Tom Tancredo storms off the set of MSNBC during debate with DailyKos’ Markos Moulitsas.
Tom Tancredo storms off the set of MSNBC during debate with DailyKos’ Markos Moulitsas.
Today on the Ed Show, former Republican congressman Tom Tancredo tried to argue that all veterans are unhappy with their health care under the Veterans Administration — as proof of why government-run care doesn’t work:
Every veterans group I ever went and talked to complained about the Veterans Administration and the way it was a bureaucratically-run program that didn’t serve their needs. They would much rather have vouchers that would let them go out and buy their insurance in a private marketplace.
When the other guest on the program, DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas, started laughing, Tancredo replied, “You’re laughing, but talk to the veterans. They talk to me, and that’s why they said.” Markos then informed Tancredo that he actually is a veteran, adding, “I did not get a deferment because I was too depressed to fight in a war that I supported in Vietnam. I’m a veteran, Tom.” Tancredo became incensed at Markos, calling his comment “stupid” and demanding that he apologize. When he didn’t, Tancredo stormed off the set. Watch it:
As Markos noted, Tancredo was eligible to serve in Vietnam and was a supporter of the war, but received a deferment after “he went for his physical, telling doctors he’d been treated for depression.” After Tancredo left, Markos went on to say that Republicans are “terrified of government programs that work” because it threatens the myths they have built up.
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Coburn places hold on veterans benefits bill.
Coburn places hold on veterans benefits bill.
One of the Senate’s most vociferous opponents of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has been Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), who called the stimulus “the worst act of generational theft in our nation’s history.” Today, The Marine Corp Times revealed exactly how far Coburn was willing to go to undermine ARRA. It turns out Coburn has been the senator who has placed holds on several veterans benefits bills because he wanted to divert money from unspent ARRA funds on them:
Thirteen major military and veterans groups have joined forces to try to force one senator — Republican Tom Coburn of Oklahoma — to release a hold that he has placed on a major veterans benefits bill.
Coburn has been identified by Senate aides as the lawmaker preventing consideration of S 1963, the Veterans’ Caregiver and Omnibus Health Benefits Act of 2009, by using an informal but legal practice of putting a hold on a bill. [...]
In a letter sent Monday night to the Senate majority leader, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the 13 military and veterans groups ask the Senate to get on with it.
“It is essential that Congress act on this comprehensive measure without further delay,” the letter reads. “Thousands of disabled veterans with serious medical conditions and the family members who care for them are counting on this additional support.”
Steve Robertson, the legislative director for the veterans advocacy group The American Legion, met with Coburn’s staff about the holds on the bills and came away disappointed with their refusal to budge on the issue. “For a lot of family caregivers, delay is costing them their jobs and their savings. It’s having a big impact,” Robertson told the press. “They made it clear that Sen. Coburn sees this as using his rights as a senator to place a hold on a bill…I agree with that, but that doesn’t mean it makes sense to hold up a bill that would do a lot of good things for veterans that has cleared a committee and is ready for a vote.”
Dirty coal group’s 14th forgery impersonated American veterans.
Dirty coal group’s 14th forgery impersonated American veterans.
Congressional investigators have discovered that the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity’s (ACCCE) astroturfing effort has impersonated American military veterans in a forged letter sent to Congress. Thirteen other forgeries purporting to be from organizations representing blacks, Hispanics, women and senior citizens. This latest letter, sent in June to influence a swing Democratic legislator on his vote on the American Clean Energy and Security Act, impersonates a local American Legion official in Rocky Mount, VA:
The letter, sent to the office of Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA), asks Perriello to “make sure the Waxman-Markey bill includes provisions to promote American energy independence, while protecting already cash-strapped constituents from increases in electricity prices.” It concludes, “Thank you for listening to concerns of vets in your district.”
Yesterday, Alstom joined Duke Energy, Alcoa, and First Energy by abandoning the scandal-ridden organization, as “questions that have been raised about ACCCE’s support for climate legislation.”
Download the forged letter.
