McCain Consistently Works Against Veterans' Best Interests

John McCain does not support veterans. Like most Republicans, he regularly votes against legislation that would increase the VA budget for veterans' programs dealing with the problems facing our men and women returning from war. These guys like to strut around at national veterans' organization conventions like they are our pals, mouthing sweet nothings about how much they care for us, when it is all a pack of lies. It is sickening, in fact, to watch these groups fawn over these cretins, apparently oblivious to these facts or, worse, ignoring it because Republicans like McCain and Lindsey Graham jump up and down on a daily basis about the War in Iraq, we have to win, stay there forever and so on. I resigned from the Veterans of Foreign War with an obscenity-laden email when they endorsed a Republican candidate for Congress over Tammy Duckworth, a progressive Democrat. Tammy was a helicopter pilot who was shot down in Iraq and lost both legs. The Republican had never served. Yet, the VFW endorsed the Republican because they claim he was "stronger on defense." I thought I would throw up. That's what this country will get if John McCain is elected president.

Before the 2006 congressional elections, Disabled American Veterans published a list of how members of Congress voted on veterans legislation. The DAV rates each member of Congress from 0 - 100 on supporting "the interests of American veterans." I looked down the DAV's list of Republicans and their ratings, and I was overcome with revulsion when I saw just how much they do not care about veterans. John McCain's score for 2005 was 25 out of 100. In 2006, it was worse: he got a 20. It took my breath away. When it comes to caring for American veterans, John McCain and the Republicans are a total sellout.

284 Republican congressmen and senators were rated by the DAV for 2005. This was when the Republicans controlled both the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, so don't ever tell me that Larry Craig and Steve Buyer were overly concerned about our needs. The highest score the DAV gave any Republican was 83. No Republican had a 100 rating, none were in the nineties. None in the seventies, one at 60 and six at 50. That's a total of eight Republicans--out of 284--that supported veterans' issues more than 50% of the time. That's a whopping 2.8% of all the Republicans in the Congress. 200 Republican got 0 ratings!! Thus, 70.4% of the Republican members of Congress got zero ratings from the DAV when it came to truly supporting America's veterans.

In 2005, Barack Obama was rated at 92. In 2006, Obama was an 80. The DAV rated 239 Democrats on how they voted on veterans' issues in 2005. 154 were rated by the DAV at 100. That's 64.4% of the Democrats in the Congress, versus 0% of the Republicans. Thirteen Democratic members of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee were rated by the DAV in 2005. Nine were rated at 100, three were at 80, and one was at 60, the lowest rating of any Democrat in the Congress. Of the twelve Republicans on the House Committee who were rated, eleven were rated at zero, one was rated at 20. Thus, the average Democrat on the House Committee was rated at 92; the average Republican was rated at 1.66. In the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, the average score of the eight Republicans on the Committee in 2005 was a lowly 40.7, while the five Democrats' and the one Independent's average was 92.

Here's what McCain has done for veterans recently:

● Did not support new GI bill legislation because he thought it was too generous and would result in soldiers choosing to go to school instead of reenlisting. This bill passed 75-22 and McCain was one of three Senators who didn't show up to vote. Only after the bill was attached to the war funding request of the Bush administration, did McCain vote for the Webb bill. All 22 votes against the bill were by Republicans.
● Voted against providing at least $19 billion for military health facilities, paid for by eliminating tax cuts for the wealthy.
● Voted against providing $2.8 billion to increase veterans' medical care.
● Voted against establishing a $1 billion trust fund to provide improvements to health facilities that treat veterans and military personnel paid for by allowing dividends and capital gains tax breaks, for those with incomes greater than $1 million, to lapse.
● Voted against increasing medical services to veterans by $1.5 billion in 2007, paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.
● In April 2006, McCain was one of 13 Senators to vote against $430 million for medical services for VA outpatient care and treatment for veterans. Despite his vote against, it passed overwhelmingly, 84-13. All 13 voting against were Republicans.

John McCain was recently questioned at a town hall meeting by an Iraq veteran about his refusal to support Senator Jim Webb's GI Bill. McCain, responding in a testy and angry fashion, claimed that he has the support of veterans' organizations. This was a materially false statement. In addition to the DAV ratings noted above, they rated McCain at 50 in 2004. Also in 2004, the Retired Enlisted Association rated McCain at 0. In 2003, the American Legion gave McCain a 50. In 2006, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America graded McCain a D on an A-F scale. They gave Barack Obama a B+. And during the recent debates over Senator Webb's GI Bill, both the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign War said McCain was wrong not to support the bill. Maybe they support his stand on Iraq, but it simply cannot be said that they favor his votes against important veterans' legislation.

If you care about veterans, these are the issues you should be thinking about when you vote in November.

Comments

[jadeba]

Thank you for your blog! I've been telling everyone I know about Mc's record on veteran issues - it's dismal. Clearly, dems support the troops while reps do not. Incidentally, the Colorado Veterans Association just endorsed..­.Obama!

[rich3324]

This is one vet who will not be voting for him.

[jackdiamondback]

I have sent at least two emails to the Obama campaign about making this a real issue. These are not made up facts. While I appreciate the fact that the Senator has decried the lack of adequate and proper treatment for veterans and active duty soliders, and noted the immoraility of homeless veterans, it is not enough. McCain has stated that he is so against all earmarks that he would veto any that were coupled with veterans legislation. This must be made an issue. There are 25,000,000 of us, plus the men and women on active duty. Many of them would respond to this, if they knew.

[Shaunaspringer]

Great article Stuart! McCain is really trying to cash in on the overwhelmingly positive feelings that Americans have for those who serve in the military. I have long felt that this election will ultimately come down to military stakeholders.

