Veterans’ trust in McCain misplaced?

The fact that McCain is a war hero does not change the fact that he has become out of touch with most of America, and that includes the veterans of America.

Veterans’ trust in McCain misplaced?
By Diane Sweet 9/19/08 7:07 AM
The Washington Independent examines Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s appeal to veterans and the substantial lead he carries with this group in the polls. But is McCain really the best man to lead the way on veterans’ issues?
From The Washington Independent:

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a non-partisan advocacy group, gave McCain a “D” in 2006, while Obama earned a “B+.” The Vietnam Veterans of America reported that on 31 “key votes” between 2001 and 2008 on issues including veterans’ health-care funding and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, McCain opposed its positions 15 times, while supporting it eight times. In contrast, Obama, since elected to the Senate in 2004, backed the group’s stands 12 out of 13 times. The Disabled Veterans of America said McCain supported its positions 20 percent of the time in 2006, compared to Obama’s 80 percent.

click link for more

I've spent the last 26 years of my life fighting for veterans, especially Vietnam veterans. In all those years, I did it without being paid for it, but paying attention as if my life depended on it, simply because it does. I have skin in this "game" and take it all very personally.

Aside from my husband having PTSD from Vietnam and all the issues that go with it, I also know first hand the fight veterans have on their hands trying to have claims approved by the VA so their wounds are taken care of, their incomes are not threatened because of those wounds and they can still provide for their families. I've seen far too many lives destroyed because of the absence of people in power fighting for the veterans. McCain is one who refused to use his power to help the veterans and fight for them.

It disgusts me that as a Vietnam veteran, a disabled veteran on top of that, he would enjoy all the benefits of being a disabled veteran but not take that and fight for all other veterans. If anyone should be a champion for veterans, it should have been him, but he became part of the problem instead.

When you think that Gulf War POW's filed a law suit against Iraq for the torture they received at the hands of Saddam, won the law suit and then had it killed off by the Bush administration, McCain did not fight for them. He did not champion their cause seeking justice. Did the media ever ask him why? McCain loves to remind the public that he was a POW. That he was tortured. That he suffered for serving the nation, yet he never wants them to take a look at what he has not done on the behalf of veterans. If he truly cared, he would have proven it.

This article points out that Obama is not a veteran but the major service organizations give him high marks for fighting for them. His family members were in the service including his Grandfather. It does not require a veteran to care for them, it just takes someone who truly cares.

I am not a veteran. I did not serve but I come from a long list of veterans, so does my husband. The only power I have in any of this is to do the best I can to make sure people have the opportunity to become informed on the issues facing veterans. McCain had all the power in his hands and did not help the veterans by using that power while he's paid to take care of them as a US Senator. It's the obligation of all elected to take care of the veterans. This is not an option. It's an obligation. The worse thing about McCain is not that he did not fight for them but voted against them. All veterans should be offended that the same man who continually reminds them he's one of them when he wants their votes, is the last one to remember it when it's time for him to vote.



Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

Veterans Groups Question McCain Voting Record

Veterans Groups Question McCain Voting Record
Part 2: GOP Hopeful's Record on Vet Benefits Contradicts Stump Rhetoric
By John Dougherty 9/19/08 1:24 PM

Part One: McCain’s Pro-Vet Image Clashes With Record

PHOENIX — Though polls show that Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, enjoys solid support from veterans, some vet organizations are sharply critical of the Arizona senator’s legislative voting record on issues important to them. They have lambasted him for voting against the 21st Century G.I. bill; against providing more money for veterans’ health care, and for a proposal that many regard as an effort to privatize their care.

The 21st Century G.I. bill overwhelmingly passed the Senate last May and was signed into law by President George W. Bush on June 30. The legislation, which Sen. Barack Obama supported, increases educational benefits for post 9/11 veterans who serve a minimum of three years. But McCain opposed the measure, citing as a problem its bestowal of full education benefits to members of the military after just one stint in the armed services.

click post title for more

Florida veterans beware of being used by McCain he votes against you

Florida veterans beware of being used by McCain because he keeps voting against you while expecting you will continue to support him. He hopes you will not see what he votes like as long as he can talk like he cares.

I have spent too many years paying attention to what politicians say and what they end up doing to have not noticed McCain. While far too many veterans and families want to just assume McCain is one of us and therefore will be a friend to veterans, his record has been one of being an advisory instead of advocate.

The Arizona senator detailed some of his plans for the Department of
Veterans Affairs, including quicker service, expanded benefits and
reforms.

"I will lead from the front (of veterans affairs)," said McCain.

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080818/NEWS05/80818002/1007

The truth McCain cannot get away from is his voting record. It's been against Veterans. The assumption that because McCain is a veteran and will take care of veterans has not been supported by facts. It's almost as if McCain doesn't have to prove anything he says because he's a veteran. Of all the people in office today, McCain should have been a champion of veterans, especially considering he is one, he's a disabled veteran on top of that and also had every need as a veteran taken care of by the nation. When it came to the VA being under-funded and unable to take care of the wounded veterans, McCain voted against the funding increase.

PRINCETON, NJ -- With both presidential candidates addressing the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention this week (John McCain on Monday and Barack Obama on Tuesday), Gallup finds that registered voters who have served in the U.S. military solidly back McCain over Obama, 56% to 34%.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/109654/Veterans-Solidly-Back-McCain.aspx

Backlog of veterans’ benefits appeals growing bigger

McCain claims to not match voting record
McCain claims do not match voting recordby Kathie Costos

The biggest problem McCain has, is McCain. He can say whatever he wants and hope all he wants the American people have not been paying attention to what is real and what is manufactured, scripted to portray him as supporting the troops and veterans, but the record is clear. It shows in his votes and his speeches. Here are just some of those votes with links for more eye openers.McCain was against the GI bill because he said it was "too generous" and then we have this

Referring to Iraq in his closing comments Monday, McCain said he recognized Americans have grown tired of the war and the mistakes made, "but we cannot react to those mistakes by embracing a course of action that will be an even greater mistake, a mistake of colossal historical proportions."
click link for the rest of this with McCain's voting record.

But this is what he claims on his website:

John McCain Believes We Must Provide Our Veterans With World-Class Health Care. We must fully fund the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care budget in a timely and predictable manner. Those who have risked their lives in service to their fellow citizens deserve nothing less than the best medical care in the world.

Modern Warfare Injuries: John McCain co-authored the Wounded Warrior Act, which, among other things, was the first major legislative initiative to address injuries specific to the War on Terror. As President, he will build on this legislation and work to provide greatly enhanced screening and treatment and to foster greater cooperation between the Department of Defense and the VA.

So why is it that it took a Democrat to being this when McCain was part of the problem that allowed all these problems to happen and voted against doing anything about it before the Democrats took control of the House and Senate?

Sen. Harry Reid [D-NV]: Mr. President, I yesterday asked by unanimous consent that we adopt the Wounded Warrior legislation that was brought to the Senate during the Defense authorization bill in a form of a bipartisan amendment. A number of Senators worked very hard. Senator Murray is on the floor. She worked very hard, and a number of Senators have worked very hard on this legislation. It came about as a result of what we learned at Walter Reed about how our returning troops from Iraq and Afghanistan were being basically neglected. They had been wounded, and they were receiving unacceptable and poor treatment when they came home. That failure was learned about--not only about the veterans care system, which had many bureaucratic failures, but also the physical facilities that were there failed to meet a minimum level of acceptability. The American people were outraged by the facts that came to light, and the Senate took prompt action.
The Wounded Warrior amendment, now in legislation that is before the Senate, would address the substandard facilities we have talked about and we have seen. It would address the lack of seamless transition and develop one when medical care for troops is transferred from the Department of Defense to the Veterans' Administration, which oftentimes in the past has led to diminished care. It addresses the inadequacy of severance pay. It addresses the need for improved sharing of medical records between the Department of Defense and the Veterans' Administration. We are told now that there are as many as 600,000 pending claims of returning veterans. It addresses the inadequate care and treatment of traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, and a number of other very important items.
So I again renew my request. Yesterday we were told that the Republicans were looking at this. Mr. President, I am going to renew this request. There are all kinds of reasons, I guess, for objecting to something such as this. Now I am told the reason for objecting is the pay raise isn't included. The Wounded Warrior legislation becomes effective upon passage and approval. The pay raise for the troops doesn't become effective until October 1 or January 1--I don't know how the legislation reads, but it is not now. So that would not be a good reason in my estimation, and I think in the estimation of these wounded warriors, for objecting.
The pay raise does not become effective until the beginning of the fiscal year. In fact, I think it is January 1 of next year. It is different than a number of things we pass. But it does not become effective now. So if that is a reason for objecting, it is a poor reason, because they are two different issues. One is the pay raise does not become effective now; this does become effective.
Quick Info
H.R. 1538: Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act
Last Action: Senate ordered measure printed as passed.
Status: Passed House, Passed Senate
Quick Info
H.R. 1585: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008
Last Action: On motion to refer the bill and the accompanying veto message to the Committee on Armed Services. Agreed to by voice vote.
Status: Vetoed by President
So I ask unanimous consent that the Armed Services Committee be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 1538, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; that the substitute amendment at the desk, which is the text of the Wounded Warriors provision in H.R. 1585, be considered and agreed to; the bill, as amended, be read a third time, passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table; and any statements relating to this matter be printed in the Record, with no intervening action or debate.