‘Tenther’ Activists Add The Federal Highway System To List Of Programs To Kill
‘Tenther’ Activists Add The Federal Highway System To List Of Programs To Kill
In a recent radio interview, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) made the seemingly-innocuous statement that the federal highway system, as well as federal laws ensuring safe drugs and safe airplanes, are constitutional. Nevertheless, Shea-Porter is now under attack by “tenther” activists who believe that virtually everything the federal government does is unconstitutional:
Author and historian David Barton, the president of WallBbuilders, [sic] says Shea-Porter’s comments reflect her view that Washington government should run everything. He notes that both the Ninth and Tenth Amendments say anything that is not explicitly covered in the Constitution belongs to the states and to the people.
“All of those issues belong to the states and the people. Healthcare is not a federal issue. It is a state and people issue — the same with transportation. The Constitution does say that the federal government can take care of what are called the post roads — those on which the mail travels — but outside of that, states are responsible for their own highways, their own roads, their own county, local, state roads,” he notes. “And her comment about, ‘Well, the Constitution doesn’t cover drug use and drug abuse’ — yes it does, and that is under the criminal justice issues that belong to the states.”
As ThinkProgress previously reported, conservatives are increasingly enraptured with tentherism, which claims that landmark federal programs such as Medicare, Social Security, the VA health system and the G.I. Bill are violations of the 10th Amendment — and many leading conservative officials are determined to impose the tentherism on the country. Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) is a tenther, as are Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC). Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas embraces tenther claims that the federal minimum wage and the federal ban on whites-only lunch counters, among other things, are unconstitutional.
Indeed, even federal highways opponent Barton is no small figure in conservative politics; Barton is one of six “experts” tasked with rewriting Texas’ public school textbooks to teach a right-wing alternative history to Texan children. Apparently, Barton and his fellow tenthers also want to rewrite the Constitution.
Obama Addresses Veterans — A Constituency That Benefits From A Public Health Insurance Plan
Obama Addresses Veterans — A Constituency That Benefits From A Public Health Insurance Plan
Today, President Obama addressed the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Phoenix, AZ. In his speech, Obama reassured veterans about his health care plan: “One thing that reform won’t change is veterans health care. No one is going to take away your benefits.” Still, many veterans are reportedly wary of health reform. But ironically, one of the key pillars of reform — a public plan — is currently benefiting millions of veterans who rely on the government-provided care of the Veterans Health Administration.
Outside Obama’s speech, conservative groups including Americans for Prosperity were protesting and rallying against greater government involvement in the health care system. But like Medicare recipients who oppose government interference in the health care system, opponents of a public option should be weary of denouncing “government care” in front of veterans who can vouch for the effectiveness of government-run care.
The VA “outpaces other systems in delivering patient care,” consistently delivering higher quality health care more efficiently. A recent study by the RAND corporation found that “VA patients were more likely to receive recommended care” and “received consistently better care across the board, including screening, diagnosis, treatment and follow up”:
The study also concludes that “if other health care providers followed the VA’s lead, it would be a major step toward improving the quality of care across the U.S. health care system.” The public option — a frequent target of critics who argue that government health care would ration care or provide subprime coverage — would push health providers to adopt some of the VA’s delivery system reforms.
A public health insurance option is not a threat to Americans with private health insurance coverage; it’s an important component of the nation’s public-private health infrastructure. In 2008, federal, state and local governments contributed 47 percent of health care spending and if the VA system is any indication, then rather than intruding between the patient and the doctor or rationing care, federal dollars have only improved access and enhanced the delivery of care.
Obama: ‘We Have Failed’ To Give Vets The ‘Support They Need Or Pay Them The Respect They Deserve’
Obama: ‘We Have Failed’ To Give Vets The ‘Support They Need Or Pay Them The Respect They Deserve’
On this Memorial Day, the nation celebrates the sacrifice of veterans who gave their lives in service to our country. A “by-the-numbers” analysis by the Center for American Progress notes that veterans “are still in need of services to improve their quality of life—before, during, and after deployments. This year, the need is even more urgent than ever as the economic crisis hits many veterans and their families hard and these Americans struggle to find jobs, pay their mortgages, and get back on their feet.” Some key stats:
– 338,000 or almost one in five Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are experiencing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, or major depression as of January 2009.
– Yet only 53 percent suffering from PTSD or major depression have seen a physician or mental health provider.
