange thing is, the source of that information came from the Alaskan media, which they got from studying government finances there. It’s documented in their records. And, one would have to conclude, that Sarah Palin knows what the truth is. So why would she repeat the lie again?
It never ceases to amaze me how the Republican party has still not caught onto the fact that information can be found and disseminated so much faster than when they were kids, and that you can’t count on any lie you tell standing uncorrected for long. Yet they continue to do it, as if we didn’t already know that the lie they told the day before had already been debuinked by its second telling.
September 6th, 2008 at 6:44 pmVeterans issues should never be a partisan political issue. Regardless of who is in the White House, we want people watching out for our veterans who care more about the veterans than they do about themselves.
I believe that Paul Reikhoff is such a person, and I couldn’t care less what his political leanings are on any other issue, because I don’t need him to be addressing any other issues besides veterans.
September 6th, 2008 at 6:48 pmI believe that they canceled their appearance in Florida on Monday because Hillary is going to be in Florida on Monday.
That’s what I immediately thought when I heard that Palin’s trip to Florida was cancelled. Although I also thought that she hasn’t learned her other lines yet. She won’t make it past the elderly ex-NY Jewish mothers in Florida. My friend’s elderly Jewish aunt summed up why old people won’t vote for McCain: He’s too old: “He’s 72, and we all know how hard it is to get up in the morning at that age.” Ha!
September 6th, 2008 at 6:59 pmRieckhoff is the man.
September 6th, 2008 at 7:32 pmUncle Fester Lurks…Thanks for the link to “Sarah” info…quite insightful! I sent it off to everyone I could think of:)My thought is, if they won’t put her out there to answer the hard questions…you know, like anyone would get in a job interview:)..then we have to find this out on our own. Thank you. Don’t you have to wonder why, if they’re so damn proud and confident about the choice, why won’t they let her out to talk to a news show and all the rest of us that need to vet her.Censorship of the highest order.
September 6th, 2008 at 7:45 pmANY veteran who would consider voting for McIIIrd ought to get in line at the VA and wait a couple of months for a psych eval.
September 6th, 2008 at 8:37 pmI just want to add to the voices that are going on record to say how awesome Paul Riekhoff and his organization are. The media tends to portray American military people as staunch conservatives, and assume that they’ll all be supporting their fellow vet John McCain. I think quite a lot of people would be surprised at just how many progressives there are in the military, and how tired most of them have gotten of McCain’s hypocrisy in constantly touting his own military cred while refusing to do anything to improve the lives of the people serving now in his party’s endless, illegal war.
September 7th, 2008 at 12:18 pmASK ANY SENIOR VET ; WHEN GHWB STEPPED IN AS VP WITH RR VETERAN BENEFITS STARTED TO DISAPPEAR AND VETS HAVE BEEN LOSING HEALTH AND OTHER BENEFITS SINCE . AT THAT TIME GOVERNMENT ISSUED HEALTH CARE BENEFITS TO ALL US CITIZENS BEGAN TO DISAPPEAR . THE WORDS “SOCIALISM AND LIBERALISM” BECAME VERY POPULAR , HEALTH CARE PRICES WENT SKYWARD , AND THE NUMBER OF HEALTH CARE INSURANCE COMPANIES (HCIC) INCREASED (WHILE THE KEATING FIVE TOOK HOME LARGE AMOUNTS OF OUR CASH WITH IMPUNITY) . THE HCIC’S GREATEST FEAR IS UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE (UHC) ISSUED BY THE GOVERNMENT BECAUSE THAT WOULD MEAN THE END OF ALL HCIC . WITH UHC ALL CITIZENS COME TO THE AID OF EVERY CITIZEN WHICH IS THE CASE IN MOST OTHER ADVANCED COUNTRIES . IN OTHER WORDS , WE ALL HELP OUR NEIGHBORS . BUT WITH GHWB AND THE GOP STILL IN CHARGE UHC WILL NEVER COME TO FRUITION AND VETS WILL CONTINUE TO SUFFER .
September 7th, 2008 at 4:06 pmHanoi McCain.
September 7th, 2008 at 11:05 pm