Sponsor:
Rep. Ike Skelton [D-MO]show cosponsors (28)
Cosponsors [as of 2008-09-15]
Rep. Neil Abercrombie [D-HI]
Rep. Todd Akin [R-MO]
Rep. Shelley Berkley [D-NV]
Rep. Brian Bilbray [R-CA]
Rep. Nancy Boyda [D-KS]
Rep. Jo Ann Davis [R-VA]
Rep. Susan Davis [D-CA]
Rep. William Delahunt [D-MA]
Rep. Bob Filner [D-CA]
Rep. John Gingrey [R-GA]
Rep. Samuel Graves [R-MO]
Rep. Jane Harman [D-CA]
Rep. Robin Hayes [R-NC]
Rep. Duncan Hunter [R-CA]
Rep. Henry Johnson [D-GA]
Rep. John McHugh [R-NY]
Rep. Mike McIntyre [D-NC]
Rep. Jeff Miller [R-FL]
Rep. Jon Porter [R-NV]
Rep. Silvestre Reyes [D-TX]
Rep. Michael Rogers [R-AL]
Rep. James Saxton [R-NJ]
Rep. William Shuster [R-PA]
Rep. Victor Snyder [D-AR]
Rep. Mark Souder [R-IN]
Rep. Ellen Tauscher [D-CA]
Rep. Mark Udall [D-CO]
Rep. Timothy Walberg [R-MI]
Cosponsorship information sometimes is out of date. Why?
Bill Text:
Summary Full Text
Status:
Introduced
Mar 15, 2007
Scheduled for Debate
Mar 20, 2007
Amendments (13 proposed) [details]
Passed House [details]
Mar 28, 2007
Passed Senate
Jul 25, 2007

Women Veterans: The VA must respond to the specialized health care needs of women veterans, including victims of sexual assault.

Outreach: Every veteran should receive easy-to-understand, comprehensive information about the rights and benefits he or she has earned. As President, John McCain will ensure that the promises of the Wounded Warrior Act are fulfilled -- including the establishment of a Wounded Warrior Resource Center, accessible information and clear pathways to rehabilitation, and documentation of the long-term needs of the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Family Caregivers: Care provided by a parent, spouse, or child can be instrumental in the recovery of a wounded or ill service member. The VA and the Department of Defense must expand educational programs for family members to teach them how to properly care for their injured or ill loved ones.

http://www.johnmccain.com/informing/news/PressReleases
/675b00d4-a791-414c-9534-7ca7283d16a2.htm

While we had two occupations going on in Afghanistan and Iraq, McCain did not take a stand to increase funding for the VA to match the need. When others did, he fought against them. What all this lead to is what we see today.

We see veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan with wounds and being trapped in a backlog of claims that increased over the years, being turned away from VA hospitals and finding financial devastation. McCain's answer was to vote against increased spending for the VA and to push to have it privatized by treating non-combat veterans as a sub-class of veterans thinking he can hand them a card to take their healthcare issues elsewhere. This was his answer instead of keeping promises to veterans to take care of their health needs for having been willing to lay down their lives for the sake of this nation.

McCain voted against time between deployments for the sake of the troops when all experts said it was needed to take care of the active military.

09/19/2007
Time Between Troop Deployments
S Amdt 2909
N
Amendment Rejected - Senate(56 - 44

McCain voted against Veterans or did not bother to vote at all.

05/22/2008
GI Bill and Other Domestic ProvisionsS Amdt 4803
NV
Amendment Adopted - Senate(75 - 22)

01/22/2008
Defense Authorizations BillHR 4986
NV
Bill Passed - Senate(91 - 3)

10/01/2007
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008HR 1585
NV
Bill Passed - Senate(92 - 3)

02/02/2006
Tax Rate Extension AmendmentHR 4297
N
Motion Rejected - Senate(44 - 53)

11/17/2005
Additional Funding For Veterans AmendmentS 2020
N
Motion Rejected - Senate(43 - 55)

10/05/2005
Health Care for Veterans AmendmentHR 2863
N
Motion Failed - Senate(48 - 51)

U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109th Congress - 2nd Session
as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate
Vote Summary
Question: On the Amendment (Akaka Amdt. No. 3007 )
Vote Number:
41
Vote Date:
March 14, 2006, 04:22 PM
Required For Majority:
1/2
Vote Result:
Amendment Rejected
Amendment Number:
S.Amdt. 3007 to S.Con.Res. 83
Statement of Purpose:
To increase Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in FY 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.
McCain (R-AZ), Nay
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00041

McCain has a history of not supporting veterans. The following is a long list from the AFLCIO

AND HE REPEATEDLY VOTED AGAINST FUNDING FOR THE VETERANS AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT

1994: McCain Voted Against Funding the Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain was one of nine senators to vote against appropriating $90 billion in budget authority for the Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development departments. (H.R. 4624, Vote 306, 9/27/94)

1995: McCain Voted Against Closing Tax Loopholes to Increase Veterans Funding by $74 Million. McCain voted against eliminating tax breaks and closing tax loopholes to provide revenue to restore some of the proposed cuts in Veterans Affairs spending. (S.C.R. 13, Vote 226, 5/25/95)

1995: McCain Voted to Underfund Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain voted for an appropriations bill that underfunded the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development by $8.9 billion. (H.R. 2099, Vote 470, 9/27/95)

1996: McCain Voted Against a $13 Billion Increase in Funding for Veterans Programs. McCain voted against an amendment to increase spending on veterans programs by $13 billion. (S.C.R. 57, Vote 115, 5/16/96)

1999: McCain Voted Against $44.3 Billion for Veterans Programs. McCain was one of five senators to vote against a bill providing $44.3 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, plus funding for other federal agencies. (H.R. 2684, Vote 328, 10/15/99)

2000: McCain Voted Against $47 Billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain was one of eight senators to vote against a bill that provided $47 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs. (H.R. 4635, Vote 272, 10/12/00)

2001: McCain Voted Against $51 Billion in Veterans Funding. McCain was one of five senators to vote against the bill and seven to vote against the conference report that provided $51.1 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as funding for the federal housing, environmental and emergency management agencies and NASA. (H.R. 2620, Vote 334, 11/8/01; Vote 269, 8/2/01)

2003: McCain Voted Against $122.7 Billion for Department of Veterans Affairs. McCain voted against an appropriations bill that included $122.7 billion in fiscal 2004 for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and other related agencies. (H.R. 2861, Vote 449, 11/12/03)

VOTED AGAINST VETERANS 4/26/06

Vote 98: H R 4939: Akaka Amdt. No. 3642 as Amended; To provide an additional $430,000,000 for the Department of Veteran Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient care and treatment for veterans.McCain voted No GOP voted Yes Democrats voted Yes

McCAIN ALSO VOTED TO OUTSOURCE JOBS AT MILITARY FACILITIES

McCain Supported Outsourcing VA Jobs. McCain opposed an amendment that would have prevented the Department of Veterans Affairs from outsourcing jobs, many held by blue-collar veterans, without first giving the workers a chance to compete. (S.Amdt. 2673 to H.R. 2642, Vote 315, 9/6/07)

He Also Supported Outsourcing at Walter Reed. McCain opposed an amendment to prevent the outsourcing of 350 federal employee jobs at Walter Reed Army Medical Center—outsourcing that contributed to the scandalous treatment of veterans at Walter Reed that McCain called a “disgrace.” (S.Amdt. 4895 to H.R. 5631, Vote 234, 9/6/06; Speech to VFW in Kansas City, Mo., 4/4/08)


McCAIN HAS NOT DELIVERED ON HIS PROMISES TO VETERANS

Union members respect Sen. John McCain’s service to our country. When will he start respecting ours? Although McCain talks about his support for veterans, he repeatedly votes against increased funding for veterans’ health care—and more. We call on John McCain to join us in supporting our veterans and working to turn around America.