– 154,000 veterans were homeless on any given night in 2007, and 300,000 were homeless at some point during that year.
– One-third of homeless Americans are veterans, even though only one-tenth of all adults are veterans.
– Foreclosure rates in military towns were increasing at four times the national average in last year.
In his weekly address, President Obama said, “Our fighting men and women – and the military families who love them – embody what is best in America. And we have a responsibility to serve all of them as well as they serve all of us. And yet, all too often in recent years and decades, we, as a nation, have failed to live up to that responsibility. We have failed to give them the support they need or pay them the respect they deserve.”
“That is a betrayal of the sacred trust that America has with all who wear – and all who have worn – the proud uniform of our country,” Obama added. “And that is a sacred trust I am committed to keeping as President of the United States.” Watch it:
Napolitano stands by DHS report conclusion that right-wing extremist groups are targeting vets.
Napolitano stands by DHS report conclusion that right-wing extremist groups are targeting vets.
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security released a report finding that right-wing extremist groups inside the United States may be gaining new recruits and that they are targeting veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. Since then, conservative critics — led by Fox News — have been up in arms, with some claiming that the report shows that the Obama administration is waging a “war on veterans.” Today on CNN, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said that she regrets the politicization of the report that has ensued, but stands by its conclusion:
NAPOLITANO: Here is the important point. The report is not saying that veterans are extremists. Far from it. What it is saying is returning veterans are targets of right-wing extremist groups that are trying to recruit those to commit violent acts within the country. We want to do all we can to prevent that.
Watch it:
Scarborough: Obama Is ‘More Focused On Targeting Veterans’ Than Fighting Al Qaeda
Scarborough: Obama Is ‘More Focused On Targeting Veterans’ Than Fighting Al Qaeda
Yesterday, a copy of a Department of Homeland Security report was leaked, detailing the increasing radicaliziation of “rightwing extremists.” One portion of the report warned that “rightwing extremists will attempt to recruit and radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat.”
This morning on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” host Joe Scarborough expressed fury at the report’s mention of veterans. Ignoring the report’s conclusion that right-wing groups would try to recruit veterans, Scarborough declared that the Obama administration was “targeting veterans” and waging a “war on veterans”:
When you have a president and you have the Department of Homeland Security more focused on targeting veterans than on protecting our border on the South where a war is breaking out, or protecting us from, I don’t know, al Qaeda? Isn’t this interesting: they no longer want to use the term “war on terror”? They don’t want to use “the war on terror” because that makes them feel uncomfortable, but they have no problem targeting veterans returning from war. This is perverse. … There’s not a war on terror but there may be a war on veterans.
Watch it:
Scarborough declared that if Dick Cheney had done something similar, the entire media would have been appalled.
What if Dick Cheney decided that he was going to target liberals? … Can you imagine what certain newspapers and cable news shows would do if George Bush and Dick Cheney decided to target democratic loyalists, and say that they may be a terror threat?
Of course, DHS already wrote a report on “left-wing extremists,” completed earlier this year. “This is the job of DHS, to assess what is happening in this country, with regard to homegrown terrorism, and determine whether it’s an actual threat or not, and that’s what these assessments do. This is nothing unusual,” a DHS official told Fox News.
More importantly, the report did not target “conservatives” or “Republican loyalists.” Indeed, it’s odd that conservatives like Scarborough would willingly group themselves and Republicans in with “rightwing extremist activity, specifically the white supremacist and militia movements” — the actual focus of the DHS report. Scarborough is not alone in this lumping, however; yesterday, Michelle Malkin declared that the report a “hit job on conservatives,” while Fox News linked the report to the conservative “tea parties.”
Veterans Upset That Tea Baggers Plan To Hold Their Anti-Obama Protest At A Veterans Memorial In Kansas
Veterans Upset That Tea Baggers Plan To Hold Their Anti-Obama Protest At A Veterans Memorial In Kansas
Tomorrow, conservatives around the country will be holding Tax Day tea parties. Although “tea” technically stands for “taxed enough already,” Fox News’s Glenn Beck — one of the main promoters of the event — has insisted they’re about spending, not taxes. Previous tea parties have attracted protesters who called for impeaching Obama while slurring the President’s name as “Obama Bin Lyin.”
