McCain, Military Oppose Expanding GI Bill

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, seemed to give a thumbs down to bipartisan legislation that would greatly expand educational benefits for members of the military returning from Iraq and Afghanistan under the GI Bill.

McCain indicated he would offer some sort of alternative to the legislation to address concerns that expanding the GI Bill could lead more members of the military to get out of the service.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[Davwbaird]

Oh really, that won't get him many votes among our military warrors and elite. Or will it. I understand from sources within the military that about 75 percent are going democratic this time around and they rest being only able to watch Fox News.Boy are they pissed.

[Protonk]

I'll believe it when I see it. I know for a fact that the Iraq war and bush in general has switched a number of on the fence republicans in the military, but the majority that I knew would keep on charging because that is the way they process political information. It is like asking a die hard movement conservative to see the light and start canvasing for obama. ain't going to happen.

[Podewumun]

McCain, like most of America's "elite sky warriors", will always look down his nose at the enlisted man. His daddy was an admiral. Your daddy was a dirt farmer. Nothing's ever going to change that.

[JadedAggie]

Hey genius it's a volunteer military. If they want to leave you should be honoring their service and helping them to both safely and successfully exit armed service. Trying to devise ways to fool them or trap them into remaining in the armed service is not a patriotic view point.

[Protonk]

but it's standard operating procedure.

[serialcoma]

He's doing all he can with a yellow ribbon on his limo....

[swift_goat_pet_for_truth]

The one made in China?

[MRb1000]

OH HE IS REALLY FOR THE VETERANS. YEAH HE FOR HIMSELF.

[Grannysue]

Yea let's just send em over to fight be wounded and die, we won't pay them much either, if their lucky enough to return home we don't owe em squat, but look I am wearing my flag pin, like all good GOPERS! America better wake up to what's happening with our military enlisted men and women. This administration and their cohorts look at them as nothing more then manican back drops for campaign events and pinning medals on, after that well like THE DICK said, they voluntered!

[ajax2]

McCain believes in the Republican mantra, we support life until birth, we support the military until wounded.

[Davwbaird]

They is a wondefful Mantra for the rich and stingy.

[eladora]

He cant get past this and the torture. He cant get past the failed war. This election is about 1 thing.
How we continue or not continue in Iraq. It is not an area of gray --it is black and white,

[sashimi]

McCainney, like Cheney does not support our soldiers, they are real human SOLDIERS NOT TROOP, only thing he cares about is becoming our president. but sadly he will not be "our president".

[PoliticoJonze]

This is really mind boggling. Remember the line-ups at recruitment offices right after 9-11? Fight is just wars and America will never go wanting for soldiers.

This could really haunt McCain in the General Election and it should. They essentially want to trap soldiers in the military by offering them so little on the outside.

[hellboundtrain]

Dear John McCain & Bush, Cheney, Rice, Gates, Rumsfeld, Petrayus, etc., Approx. 2,400 years ago it was written by Chinese philosopher, Mencius, that sending the people to war without training is called ravaging the people. There would be NO TOLERATION for a leader or general who ravaged the people. We may believe that you deserve office. WE may believe that you deserve prosecution for your crimes. We can also define ravaging as not giving needed support after the troops return home, we can also define it as witholding the tools needed to wage war, or by not giving needed medical or psychological attention, or by not caring for the families of those who died in the battle... To ravage is to do ruinous damage.
This viewpoint even went back to time that was nearly 4,000 years old.

[swift_goat_pet_for_truth]

So?
The US soldiers volunteered.

[BlackLeatherRain]

I do believe McCain is on record saying that he didn't support the GI programs because it leads to short-term enlistments. If the GI bill is passed and soldiers leave the military for a brighter future, these horrendously inflated troop level numbers will pop no slower than a balloon will when pricked by a pin.

The US military is currently dependent upon low-income families producing teenagers with no options in life aside from minimum wage jobs or the chance of a military paycheck -- assuming they survive long enough to draw one in. If you take out the military revolving door by giving soldiers a real way to leave the service and have a solid future ahead of them, you're forced to (1) stop being so aggressive with our foreign policy, (2) reinstate the draft and admit that the nation truly does not support the war. The neocons will do neither.

[Protonk]

I know you aren't defending the argument, but there is a pretty big hole in it. There already IS a GI Bill.

So.

either the GI Bill funds a sufficient amount for colleges now (it doesn't), in which case, adding to it won't change the reenlistment rate.

OR

The GI Bill doesn't fund enough for college, which would mean that this core recruiting tool and backbone of the technical knowledge of this country from the 1950's on has become outmoded due to the inflation of education costs and needs to be updated.

either way, you end up supporting an update unless you are being disingenuous.

[CaseyBabes]

The majority of the military's officer corps is made up of college graduates.........takes money to go to college........seems to negate your stupid use of stereotypes.

[Mike169]

Of course he doesn't support it - he's a Republican after all.

[Dan1967]

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VOTE FOR BARACK OBAMA AND LETS GET A DEMOCRAT WIN IN NOVEMBER!

[Protonk]

how is this germane?

[Trueheart]

Here are three quotes from this article which is headed: McCain, Military Oppose Expanding GI Bill:

"Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, seemed to give a thumbs down..."

"McCain indicated he would offer some sort of alternative to the legislation..."

"But the bill... has run into some unexpected resistance, both at the Pentagon and now from McCain, who has remained silent on the issue, saying he had not studied the bill close enough. "

He SEEMED, INDICATED ALTERNATIVE, HAS REMAINED SILENT. I used to think that I could read, but now I am not so sure. Where does it say in this article that he intends to oppose the idea of expanding the GI Bill? As far as I can tell, it appears that he doesn't like the particular piece of legislation that has been proposed.

[Davwbaird]

each one of you pass the word this awful man to at least 100 people.

[swift_goat_pet_for_truth]

Care to lay down some bets?

I bet McCain does not support this bill.

I bet McCain will not support any bill any Dem submits, no matter what it says.

I bet McCain does not put forth his own bill

[sillyseason]

Let me translate it for you, Truehart.

The Pentagon and Bush Admin doesn't want a GI bill that would encourage returning veterans from Iraq & Afghanistan to leave the military in pusuit of an affordable (New GI Bill) education and better life.... John McCain agrees with Bush. Is that a little clearer now?

Of course he'd "politically" endorse a New GI Bill that was less favorable for vets.. Just not this one.

After all, if more vets left the military because of a good GI Bill (which we deserve, by the way), who would be there to occupy Iraq for perhaps the next 100 years?

[V4Vigilance]

Nothing new here. Just another example of how the GOP "supports" the troops. They "support" putting them in harm's way so that they and their friends can get rich but if it's something that actually benefits the troops? Then the troops get the big FU.

Some of these folks are literally "paying an arm and a leg" for their education. The least we can do is pick up the rest of the tab.

OBAMA 08

[Canaris]

So let me see if I've got this right. Chimpy and McCain oppose this bill because if they have a chance to go to college, soldiers might not reenlist? What's next, do we go to the Roman model, serve 20 years and become a citizen? That's ridiculous.

I already knew that to Dubya, supporting the troops means approving his suplemental spending bills so that he can keep them in Iraq, but from McCain, being an actual veteran, I expected bette