McCAIN REPEATEDLY VOTED AGAINST VETERANS’ HEALTH BENEFITS

McCain Opposes the 21st Century GI Bill Because It Is Too Generous. McCain did not vote on the GI Bill that will provide better educational opportunities to veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, paying full tuition at in-state schools and living expenses for those who have served at least three years since the 9/11 attacks. McCain said he opposes the bill because he thinks the generous benefits would “encourage more people to leave the military.” (S.Amdt. 4803 to H.R. 2642, Vote 137, 5/22/08; Chattanooga Times Free Press, 6/2/08; Boston Globe, 5/23/08; ABCNews.com, 5/26/08)

McCain Voted Against Increased Funding for Veterans’ Health Care. Although McCain told voters at a campaign rally that improving veterans’ health care was his top domestic priority, he voted against increasing funding for veterans’ health care in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. (Greenville News, 12/12/2007; S.Amdt. 2745 to S.C.R. 95, Vote 40, 3/10/04; Senate S.C.R. 18, Vote 55, 3/16/05; S.Amdt. 3007 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 41, 3/14/06; H.R. 1591, Vote 126, 3/29/07)

Opposed an Assured Funding Stream for Veterans’ Health Care. McCain opposed providing an assured funding stream for veterans’ health care, taking into account annual changes in veterans’ population and inflation. (S.Amdt. 3141 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 63, 3/16/06)

McCain Voted Against Adding More Than $400 Million for Veterans’ Care. McCain was one of 13 Republicans to vote against providing an additional $430 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs for outpatient care and treatment for veterans. (S.Amdt. 3642 to H.R. 4939, Vote 98, 4/26/06)

Voted Against Establishing a $1 Billion Trust Fund for Military Health Facilities. McCain voted against establishing a $1 billion trust fund to improve military health facilities by refusing to repeal tax cuts for those making more than $1 million a year. (S.Amdt. 2735 to S.Amdt. 2707 to H.R. 4297, Vote 7, 2/2/06)

McCain Opposed $500 Million for Counseling Services for Veterans with Mental Disorders. McCain voted against an amendment to appropriate $500 million annually from 2006-2010 for counseling, mental health and rehabilitation services for veterans diagnosed with mental illness, posttraumatic stress disorder or substance abuse. (S. 2020, S.Amdt. 2634, Vote 343, 11/17/05)

McCain Voted in Support of Disabled Veterans Only 25 Percent of the Time from 2004-2005. While McCain claims he “has been a leading advocate” for veterans with disabilities, statistics show he supported the Disabled American Veterans’ interests only 25 percent of the time in 2004-2005. In 2006, that figure slipped to 20 percent of the time. (Project Vote Smart)

McCain Voted Against Providing Automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustments to Veterans. McCain voted against providing automatic annual cost-ofliving adjustments for certain veterans’ benefits. (S. 869, Vote 259, 11/20/91)

INCLUDING BETTER ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE FOR GUARD AND RESERVISTS

McCain Opposed Increasing Spending on TRICARE and Giving Greater Access to National Guard and Reservists. Although his campaign website devotes a large section to veterans issues, including expanding benefits for reservists and members of the National Guard, McCain voted against increasing spending on the TRICARE program by $20.3 billion over 10 years to give members of the National Guard and Reserves and their families greater access to the health care program. The increase would be offset by a reduction in tax cuts for the wealthy. (www.johnmccain.com/Informing/ Issues/9cb5d2aa-f237-464e-9cdf-a5ad32771b9f.htm; S.Amdt. 324 to S.C.R. 23, Vote 81, 3/25/03)
http://www.aflcio.org/issues/politics/mccain_vets.cfm

If you do not spend the time to look up his record, you will keep voting against your best interest. If you assume someone is your friend and do not notice what he does behind your back, you are embracing your enemy. It is very hard to think that a veteran would turn his back on veterans but that is exactly what McCain's history has proven. It is also the reason why every major service organization has come out against McCain. He earned their anger. Why aren't you angry yet?

Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

McCain claims to not match voting record

McCain claims do not match voting record
by Kathie Costos

The biggest problem McCain has, is McCain. He can say whatever he wants and hope all he wants the American people have not been paying attention to what is real and what is manufactured, scripted to portray him as supporting the troops and veterans, but the record is clear. It shows in his votes and his speeches. Here are just some of those votes with links for more eye openers.

McCain was against the GI bill because he said it was "too generous" and then we have this

Referring to Iraq in his closing comments Monday, McCain said he recognized Americans have grown tired of the war and the mistakes made, "but we cannot react to those mistakes by embracing a course of action that will be an even greater mistake, a mistake of colossal historical proportions."

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/26/mccain/

McCain, Military Oppose Expanding GI Bill
Presidential Hopeful Believes Legislation Would Hurt Military
By Z. Byron Wolf April 14, 2008
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.

Both Democratic presidential candidates — Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., — have signed on as co-sponsors, and the bill has gained bipartisan support from 54 senators on Capitol Hill in addition to Webb. A vote on the proposal is expected before the summer.

But the bill, which would dramatically increase educational compensation for American troops, 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.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=4652517

But when it came time to vote for it, McCain didn't bother to show up.

McCain misses vote on a new GI Bill, scorns criticism from Obama

May 23, 2008
Support for the troops returned as an issue to the presidential campaign yesterday with harsh words from both sides.

The Democratic National Committee accused John McCain of being AWOL from the Senate vote yesterday for a new GI Bill to provide better education benefits for returning veterans. McCain was in California on a campaign and fund-raising trip, while both Democratic contenders, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, left the campaign trail to vote for the bill, which passed by a veto-proof 75-to-22 majority.

On the Senate floor, Obama questioned why McCain opposed the bill. "I can't believe why he believes it is too generous to our veterans," Obama said. "There are many issues that lend themselves to partisan posturing, but giving our veterans the chance to go to college should not be one of them."

McCain, a Vietnam War hero, didn't take the criticism lightly - and while Obama is careful to honor McCain's military service, he mentioned Obama's lack of it.

"I will not accept from Senator Obama, who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform, any lectures on my regard for those who did," McCain said in a statement. "Perhaps, if Senator Obama would take the time and trouble to understand this issue he would learn to debate an honest disagreement respectfully. But, as he always does, he prefers impugning the motives of his opponent, and exploiting a thoughtful difference of opinion to advance his own ambitions. If that is how he would behave as president, the country would regret his election."

The bill, which President Bush has threatened to veto, would pay tuition and other expenses at a four-year public university for anyone who has served at least three years since the 2001 terrorist attacks. McCain is a cosponsor of a different version of the bill that would require soldiers to have more time in the service to get full benefits and to encourage them to stay in the military as a career.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/05/23
/mccain_misses_vote_on_a_new_gi_bill_scorns_criticism_from_obama/

But when the bill was passed with so many votes a veto was not possible, this is what the American people were told by Bush and McCain.

Bush Wrongly Credits McCain For 'Working Hard' On G.I. Bill
Jun 30, 2008 ... Good on the Congress and the Vets for passage of the GI Bill! They absolutely deserve it, no matter what Bush and McCain think!

BUSH: The bill is a result of close collaboration between my administration and members of both parties on Capitol Hill. I appreciate the hard work of my cabinet, especially the leaders of Defense and State and Veterans' Affairs and Office of National Drug Control Policy, as well as OMB. I want to thank House and Senate leadership and leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. I am particularly grateful to Congressmen Boehner, Hoyer, Obey and Lewis.