Nevertheless, tea party organizers continue to insist that tomorrow’s events will be bipartisan. (Even though so far, no Democratic elected official has agreed to participate, compared to at least 38 GOP lawmakers.) However, a group of veterans in Kansas isn’t buying the spin, as Kansas Jackass points out.
Tomorrow, tea baggers in Pittsburg, KS, plan to hold their protest at the Pittsburg State University Veterans Memorial Amphitheater. Speaking at that event will be Rep. Lynne Jenkins (R-KS). Veterans are expressing concerns at having a partisan event on this “hallowed ground“:
– “It’s everybody’s right to have a protest, but our complaint is that it’s at the Veterans Memorial. Most people think of the Veterans Memorial as a sacred place. It’s a place to reflect, to remember why we’re here today and the people who have sacrificed for that.” [Bob Torbett, director of the American Legion Riders and a member of the Kansas Patriot Guard]
– “I’m not so sure the Veterans Memorial is the appropriate place for a tax protest.” [Charles Heath, Commander of American Legion Post 64]
– “This is something that really upset me. The Veterans Memorial, as far as I’m concerned, is hallowed ground. To have a partisan, political ‘tea party’ there really offends my sensibilities.” [Bob Torbett, veteran of the Korean War]
When asked for comment, Jenkins’s spokesperson said that while the congresswoman has the “utmost respect” for veterans, “What’s going on in Washington now, with spending and taxes, affects everyone – from veterans to small businesses and single moms and working families. The congresswoman feels it’s important to talk about these issues.”
John Minton, head of the Crawford County Republican Party, defended the tea baggers, saying that they were probably having their protest at the amphitheater because it was one of the few places in the country that “could accommodate a large crowd.”
The interview the VA didn’t want you to hear.
The interview the VA didn’t want you to hear.
Last week, WAMU reporter David Schultz attempted to interview Tommie Canady about the poor treatment he said veterans were receiving from the VA. In the middle of the interview, however, VA communications specialist named Gloria Hairston “stopped Schultz and wouldn’t let him leave until he handed over his [recording] equipment.” After significant public outcry, the VA returned Schultz’s equipment. Today, WAMU aired Schultz’s interview with Canady that the VA didn’t want the public to hear:
SCHULTZ: Canady recounted how, in his words, he was forced out of the military by a racist captain, and how after being discharged, he and his family were homeless for three years. … Canady described the conditions veterans encounter at DC’s VA hospital.
CANADY: They don’t get the proper care they’re supposed to by the nurses. I spent months in here. These guys — some of these guys spend years in here. We know exactly what goes on in this hospital, and they hide it. And it’s time for it to come out to the public. This is sad.
Schultz noted that Canady became “visibly upset” when Hairston came up and told him he couldn’t “talk anymore.” Listen here:
Transcript: More »
VA confiscates reporter’s equipment after he interviews a veteran about shoddy care.
VA confiscates reporter’s equipment after he interviews a veteran about shoddy care.
On Tuesday, WAMU reporter Eric Schultz attempted to interview Tommie Canady, a veteran from Maryland, about the poor treatment he said he was receiving from the VA. In the middle of the interview at a VA hospital in Washington, DC, a VA communications specialist named Gloria Hairston, “along with two other employees and four armed security guards, stopped Schultz and wouldn’t let him leave until he handed over his [recording] equipment.” A group of veterans stood nearby during the exchange:
One of those veterans, an amputee in a wheelchair, approached Schultz and asked him for his phone number.
“I started to give it to him and then the woman [Hairston] became irate, she said you can’t give him your phone number. You have to give me all of your equipment or I’m going to get ugly. She used the phrase ‘get ugly,’” Schultz says,
Like any good reporter, Schultz stood his ground and called his boss for direction. Longtime newsman Jim Asendio is the news director for WAMU.
“I told him to give them the flash card and get out of there,” Asendio says. “I didn’t want this to get out of hand.”
“What I mostly feel bad about is Mr. Canady,” Schultz told WTOP reporter Mark Segraves. “He was trying to tell his story, he has an amazing story and he was denied a chance to tell his story to the media because of these tactics.” ThinkProgress contacted the VA but has yet to get a response.