Ultimately, the argument that ‘if you don’t support the war, then you don’t honor the service of the those who fight and you are not truly patriotic’ is really just a powerful social influence technique that has been effectively used to bully both civilians and military members into submission, and frustrated, helpless, silence. As long as we accept the false dichotomies that have been presented to us – such as the notion here that one is "OF THE MILITARY AND THEREFORE A TRUE SUPPORTER OF MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN" OR "NOT A VETERAN and therefore NOT COMMANDER IN CHIEF MATERIAL," good men and women will continue to be kept down, and lesser men and women will continue to take on leadership roles. The Democratic party needs to counter these arguments head on, forcefully and persuasively, recruiting the visible support of those military men and women that choose to vote for a Commander in Chief who has actually supported Veterans' interests and who has not agreed with Bush 90% of the time.

[kellygrrrl]

Great piece Stuart!

This info needs to be in the minds of all voters - not just US

get this info to every MSM outlet possible.

Meanwhile, I will do what I always do and email it to everyone I can

[Pete Cenedella - Huffpost Blogger]

This is a vitally important post, Stuart. Thank you. I just was imagining a speech from Obama where he made hay with exactly this point. McCain is a PAPER VETERAN who can turn to the best health care money can buy -- the health care that Senators and Congressmen get. THE HEALTHCARE OBAMA WANTS TO GIVE ALL AMERICANS. A very important link to be made, and it puts some teeth into the "Support the Troops" bromides.
See my post at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pete-cenedella/a-man-of-peace-pushed-too_b_126023.html

[Zoolie]

Progess we've be fighting for.

American Civil Liberties Union : Veterans Now Allowed To Register To Vote At VA Facilities

http://www.aclu.org/votingrights/gen/36690prs20080909.html

[TexasDem0]

This is absolutely on target, but there is much public misperception that being pro-war is somehow the same as being pro-military or pro-veteran.

It embarrasses me to say that many veterans have bought into the lie that the Republicans support them.

What the Republicans did to Max Cleland ranks as one of the slimiest and disgusting smear campaigns ever. That's what the Republicans do for veterans and the military.

Coward George Bush did not have the courage to meet with Max and others who traveled to Crawford, TX to hand deliver a letter to requesting the president condemn the Swift Boat attacks against Sen. John Kerry.

From CNN: Political drama unfolds as letter carriers fail to deliver
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/08/25/cleland.swiftboat/

[mommadona]

OK, I'll ask...

THEN why do the VETERAN'S GROUPS KEEP INVITING HIM...ENAB­LING HIM?

I'm a vet.
I don't belong to any of the major groups due to the outrageous nationalism of their literature and their 'mission statements' These groups are no more representative of real veterans than the NRA is of true, responsible gun owners.

They keeps sending me this literature that basically lauds extremist views literally bordering of fascism.

Wait..waaa­ait a minute....­I just answered my own question.

Exit, stage left, hitting forehead with right palm....

[LightningJoe]

One of the myths America needs to shake, if we are to make any cultural or political progress worth the term, is that we don't have an active fascist movement in this country.

We do have one. It doesn't CALL itself fascist, because -- well, would you? No, it has donned the woolly skin of an animal with less -- um, mental toning, shall we say? -- in order to tap a ready source of manipulable votes.

But note that the principles and aims of what now calls itself the Republican Party, are the very same as the Fascist Blackshirts in Italy in the 1920's. They want suppression of dissent, blind adherence to directives, corporatists in charge of -- and profiting from -- services that most of us would rather have an impartial government oversee -- and NOT profit from our taxes, doing!

Not to mention, that they want a permanent hold on power.

The tactics are the same too. They use foreign wars to drive the citizenry to "support" their policies, they smear and destroy any who contest either their rhetoric, or their right to use our government and country for their own perverse ends. Their propagandists work 24/7, to keep the unthinking sheep convinced that intolerance is it's opposite, that dissent is treason, that bars are freedom, that freedom is an illusion.

[normathumb]

I am a news junkie so this is all old stuff to me. Still, I realize it would be news to most including alot of working class Republicans. I bet a lot of the families of military personel would be surprised to know how little support the Republican politicians actually give to their sons, daughters, spouses. Either Obama or Biden should give a major address specifically on this topic and work to keep it in the news cycle for a bit. The votes are all in the indisputable record. Hang it on those chickenhawks. Support the troops, IN DEED!!

[BillKen]

I think his behavior with regard to veteran's issues has proven that rather than having compassion for vets he has disdain. Semper Fi

[jmpurser]

We know. McCain has been virulently anti-veteran for 20 years or so. It hasn't hurt him yet. "Support the troops" is just a bumper sticker, not a policy in this country.

[lincheryl]

Because people just ASSUME and don't check things out. It is pathetic.

[jmpurser]

I disagree. I don't think it's a matter of not knowing. I think when many Americans get in that voting booth they have the choice of supporting veteran issues (or schools, or the environment, or health care, or poverty, you name any topic really) or getting a "tax cut". He votes tax cuts with startling regularity even with the knowledge that his "tax cut" is really just money stolen from his kids through deficit spending.

We didn't wind up in this condition because someone tricked us or because there was no way to see it coming. We got here because we chose to walk this road. We need to face that fact or we're never changing direction.

[martymartymarty]

I wish more of the public knew this about McCain. He is no "hero" when he has such disregard for his fellow veterans.

[raymichael]

This information would make an incredibly good ad. If only more people knew. I am forwarding this to all of my friends who are veterans.

[LTH]

Yes. Let's also send this link to veterans groups. Hopefully someone will turn it into an ad

[punkingale]

Send everyone you know this link: www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com