I want to thank members who worked hard for the G.I. Bill expansion, especially Senators Webb and Warner, Graham, Byrd, and McCain. This bill shows the American people that even in an election year, Republicans and Democrats can come together to stand behind our troops and their families.

click above for more

McCain put out a commercial that claims he has not been part of the problem in Washington, but this shows how much he has been tied to the problems the American people face everyday.

Voting with Party
John McCain has voted with a majority of his Republican colleagues 88.3% of the time during the current Congress. This percentage does not include votes in which McCain did not vote.
See a list of his votes against his party since 1991, a list of all Senators in the 110th Congress with a similar score, or a full list of party voters.

McCain wants us to see him as a maverick, but sometimes it is not a good thing to be one. Look at these votes to see what being a "maverick" has meant to McCain. There have been times when McCain got it right and voted Democrats against the GOP but those times are few.

GAO Report Points to Pentagon Waste (washingtonpost.com)
GAO Report Points to Pentagon Waste. Defense Department Home to 8 of 25 Federal Programs Labeled 'High-Risk'.

Military waste under fire / $1 trillion missing -- Bush plan...
GAO's Kutz said Rumsfeld has "showed a commitment" to cutting waste and asked Pentagon officials to save 5 percent of the defense budget,
Tom Abate, Chronicle Staff Writer

Sunday, May 18, 2003


The Department of Defense, already infamous for spending $640 for a toilet seat, once again finds itself under intense scrutiny, only this time because it couldn't account for more than a trillion dollars in financial transactions, not to mention dozens of tanks, missiles and planes.


The Pentagon's unenviable reputation for waste will top the congressional agenda this week, when the House and Senate are expected to begin floor debate on a Bush administration proposal to make sweeping changes in how the Pentagon spends money, manages contracts and treats civilian employees.

The Bush proposal, called the Defense Transformation for the 21st Century Act, arrives at a time when the nonpartisan General Accounting Office has raised the volume of its perennial complaints about the financial woes at Defense, which recently failed its seventh audit in as many years.

"Overhauling DOD's financial management operations represent a challenge that goes far beyond financial accounting to the very fiber of (its) . . . business operations and culture," GAO chief David Walker told lawmakers in March.

WHAT HAPPENED TO $1 TRILLION?

Though Defense has long been notorious for waste, recent government reports suggest the Pentagon's money management woes have reached astronomical proportions. A study by the Defense Department's inspector general found that the Pentagon couldn't properly account for more than a trillion dollars in monies spent. A GAO report found Defense inventory systems so lax that the U.S.

Army lost track of 56 airplanes, 32 tanks, and 36 Javelin missile command launch-units.
click above for more

Voted against bill to stop waste by DOD
10/6/05
Vote 253: H R 2863: Motion to Table Coburn Amdt. No. 2005; To curtail waste under the Department of Defense web-based travel system.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

Voted against cutting waste in bill
10/20/05
Vote 260: H R 3058: Motion To Table Coburn Amdt. No. 2093 As Modified; To prohibit any funds under the Act from being used for a parking facility as part of the Joslyn Art Museum Master Plan, in Omaha, Nebraska.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

More bills McCain voted out of majority
11/3/05
Vote 282: H R 2744: H.R. 2744 Conference Report; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006
McCain No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes



11/3/05
Vote 289: S 1932: Wyden Amdt. No. 2362; To enhance the energy security of the United States by prohibiting the exportation of oil and gas produced under leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

11/10/05
Vote 317: S 1042: Talent Amdt. No. 2477; To modify the multiyear procurement authority for C-17 aircraft.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

11/15/05
Vote 323: S 1042: Warner Amdt. No. 2518; To clarify and recommend changes to the policy of the United States on Iraq and to require reports on certain matters relating to Iraq.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

11/18/05
Vote 349: On the Motion: Specter Motion to Instruct Conferees Re: H.R. 3010; Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes


12/15/05
Vote 354: On the Motion: Dewine Motion to Instruct Conferees on S. 1932; Medicaid Reconciliation Act of 2005
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes


2/2/06
Vote 9: H R 4297: Menendez Amdt. No. 2705; To express the sense of the Senate that protecting middle-class families from the alternative minimum tax should be a higher priority for Congress in 2006 than extending a tax cut that does not expire until the end of 2008.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes


3/7/06
Vote 33: On the Cloture Motion: Motion to Invoke Cloture on S. 2320; A bill to make available funds included in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program for fiscal year 2006, and for other purposes.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

3/15/06
Vote 48: S CON RES 83: Grassley Amdt. No. 3073; To establish a reserve fund to allow for deficit-neutral legislation that would provide for an extension of the Medicare part D enrollment period.
McCain voted No
GOP Yes
Democrats voted Yes


3/16/06
Vote 58: S CON RES 83: Specter Amdt No. 3048; To increase the advance appropriations allowance in order to fund health, education and training, and low-income programs.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

3/28/06
Vote 79: On the Cloture Motion: Upon Reconsideration, Motion to Invoke Cloture on S.2349; Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

3/29/06
Vote 82: S 2349: As Amended; Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2006
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

3/29/06
Vote 81: S 2349: Ensign Amdt. No. 2980; To include Federal entities in the definition of earmarks.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes


VOTED AGAINST VETERANS
4/26/06
Vote 98: H R 4939: Akaka Amdt. No. 3642 as Amended; To provide an additional $430,000,000 for the Department of Veteran Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient care and treatment for veterans.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

4/26/06
Vote 97: H R 4939: Motion to Table Ensign Motion to Recommit H.R.4939 to the Committee on Appropriations; Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery, 2006
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

4/26/06
Vote 96: H R 4939: Motion to Table Thomas Amdt. No. 3515; To return the bill to the President's proposal.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes


5/4/06
Vote 112: H R 4939: H.R. 4939, As Amended; Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery, 2006
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes


5/16/06
Vote 124: S 2611: Motion to Table Bingaman Amdt. No. 3981; To reduce the number of H-2C nonimmigrants to 200,000 during any fiscal year.
McCain voted Yes
GOP voted No
Democrats voted No


5/24/06
Vote 146: S 2611: Byrd Amdt. No. 4127; To fund improvements in border and interior security by assessing a $500 supplemental fee under title VI.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes


Voted agains bill that would have stopped Iraq from granting amnesty to people who were killing our troops
6/20/06
Vote 178: S 2766: Nelson (FL) Amdt. No. 4265; To express the sense of Congress that the Government of Iraq should not grant amnesty to persons known to have attacked, killed, or wounded members of the Armed Forces of the United States.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes



6/22/06
Vote 184: S 2766: Chambliss Amdt. No. 4261; To authorize multiyear procurement of F-22A fighter aircraft and F-119 engines.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

7/13/06
Vote 198: H R 5441: Menendez Amdt. No. 4634; To provide that appropriations under this Act may not be used for the purpose of providing certain grants, unless all such grants meet certain conditions for allocation.
McCain voted Yes
GOP voted No
Democrats voted No



7/19/06
Vote 210: S 728: McCain Amdt. No. 4684; To provide for a water resources construction project prioritization report.
McCain voted Yes
GOP voted no
Democrats voted No


1/11/07
Vote 7: On the Motion: Motion to Instruct Sgt. at Arms; A bill to provide greater transparency in the legislative process.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

1/18/07
Vote 18: S 1: Lieberman Amdt No. 30; To establish a Senate Office of Public Integrity.
McCain voted Yes
GOP voted No
Democrats voted No


Voted against Gen. George Casey
2/8/07
Vote 45: On the Nomination: Confirmation Gen. George W. Casey to be Chief of Staff, U.S. Army
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

3/6/07
Vote 61: S 4: Motion to Table Feinstein Amdt. No. 335; To improve the allocation of grants through the Department of Homeland Security, and for other purposes.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

7/20/07
Vote 272: H R 2669: H.R. 2669 as Amended; College Cost Reduction Act of 2007
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

8/2/07
Vote 294: On the Motion: Motion to Concur in the Amendment of the House to S.1; A bill to provide greater transparency in the legislative process.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

8/2/07
Vote 293: On the Cloture Motion: Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Concur in the Amendment of the House to S.1; A bill to provide greater transparency in the legislative process.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

8/2/07
Vote 303: H R 976: Hutchison Amdt No. 2620; To increase access to health insurance for low-income children based on actual need, as adjusted for cost-of-living.
McCain voted Yes
GOP voted No
Democrats voted No

10/16/07
Vote 372: H R 3093: H.R. 3093, As Amended; Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes

10/16/07
Vote 367: H R 3093: Motion to Table Ensign Amdt. No.3295; To increase funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program and offset the increase by reducing NASA funding.
McCain voted No
GOP voted Yes
Democrats voted Yes



3/13/08
Vote 75: On the Motion: Motion to Waive C.B.A. DeMint Amdt No. 4347; To establish an earmark moratorium for fiscal year 2009.
McCain voted Yes
GOP voted No
Democrats voted No

Missed Votes
John McCain has missed 408 votes (63.8%) during the current Congress.
See a list of his missed votes since 1991 or see a full list of vote missers.