Burr drops his still-unexplained opposition to Duckworth nomination.
Burr drops his still-unexplained opposition to Duckworth nomination.
Last week, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) announced that he was delaying the “nomination of Tammy Duckworth, an injured Iraq war helicopter pilot, to be an assistant secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs.” Burr’s office claimed that the senator was simply “doing some due diligence…to ensure veterans have the best representation,” but would not disclose what that “due diligence” was. Now, however, Burr is ready to let Duckworth’s nomination go forward. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow reported last night:
MADDOW: Today, the senator’s office relented. Still not clear on what the “due diligence” was on a decorated helicopter pilot, double amputee, experienced veterans advocate, supported by all the veterans service organizations, and nationally known for her work. But it is done. At last.
Maddow noted, however, that this does not seem to signal “smoother sailing for the rest of the high-level nominations that are still stuck in the senate.” Watch it:
Contacted by ThinkProgress, Burr’s press secretary, David Ward, said that the senator was satisfied with Duckworth’s responses to a number of last-minute questions. Ward added that the senator is “looking forward to moving forward with [Duckworth's] nomination.”
Tammy Duckworth tapped for Assistant VA Secretary.
Tammy Duckworth tapped for Assistant VA Secretary.
Today, the Obama administration announced that the President intends to nominate veteran Tammy Duckworth to be Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Duckworth, who lost both her legs serving in the Iraq war, is currently director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs and ran for the House in the 2006 elections. From the Obama team’s press release:
As assistant secretary, Duckworth will direct VA’s public affairs, internal communications and intergovernmental relations. She also will oversee programs for homeless Veterans, consumer affairs and special rehabilitative events.
Duckworth was appointed director of the state Veterans office in Illinois in 2006. In previous testimony before Congress, she expressed her commitment to Veterans and the need for transformation of the Department. “The VA system faces new challenges as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.” She also noted “the patient profile is changing. More wounded soldiers are surviving very serious injuries.”
Obama Taps Shinseki To Head A 21st Century VA: ‘We Have A Sacred Trust To Repay’ To Our Troops
Obama Taps Shinseki To Head A 21st Century VA: ‘We Have A Sacred Trust To Repay’ To Our Troops
Today, President-elect Barack Obama announced that Gen. Eric Shinseki will become his Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary. The nomination of the first Asian-American to the post — Shinseki, a Japanese-American, grew up in Hawaii — carries extra poignancy, coming on the 67th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks. Watch it:
Shinseki is most famous for publicly contradicting Bush administration officials’ overly optimistic predictions about the war in Iraq. In 2003, then serving as the Army’s chief of staff, he told Congress that it would take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to secure Iraq.
The Bush administration’s failure to heed Shinseki’s warnings have led to a decimation of the U.S. military — underequipped forces, an over-reliance on the National Guard and Reserves, a dangerous stop-loss policy, and an increasing number troops coming home with mental and physical problems. As Michigan University history professor Juan Cole told the Washington Post:
If Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and [former undersecretary for defense Douglas J.] Feith had listened to Shinseki, there wouldn’t be as many wounded veterans to take care of. I think this is a way of saying, “Here was a career officer who had valuable insights who was shunted aside by arrogant civilians, and we’re not going to make the same kind of mistakes.”
Shinseki served two combat tours in Vietnam, receiving two Purple Hearts and four Bronze Stars. Shinseki has frequently worked with wounded veterans and visited Walter Reed Army Medical Center, referring to it as a “members-only section” since he too is an amputee. Some veterans organizations, such as IAVA, have already come out with high praise for Obama’s choice, saying that Shinseki is a man the military community holds in “high regard” but also note that he faces enormous challenges.
Transcript: More »
VIDEO: Georgia Republicans Rally Supporters: Palin-Chambliss 2012?
VIDEO: Georgia Republicans Rally Supporters: Palin-Chambliss 2012?
On Monday, Georgia’s U.S. Senate candidates — Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss and Democrat Jim Martin — had competing rallies around the state in advance of the Dec. 2 critical run-off contest. Martin and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) held four events around the state, while Martin held one main rally in Atlanta in the evening.
The two men’s events couldn’t have been more different. ThinkProgress attended the Chambliss rally in Perry, GA, which took place indoors at the Georgia National Fairgrounds. The attendees were predominantly white, older, and many came with their families. The crowd cheered and clapped enthusiastically, always at the appropriate times.
While people were clearly excited about the GOP candidates, some of it appeared to be manufactured. News reports showed people on-stage holding handmade signs — including ones that read “Palin-Chambliss 2012″ and “Vets for Saxby” — but those were handed out before the event by a campaign aide. A sign in the entrance to the venue said that attendees were prohibited from bringing in such large signs on their own:
As ThinkProgress reported earlier, Palin’s events throughout the state were largely a rehash of her talking points when she was John McCain’s running mate. At the Perry event, she stressed that Chambliss has a “strong independent spirit,” just like McCain — ignoring the fact that he has voted with the GOP on every single key vote from the 109th Congress onward. Watch a portion of her remarks:
McClatchy reported on some of the reasons people came to hear Palin speak, including one woman who said that she wanted her daughters to “see a fine, upstanding, Christian woman with five kids and a good career” and another who said that Palin was just a “Josephine the plumber or Sarah the fisherman.”
Martin’s event, which was held on the steps of the State Capitol, attracted a smaller crowd, but was far more boisterous, with drivers passing by honking in support. The young, diverse crowd often spontaneously shouted out replies to the speakers, and the event had the atmosphere of a college party. Additionally, Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth took direct aim at Chambliss’s policy positions, specifically noting his record on veterans issues:
In 2004, when I was flying my Blackhawk helicopter north of Baghdad and I got hit with that rocket-propelled grenade that blew up between my legs and took them off — and almost took off my right arm — the only thing that saved me was my buddies and the armor that I was wearing. … In his six years in the United States Senate, Saxby Chambliss has voted against providing armor for our troops. He has been against providing armored vehicles for our troops. And then, when my buddies and I came home, he has been against the G.I. Bill.
Watch it:
McCain Lies Again, Repeats False Claim He ‘Received The Highest Honor And Awards’ From Every Vets Group
McCain Lies Again, Repeats False Claim He ‘Received The Highest Honor And Awards’ From Every Vets Group
Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) held a telephone town hall meeting, in which “thousands” of Nevadans — according to the McCain campaign — called to listen in. Among some of the hostile, pointed, and critical questions came one from a veteran, who challenged McCain on his voting record regarding funding for the Veterans Administration and veterans’ priorities:
Q: I know you voted for lesser increases, and sometimes they were so much less, and our VA desperately needs the money. Can you tell me why you would vote for less money for the VA when there’s a war going on?
M: Well of course I have not and I’m afraid I’ve been endorsed by the VFW in every election that I’ve been in. I have been — received the honors, the highest honor and awards from all our veterans organizations for my consistent support of them. I don’t know what you’re looking at, but the DAV, the VFW, the American Legion, all of them have given me their highest awards for my consistent support of them.
Listen here:
As ThinkProgress has repeatedly documented, McCain is either willfully lying or he is delusional about his record — and the meaning of “highest awards.” In fact, McCain has recently stood on the opposite side of all three of the groups he mentioned:
– Disabled American Veterans (DAV): In a list of 36 “key votes,” shows McCain “Voted Against Us” 16 times. (Obama “Voted With Us” 17 times, and against only once.)
– Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW): Endorsed Sen. Jim Webb’s (D-VA) GI Bill that McCain vigorously opposed; called McCain’s alternative GI Bill “very partisan” and said they “didn’t have much input” in its crafting.
– American Legion: Endorsed Webb’s GI Bill and criticized McCain’s concern about how it would affect retention, saying the bill “would encourage young men and women to join the military.”
Just last week, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave McCain a grade of D for his record of voting against veterans. (Obama got a B.) The Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) have noted that in its “Key Votes,” McCain “Voted Against Us” 15 times and “Voted For Us” only 8. (Obama voted for VVA 12 times, and against only once.)