Key Votes
See how John McCain voted on key votes -- the most important bills, nominations and resolutions that have come before Congress, as determined by washingtonpost.com.

The biggest problem with McCain is on the record. He is not just a Vietnam veteran and ex-POW, he's a disabled veteran, who has voted against other disabled veterans. He was not only educated by the tax payers, he voted against other members of the military having the same ability. We should expect more out of him because of what he felt he earned as a veteran. It has been said that we should honor his service to the nation, but that does not include continuing to vote for him when he has not earned that as well. McCain keeps voting against all he wants to be acknowledged for being.

Fake Soldiers Used In RNC Video To Get Emotional Reaction

I am utterly appalled they pulled a stunt like this. How dare they? How dare they use the men and women serving this country like pawns? Hiring actors to act out one of the most emotional moments of a military family's life is beyond excuse.

Isn't it bad enough that when the families do want coverage by the media to report the funerals of the fallen or even go to the airport to cover the flag draped coffin returning to their home town, the military will not allow it? Now the McCain campaign decides that they can hire actors to portray a funeral for political gain? I want to throw up!!!!!!

I'm going off on a huge rant right now so if you're not in the mood to read it, please skip past this part and move onto the report from CBS. My husband said that my mouth should have been sent to Vietnam and it would have been over in a week. Chaplain hat is off and veterans advocate hat, wife of Vietnam vet, daughter of Korean vet battle gear is on!!!!

This son of a bitch has used the military long enough! McCain does not own the word patriot any more than he deserves to use the fact he was a POW to cover up every single shifty dirty deed he has done since the day he was released from the Vietnamese. He does not own history any more than he owns his own facts and considering there are a lot of other POW's who see right through him, it's time for him to just use that "whatever" that got him thru those days as a POW and face some truth for once in his life. He proved what he was when he came home and dumped his first wife who was in an accident for Cindy. We all know that story. As a veteran he also proved that he does not give a shit about any other veteran as long as he's taken care of an bowed down to as if he is a hero equal to those who have lost limbs trying to save lives and ended up having to fight the government to have their wounds taken care of when he turned his back on all of them by voting against increasing the VA budgets and all other measures that would provide the adequate care for them.

Don't let the Walter Reed scandal pass your memory here either. After all, how many trips did he make sure he mentioned when he "visited the troops there" but never, ever once stood up to say how deplorable those in the wards hidden from public view were being treated no matter what was being reported before and after the Washington Post got their hands on the story? Do you really think any of this was a secret from an insider like McCain when he was sucking up to Bush and Rumsfeld? People talk.

Now this son of a bitch turns around and uses, yes uses, imaginary dead soldiers to sell his script of being all so in tune to the suffering of military families? What the hell does he know about what any of them are going through or even care? I've spent the last 26 years fighting to keep them alive and if McCain really gave a shit about any of them he would have made damn sure that every little thing that needed to be done was being done for all of them. After all, when he was released from the POW camp, he managed to get all the care he needed and yes, got his claim approved for disability and I bet that he never once had to file a single appeal for it. He never had to suffer because the VA would not honor his claim or show up at the VA to have PTSD treated only to be told they didn't have the time to see him or tell him when he called a suicide hotline that he needed to call back in the morning! He never once had to endure any of this because after all, he came home as war hero who was honored while the rest of the Vietnam veteran were being shafted from here to eternity and kept suffering while he lived off the tax payers going to college and then collecting disability he was entitled to while not caring about the others who were not getting anything for all his years in the Senate when he had the power to do something about it. This is all pure bullshit!

I wonder how many times he'll manage to talk about how he was a POW tonight in his speech. I didn't watch last night. I opted to watch America's Got Talent instead. I knew it would be bad enough having to read the speeches today online. I won't watch tonight either. I won't waste my time knowing the person doing the speaking is lying through his teeth! I'm sure he'll have some other Vietnam veterans standing behind him. I doubt they ever noticed how McCain never seems to manage to stand behind any of them and fight for them!

So many have died when they still could have been alive. They died after they got home. They died because they took their own lives because people like him never once showed they cared about any of them. He used them. He's still using them. Now, go and read this and understand that it's not the fact he's a Republican that I can't stand him. I have a lot of Republican friends who can't either. What I can't stand is this POW degrading the service of all others by using this part of his life as a stepping stone to power. He should have been proud of his service and brought honor to it instead of degrading it. When it comes to being a veteran, he's a cardboard cutout.







Kathie Costos (rant over, next post Chaplain hat back on)
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

Fake Soldiers Used In RNC Video
Patriotic Montage Shown At RNC Featured Actors Hired For One Day Shoot, Not Military
Comments 141
Sept. 4, 2008


CBS) CBS News Investigative Producer Michael Rey wrote this story for CBSNews.com.

It was a video that was supposed to elicit soaring patriotism and real emotions about the Pledge of Allegiance. But to do that, it used fake soldiers and a staged military funeral instead of the real thing.

On Tuesday night, 15-year-old Victoria Blackstone, a sophomore at the St. Agnes School in St. Paul, led the crowd at the Xcel Energy Center in the Pledge of Allegiance. The audience heard her 434-word essay, “Pledging myself to the Flag of the United States of America,” an essay she’d entered in the “Wave the Stars & Stripes” essay contest and won. The RNC turned that essay into a three and a half minute video, a visually stirring montage rolling over Victoria’s words about sharing the Pledge with Americans who have stood at important moments in history.

There’s the Continental Congress…A real WWII vet…Photos of workers at Ground Zero. A close-up of a folded flag presented to a grieving widow at a military funeral… profiles of soldiers swelling with pride in slo-motion.

But CBS News found that the footage of the ‘funeral’ and soldiers is what is called ‘stock’ footage. The soldiers were actors and the funeral scene was from a one-day film shoot, produced in June. No real soldiers were used during production.

The footage, sold by stock-film house Getty Images was produced by a commercial filmmaker in Chicago. Both Getty and the production company, Mr. Big Films, confirmed that the footage was shot on spec and sold to the Republican National Committee.

One of the actors, Perry Denton of Chicago, Ill. also confirmed that he was hired on a day-rate as an actor for the shoot and told CBS News he was surprised to learn the footage was shown at the convention.
go here for more

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/04/
cbsnews_investigates/main4415886.shtml

McCain lost veterans votes when he voted against them

For a lot of veterans, the straw that broke McCain's support from veterans came when they understood McCain did not deserve their support. They opened their eyes to the fact that when it came to taking care of them, McCain was simply not interested. When he called Senator Jim Webb's GI Bill, "too generous" that was the end of his free ride over the backs of veterans who supported him just because he was one of them. It's almost as if McCain just took them for granted thinking they would always be loyal to him no matter how he treated them.

Democrats See Benefit Boosts as a Way to Pry Veterans from GOP
Shawn Zeller


CQ Today

Sep 03, 2008
September 2, 2008 - John McCain is rarely thrown off kilter during town hall meetings. So it was surprising when, last month in Denver, a nasty exchange ensued after a veteran accused McCain of speaking out against the new GI Bill and voting against increased funding for veterans' health care.

Republicans have typically enjoyed wide support from veterans, but McCain can expect a lot more where that came from.

Barack Obama is making a concerted push for veterans' votes in November. He's getting help from a number of new, liberal-minded veterans' groups and from the union representing civil servants at the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. They say Democrats can win over the veterans' vote by offering generous benefits to returning troops.

"The watershed moment is going to be the GI Bill," said Patrick Campbell, chief legislative counsel for one of the new groups, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). "Here you had John McCain opposing a proposal that was endorsed by every veterans' service organization, endorsed by a majority of the Senate and two-thirds of the House, with huge bipartisan support on either side of the aisle, and John McCain said it's too generous."
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/11061

Veterans, who voted for you?

You can assume all you want that McCain will support the veterans in this country because "he's one of you" but when he had the chance to prove it, he voted against you. This election is too important for veterans to just ignore the facts. We've seen enough of how McCain really feels when it comes to veterans and our families. We've seen the facts and heard what he claims. The truth it, the two do not add up. Anyone can make a speech and say he cares, but when it came down to proving it, he failed.

Haven't we had enough failures when it comes to those who serve? There are more and more of us everyday trying to get wounds taken care of that were caused because members of our families were willing to lay down their lives for the sake of this nation and then ended up having to fight the government to have them taken care of. Aren't you tired of being last on the "to do list" when the people with the power to take care of veterans make their plans?

Did you also know under GOP "leadership" of Bush, the VA had less doctors and nurses working than there were after the Gulf War even though there were two active military campaigns producing more wounded veterans needing care? Did you know under Bush with McCain patting him on the back that Nicholson returned money unspent when veterans were being turned away from the VA and ended up committing suicide because of PTSD being untreated?

Did you know he was against the new GI Bill and said it was just too generous? Then he didn't even bother to show up to vote, but turned around and said he supported it.

Did you know that if you are a veteran, but did not go into combat, McCain thinks you should seek medical care some place else? In his eyes, you don't even deserve the little he's willing to support. He says it is to ease up the backlog but when it came to increasing the funding to take care of the veterans, he was against it. He's voted too many times against veterans and it's time for all of us to make sure we vote for the people who do support us instead of just the ones who support making more of us. McCain has been all for sending the men and women who serve into war, but he is the last one to take care of those he wants to send. Did you know he was already talking about sending troops into Iraq right after 9-11 when everyone else was getting ready to send troops in Afghanistan?

When it comes to the veterans of this nation, they cannot afford to support someone who has betrayed all of us, the veterans and their families. McCain seems to feel as if you owe him your votes but he never seemed to feel he owed you his.

Aug 21, VCS in the News: Senator McCain's Plan to Privatize Veterans' Healthcare

Aaron Glantz


Inter Press Service News Agency

Aug 21, 2008

August 21, 2008 - If John McCain is elected the next U.S. president, wounded veterans could be in for a world of hurt.

On the campaign trail, the Republican's presumptive nominee has talked of a new mission for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and argued that veterans with non-combat medical problems should be given vouchers to receive care at private, for-profit hospitals -- in other words, an end to the kind of universal health care the government has guaranteed veterans for generations.

"We need to relieve the burden on the VA from routine health care," McCain told the National Forum on Disability Issues last month. "If you have a routine health care need, take it wherever you want, whatever doctor or health care provider and get the treatment you need, while we at the VA focus our attention, our care, our love, on these grievous wounds of war."

The Republican senator argues that giving veterans a VA card that they can use at private doctors would shorten the long wait times many veterans face in seeing government doctors, who are nearly universally viewed as among the best in the world.

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" than that delivered by other U.S. health care providers.

Virtually all veterans groups oppose McCain's plan. The Veterans of Foreign Wars' national legislative director has said the VA card would "undermine the entire system".

According to the Centre for Responsive Politics, Democrat Barack Obama has received nearly six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contribution than has Republican John McCain.

This may seem odd to some since McCain is a former naval officer, prisoner of war, and Vietnam War veteran.

However, Paul Sullivan, a Gulf War veteran and executive director of the non-partisan Veterans for Common Sense, says that for McCain, free market ideology is more important than providing care for former soldiers.

"Ideologues like John McCain and George Bush hate the fact that the VA exists," Sullivan told IPS, noting that the Republican candidate also wants to partially privatise social security and offer private school vouchers to students currently enrolled in public schools.

"They hate the fact that there's a functional example out there of the government providing better care at a lower cost than the private sector," Sullivan said. "The problem that the VA faces now is that the Bush administration failed to hire enough doctors and disability claims adjusters when they chose to go to war with Iraq. If these doctors had been hired, the VA would be an example of the government doing good work. Bush and McCain don't want the public to see that."

McCain has also never spelled out what he means by a "combat injury", leading many veterans worried they could be left out in the cold.

"If I'm driving a Humvee in Iraq and a roadside bomb explodes and I veer off the road and crush my arm and end up losing it and needing a prosthetic, is that a combat wound according to Sen. McCain?" asked retired Air Force Colonel Richard Klass, the president of the Council for a Livable World's VETPAC, which has endorsed Obama.

Official Pentagon policy calls such an incident a non-combat injury. Technically speaking, the only soldiers "wounded" in combat are those hit by direct enemy fire. As of Aug. 5, Department of Defence statistics showed 32,799 U.S. soldiers had been "wounded" in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another 10,685 had sustained "non-hostile" injuries which required a medical evacuation, while 29,881 were classified as "ill" enough to be airlifted out of the war-zone.

Veterans are also sceptical of McCain's plans because as a senator, he has repeatedly voted against fully funding veterans' health care. In 2005 and 2006, McCain voted against expanding mental health care and readjustment counseling for service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, efforts to expand inpatient and outpatient treatment for injured veterans, and proposals to lower co-payments and enrollment fees veterans must pay to obtain prescription drugs.

McCain's vote also helped defeat a proposal by Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow that would have made veterans' health care an entitlement programme like social security, so that medical care would not become a political football to be argued over in Congress each budget cycle.

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) gave him a D+ when they scored his voting record (whereas Obama got a B+). He's voted with the interests of Disabled American Veterans only 20 percent of the time.

"If McCain would work to properly fund VA care, there would be no issue about a VA card," said Larry Scott, who edits the website VAWatchdog.org. "McCain, by wanting to give vets private care, is walking away from the VA and ignoring the problem. He is admitting that he will not properly fund the VA to the level where it can care for all qualified vets. "

Scott is sharply critical of the VA's often cumbersome and ineffective bureaucracy, but like most veterans' advocates, believes the VA system needs to be strengthened. He sees McCain's plan as a way to phase out the government's commitment to those who've served.

"For every vet who would get a VA card, that would be one less vet using the VA," he wrote in an e-mail to IPS. That "would mean, in a short period of time, a smaller budget, fewer locations...and the eventual dismantling of the best health care system in the country."

*IPS Correspondent Aaron Glantz is author of the upcoming book "The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle Against America's Veterans".
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/articleid/10972

These are some of his other votes

08/02/1996 Minimum Wage Increase bill
HR 3448 Y Conference Report Adopted - Senate
(76 - 22)

But he was against it first.
07/09/1996 Minimum Wage Increase bill
HR 3448 N Bill Passed - Senate
(74 - 24)


Voted for the lobbiest
08/02/2007 Lobbying and Donation Regulations
S 1 N Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate
(83 - 14)

Voted against the troops getting rest between deployments which every expert said was needed for their sake.
09/19/2007 Time Between Troop Deployments
S Amdt 2909 N Amendment Rejected - Senate
(56 - 44)

Voted against this one which ended up passing except for 2 votes
12/13/2001 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002
S 1438 N Conference Reported Adopted - Senate
(96 - 2)

But he was for it before he was against it.
10/02/2001 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002
S 1438 Y Bill Passed - Senate
(99 - 0)

01/26/1996 Authorization bill FY96, Defense Department
S 1124 N Conference Report Adopted - Senate
(56 - 34)

12/19/1995 Authorization bill FY96, Defense Department
HR 1530 N Conference Report Adopted - Senate
(51 - 43)

Voted against this one too when only 13 others agreed with him.
09/22/1995 Military Construction FY96 Appropriations bill
HR 1817 N Conference Report Adopted - Senate
(86 - 14)

Voted against Pell Grants
10/25/2005 To Increase The Maximum Federal Pell Grant Amendment
HR 3010 N Motion Failed - Senate
(48 - 51)

05/22/2008 GI Bill and Other Domestic Provisions
S Amdt 4803 NV Amendment Adopted - Senate
(75 - 22)


Voted against this one too when only 10 others agreed with him.