Earlier this month, Rep. Chet Edwards (D-TX), a leading veterans advocate, excoriated McCain in an interview with ThinkProgress: “If you look at John McCain’s record on veterans issues, it’s a failed one.” It’s a sentiment IAVA executive director Paul Rieckhoff agrees with. Noting McCain’s dismal voting record on VA funding, Rieckhoff told ThinkProgress, “If he says the VA’s not working, it’s in part because he hasn’t funded it properly.”
VA benefits claims found in piles to be shredded.
VA benefits claims found in piles to be shredded.
The Military Times reports that the “Department of Veterans Affairs regional offices have been ordered to immediately stop shredding documents” after an investigation found some benefits claims and supporting documents — such as certificates for births, deaths and marriage — among piles of papers waiting to be destroyed. VFW National Commander Glen Gardner said the problem could be significant:
“The question that begs to be asked and answered is how many veterans had their disability and compensation claims disappear down a paper shredder?”
Among the records found waiting to be shredded were applications for disability compensation, education benefits, home loans and pensions for low-income veterans, officials said.
VA won’t outsource GI Bill management.
VA won’t outsource GI Bill management.
Last month, Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake said that administrating the new GI Bill will “tax VA’s resources” and announced that “the decision has been made to seek private-sector support to implement this new program.” However, the Army Times reports today that the VA has scuttled the controversial plan after it could not find a contractor. “Instead, VA officials will rely on its own employees to create and implement” the bill’s provisions. Veterans groups had slammed the plan to hire an outside contractor, saying the “level of service [wouldn't] be the same.”
Cindy McCain: Vietnam vets with PTSD were 18-year-olds who didn’t know what they were doing.
Cindy McCain: Vietnam vets with PTSD were 18-year-olds who didn’t know what they were doing.
During a recent interview with Marie Claire, Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) wife Cindy suggested that her husband has never had PTSD symptoms because “he was trained.” She also added that symptoms such as “cold sweats in the middle of the night” are reserved for the “the 18-year-olds who were drafted”:
Q: You met your husband after his POW days. To what extent is that still with you – or is it a part of history?
McCAIN: My husband will be the first one to tell you that that’s in the past. Certainly it’s a part of who he is, but he doesn’t dwell on it. It’s not part of a daily experience that we experience or anything like that. But it has shaped him. It has made him the leader that he is.
Q: But no cold sweats in the middle of the night?
McCAIN: Oh, no, no, no, no, no. My husband, he’d be the first one to tell you that he was trained to do what he was doing. The guys who had the trouble were the 18-year-olds who were drafted. He was trained, he went to the Naval Academy, he was a trained United States naval officer, and so he knew what he was doing.
One Week After McCain Claims Vets ‘Know I’ll Take Care Of Them,’ IAVA Gives Him A ‘D’
One Week After McCain Claims Vets ‘Know I’ll Take Care Of Them,’ IAVA Gives Him A ‘D’
During the first presidential debate, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) repeatedly emphasized his love of veterans — and their fondness for him in return. “I’ll take care of them. And they know I’ll take care of them,” he said. McCain frequently exaggerates his level of support for and from veterans groups, claiming to have “received the highest award from literally every veteran’s organization in America” and to have “a perfect voting record” on veterans’ issues. Watch a compilation:
Today, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America released its congressional scorecard for the 110th Congress, and awarded McCain a grade of “D” for his votes against veterans’ priorities. The grade makes McCain one of only four Senators to fall on IAVA’s “D List” — and marks a repeat performance for him, after receiving a “D” for his 109th congressional voting record as well.
IAVA hammered McCain for refusing to co-sponsor Sen. Jim Webb’s (D-VA) 21st Century G.I. Bill. In fact, the IAVA highlighted the weaker alternative proposed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) — and endorsed by McCain — as “an effort to derail the popular and bipartisan” GI Bill proposed by Webb. “Thankfully,” the IAVA writes, “the Senate voted forcefully, 55-42, to kill” the Graham-McCain proposal.
IAVA’s score adds to other groups who have criticized McCain’s abysmal record on veterans’ issues. McCain has received a 20 percent vote rating from the Disabled Veterans of America, while the Vietnam Veterans of America noted McCain had “voted against us” in 15 “key votes.”
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