04/25/2002 Securing America's Future Energy (SAFE) Act of 2001
HR 4 N Bill Passed - Senate
(88 - 11)

Voted against taking care of the poor

10/26/2005 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program Amendment
HR 3010 N Motion Failed - Senate
(54 - 43)

07/29/2005 Energy Policy Act of 2005
HR 6 N Conference Report Adopted - Senate
(74 - 26)

06/28/2005 Energy Policy Act of 2005
HR 6 N Bill Passed - Senate
(85 - 12)

Voted against cutting dependency on foreign oil
06/16/2005 Reduction in Dependence on Foreign Oil
HR 6 N Amendment Rejected - Senate
(47 - 53)

06/16/2005 Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) Amendment
HR 6 N Amendment Adopted - Senate
(52 - 48)

06/14/2005 Environmental Effects Caused by Ethanol Amendment
HR 6 N Motion to Table Agreed - Senate
(59 - 38)

Health, before 2000 voted majority yes, but after 2000 voted majority no

05/22/2008 GI Bill and Other Domestic Provisions
S Amdt 4803 NV Amendment Adopted - Senate
(75 - 22)

01/22/2008 Defense Authorizations Bill
HR 4986 NV Bill Passed - Senate
(91 - 3)

10/01/2007 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008
HR 1585 NV Bill Passed - Senate
(92 - 3)

02/02/2006 Tax Rate Extension Amendment
HR 4297 N Motion Rejected - Senate
(44 - 53)

11/17/2005 Additional Funding For Veterans Amendment
S 2020 N Motion Rejected - Senate
(43 - 55)

10/05/2005 Health Care for Veterans Amendment
HR 2863 N Motion Failed - Senate
(48 - 51)

06/27/2003 Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit bill
S 1 N Bill Passed - Senate
(76 - 21)

11/03/2005 Medical Assistance and Prescription Drug Amendment
S 1932 N Amendment Adopted - Senate
(54 - 45)

11/03/2005 Hurricane Health Care for Survivors Amendment
S 1932 N Motion Rejected - Senate
(48 - 51)



http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=53270

Dereliction of Duty McCain’s record on veterans’ issues

Dereliction of Duty
McCain’s record on veterans’ issues is shocking and awful
By Cliff Schecter
Features > September 1, 2008
Dereliction of Duty
McCain’s record on veterans’ issues is shocking and awful
By Cliff Schecter
Presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) talks to World War II veteran George Dusdenbury on Jan. 18, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
McCain's record on veterans' issues paints a picture of a man who has been willfully negligent when it comes to providing for his former brothers and sisters in arms.

At a town hall meeting in Denver in early July, a Vietnam veteran asked presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) why he had opposed increasing healthcare for veterans whenever Congress had taken up the issue over the past six years. McCain virtually ignored the man’s question, dissembling his opposition to an updated GI Bill for veterans. After the questioner challenged McCain’s response, the senator reacted as he usually does when queried beyond his comfort level: He got visibly angry.

Because McCain is running for president almost solely on his biography as a war hero, he can’t — and won’t — allow the slightest doubt to linger about his dedication to soldiers both past and present. It didn’t matter that the vet simply wanted to know how McCain — himself a former soldier and prisoner of war — could oppose important healthcare legislation for veterans. In fact, he didn’t even ask McCain about the GI Bill that he opposed, which had been supported by a bipartisan group of 75 senators, including Republican veterans Chuck Hagel (Neb.) and John Warner (Va.).

Most notably, McCain also testily responded to his inquisitor that he had “received every award from every vets organization.”

The problem is, not only is that assertion not true, but McCain’s record on veterans’ issues paints a picture of a man who has been willfully negligent when it comes to providing for his former brothers and sisters in arms.

As Iraq War veteran and former Democratic congressional candidate Paul Hackett says, “Here is a guy who touts himself as a friend of veterans, but his history shows just the opposite. How can someone who cares about our men and women in the armed services vote against the GI Bill or veterans’ healthcare?”
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http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3864/dereliction_of_duty/

What makes all of this worse is the fact McCain enjoys the very thing he does not want all other veterans to have. Doesn't matter to him at all as long as he gets his "share" and all he feels he earned. After all, he was a POW and the rest, well they did not suffer as much as he did, so they should be on their own. This is proven when he says he wants the non-combat veterans treated by civilain doctors with "health care cards" instead of the VA.

For all the veterans still supporting him just because "he's one of them" they need to understand that he is far from one of them when he uses them instead of fights for them.

Presidential campaigns vie for vets’ vote

Presidential campaigns vie for vets’ vote

By Matthew Brown - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Aug 31, 2008 17:21:45 EDT

BILLINGS, Mont. — Retired paratrooper Vernon Kinn liked what he heard when Sen. Barack Obama came to Montana recently with a promise to build more health centers for veterans. That could end the 500-mile, roundtrip drive Kinn faces each time he needs a new hearing aid from Montana’s only VA hospital.

But Kinn, who served two years in Vietnam, was unsure he could turn his back on Republican Sen. John McCain, a former Navy pilot who spent five years in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp.

“It’s going to take a lot of thought. After the war, nobody liked us. They spit on us. Now we’ve got to stick together,” said Kinn, 62.

As the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns vie for support from the nation’s 25 million veterans, Kinn illustrates the mixed feelings among some in a crucial voting bloc.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/08/ap_veterans_vote_083108/

Kinn has the right to view McCain anyway he wants but in the process, he is giving McCain loyalty he does not deserve because he has not returned it to his fellow veterans. His support of Vietnam veterans and all veterans is just not there but he fully expects to receive it from them while he is always reminding them, after all, he was a POW. What he has done against them, well that shouldn't matter. What he wants to do to them instead of for them, that doesn't seem to matter either, in McCain's mind anyway. The veterans service organizations have failed him for his votes, not for the fact he is a veteran. The problem is, we should expect a lot more out of him because he is a veteran.

Tammy Duckworth, Wounded Iraq veteran rips Bush, McCain

Wounded Iraq veteran rips Bush, McCain
By CHRISTOPHER WILLS | Associated Press Writer
9:23 PM CDT, August 27, 2008
DENVER - Tammy Duckworth, an Army helicopter pilot who lost both legs in Iraq, told the Democratic convention Wednesday that Republican John McCain has unfailingly backed a Bush administration that "let our warriors down."

"Our troops are courageous, strong, fierce. This administration has redeployed them until they are overstretched, stressed and strained," said Duckworth, now director of the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs.

She berated McCain for backing President Bush's decision to invade Iraq, calling it a diversion from the true battle -- fighting in Afghanistan to destroy al Qaeda. And Bush has failed to give adequate care to the soldiers injured in that war, she charged.

"Too often they get bureaucracy, not benefits. They find inadequate access, inferior facilities and infuriating paperwork," Duckworth said.
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Texas' Chet Edwards tells veterans: McCain is no friend to you

Texas' Chet Edwards tells veterans: McCain is no friend to you

07:07 AM CDT on Thursday, August 28, 2008
By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News
rtgarrett@dallasnews.com

DENVER – Waco congressman Chet Edwards assailed John McCain as no friend of veterans Wednesday, while hailing Barack Obama as the champion that veterans and military families need.


Capping seven days that most politicians can only dream of, Mr. Edwards snagged a prime-time speaking slot at the Democrats' convention.

With a video montage of the Alamo as his backdrop, he got four minutes to tout Mr. Obama's record on veterans' health and education benefits.

Mr. Edwards said he has "the greatest respect for the military service and sacrifice of John McCain in the Vietnam War."

But he said the Arizona senator "has received failing grades from some of our nation's most respected veterans' organizations. He has repeatedly voted against health care funding and benefits for his fellow veterans. And if elected, his plan could lead to the rationing of veterans' health care."
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John "but I was a POW" McCain is bad for veterans

Reading this first thing in the morning made me want to scream!

Military credentials

The older, military veteran audience - in McCain's home state, no less - seemed a good match for the older, Vietnam-veteran McCain. Time and again, when asked their thoughts on the presidential race Tuesday, American Legion members pointed to McCain's military credentials, wondered about Obama's experience, and openly questioned the Democratic nominee's patriotism.

"Obama's not a veteran. He's not a veteran. Why should I trust him?" asked Ed Rocha, 68, a Democrat and Navy veteran from Williams.

Donna Ray, 63, a Republican from Cincinnati, called McCain "an idol," and said the patriotism factor looms large in her presidential choice. She noted Obama's reluctance to wear an American flag lapel pin on the campaign stump earlier this year. When told that he regularly appears with the flag pin now, she was dubious: "Why? Because he's running for president."

If elected, McCain pledged to fight for better health care for service members and improved Veterans Affairs programs. He called poor living conditions uncovered at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2007 "a disgrace unworthy of this nation" and vowed to ensure that "nothing like it is ever repeated."

McCain also said his administration would create a Veterans Care Access Card to improve health services for veterans who are eligible for care but unable to receive it due to their distance from VA facilities, lengthy wait times or the absence of needed specialty services. Use of the card would be voluntary, and participating veterans would pay no additional fees.

Said McCain, "My reform will improve care, reduce risks and broaden access all at the same time."

Promises to veterans during campaign season are nothing new, noted WWII veteran C.R. Stephens, 81. But the Republican from Cedar Falls, Iowa, said he has more faith in McCain delivering than Obama.

"Look at him," Stephens said of Obama. "What's he know? A one-term senator. Not a veteran."
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http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/08/27/20080827mccain-legion0827.html

Is McCain a veteran? Yes. Was he a POW? Yes. Both put him on equal ground with every other veteran and POW. Neither raises him above any of the others and it's time for some honesty from all the veterans, POW's and their families. It's time to stop regarding what he had to do to survive what he went through as an excuse for what he's done against veterans. Some are giving him a free pass at their own expense. The service organizations giving McCain failing grades when it comes to taking care of veterans should not be taken lightly by any voters regarding any politician. To dismiss his deplorable record just because he's one of us, is stupid. The assumption that he'll take care of any of us is not proven by what he's done since he got back from Vietnam. This is evidence of what McCain thinks of veterans at the same time he wants to use being one in order to do what it takes to get to where he wants to be and the veterans, well, they and their families are just a stepping stone to get there.

August 2001: McCain voted against increasing the amount available for medical care for veterans by $650,000,000. To his credit, he also voted against the 2001 Bush tax cuts, which he now supports making permanent, despite the dire financial condition this country is in, and despite the fact that he indicated in 2001 that these tax cuts unfairly benefited the very wealthy at the expense of the middle class.

April 2003: McCain 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.

October 2003: McCain 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.

March 2004: McCain 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.

March 2006: McCain voted against increasing Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in FY 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.

April 2006: McCain 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.

May 2006: McCain voted against an amendment that would provide $20 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for health care facilities.

September 2007: McCain voted against the Webb amendment calling for adequate troop rest between deployments. At the time, nearly 65% of people polled in a CNN poll indicted that "things are going either moderately badly or very badly in Iraq.

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http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/articleid/9559

I could overlook the fact that his character core is one of a husband that returns to his wife after she waited for him all the years he was gone, all the years she had to worry about him being alive or dead, all the years of praying for his return, only to be dumped because she was in an accident for Cindy. I could overlook the fact that after 2000 when Bush destroyed him politically in their primary campaign for the nomination, McCain changed and then sucked up to Bush voting with him 95% of the time. I could overlook the fact that McCain can't even remember how many homes he has at the same time he wants to continue the process that cost the rest of us our homes with the Graham ploy that let the banks do what they wanted and sucked in so many looking for the American dream. I could overlook the part that McCain wants to continue to do what has cost this nation the blood of our troops when evidence proves there was no need to invade Iraq and jeopardized the operation in Afghanistan, began the obliteration of the National Guard forces needed to respond to national emergencies along with the rest of what the operations in Iraq have cost this nation.

There is a lot I could overlook, because he's a veteran after all but the maverick title he was anointed with by the media became a lap dog after the hell he was put through by Bush, but I cannot overlook the way he regards veterans. In his eyes, we are just not worth fighting for. In his eyes, there are too many things that are just too good for us instead of the obligation this nation has to us.

McCain can rant all he wants about the fact he's a veteran. He can point out that Obama isn't. But what he can't do is put his votes up against Obama. The service organizations give Obama high marks on his support of them. That's what really counts. It's time for the veterans in this country to take a good look at what McCain has done since Vietnam against veterans when he should have been held to a higher standard as one of us voting against us. By the way, the flag pin thing, well anyone can stick a pin to their jacket but it's what they have inside of them that really matters. If McCain gets elected, we'll all be stuck with the suffering of veterans and their families who need someone fighting for us instead of using us.

Senior Chaplain Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
http://www.namguardianangel.org/
http://www.woundedtimes.blogspot.com/
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

Not all veterans salute McCain

Just because someone is a veteran, that does not necessarily make them a nice guy, a smart guy, a military expert or even a decent human. There are some veterans who were decorated and ended up homeless. There were some who were heroes in battle only to end up in jail for crimes committed after. Veterans come from all walks of life, all different experiences and enter into the military for all different reasons. What they do after combat should count as much as what they do during combat. While we do take into consideration someone's military record in court cases, they are not given a get out of jail free card. Even if they have PTSD, avoid prison, there are legal consequences they have to live up to from community service to getting therapy. Employers may give preferential treatment in hiring veterans but the veteran still has an obligation to do the job they were hired to do or they get fired. Loans may be a bit easier for veterans to obtain to start a business or purchase a house but they have to pay the loan back.

Why is it that McCain thinks he gets an automatic pass on running for president the same way he received one running for the senate? Too many in this country look at McCain and see the image of him as a POW. While that does put him into a unique category as a rarity, that should not absolve him of everything he has done since he came back. While he spent years in the senate, he was not a champion on veterans issues. As a matter of fact, he either voted against bills for veterans or fought against them. Senator Jim Webb's GI Bill is the latest one he fought against and then tried to pass it off as something he supported. Bush even attempted to congratulate him by tying him into the announcement of the signing of the bill when Bush and McCain did everything in their power to kill the funding.

We do not give all veterans a free ride on what they do after service and should not give one to McCain either. Considering because of veterans like McCain running away from what other veterans need, the rest of the veterans have been suffering for far too long under his "leadership" against them. KC

Not all veterans salute McCain
Click-2-Listen
By Dan Moffett
Palm Beach Post Editorial Writer
Sunday, August 03, 2008
The growing ranks of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan will have a lot to say about who becomes president. And what they are saying isn't what you might expect.

In theory, John McCain, with his long record of service as a Navy pilot and prisoner of war story from Vietnam, should have the market cornered on the military vote.

Instead, he has drawn opposition from many veterans because of his voting record in the Senate. Sen. McCain has voted against bills that would have improved veterans' benefits, particularly health care, or measures to ease the strain on active-duty troops and their families.

The disapproval among vets for Sen. McCain has fed surprising support for Barack Obama, who has voted for many of the veterans' initiatives in the Senate that his opponent rejected.

One of the last things the McCain campaign expected was to wind up in the cross hairs of angry veterans and having to fight off repeated attacks. But, then, that was also one of the last things the decorated veteran John Kerry expected in 2004.

The Internet has given rise to a new generation of veterans groups that line up from one end of the political spectrum to the other - Veterans for Peace at the left end and the Swift Boat Vets on the right.

Among the many misconceptions about running for president is that a military combat record makes a candidate more electable.

The Disabled Veterans of America gives him a 20 percent rating, compared with an 80 percent rating for Sen. Obama. The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans for America gives Sen. McCain a D and Sen. Obama a B+. The Vietnam Veterans of America say Sen. McCain has voted against them on 15 issues.

One of the most vocal and fastest-growing veterans groups to oppose the McCain campaign is VoteVets.org. Formed in 2006, the organization claims a membership of roughly 100,000, with a political action committee devoted to electing congressional candidates who oppose the handling of the Iraq war.

Especially galling to VoteVets.org is Sen. McCain's opposition to the new, bipartisan GI Bill that increases education benefits for Iraq and Afghanistan vets. Sen. Obama voted for the bill when it passed 75-22 in May; Sen. McCain was on the campaign trail and did not vote.

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