Bush and McCain support the troops, right? Well, not necessarily
May 12th, 2008 at 02:01pm Pat Cunningham
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The American Legion has COME OUTÂ in favor of Democratic Sen. Jim Webb’s bill to expand benefits for returning veterans.
President Bush opposes the measure, and John McCain has resisted Webb’s entreaties to co-sponsor the bill.
Barack Obama CRITICIZED McCain’s posture on the matter in a speech today in West Virginia.
I wonder if McCain’s reluctance has anything to do with the fact that Webb is said to be on Obama’s short list of possible running mates. But no, he wouldn’t put partisan politics ahead of the interests of veterans, would he?
Entry Filed under: Jim Webb, American Legion, G.I. Bill, John McCain, President Bush, Barack Obama
3 Comments Add your own
1. hokumboy | May 12th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Dating back to Eisenhower, and even Hoover, the Republicans seem to give short shrift to the vets. They seem to love to wave the flag but when it comes to supporting those who served it they seem to have “other priorities”.
I’m sure there’s some fine examples of the Democrats doing likewise, but none seem to come to mind at present. I can imagine someone will come up with a few, though.
2. Craig Knauss | May 12th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
The VA, which is part of the Executive Branch, recently sought to close part or all of the Walla Walla Veterans Hospital. In particular, they were going to close the mental wards. Particularly interesting about this is the fact that the hospital is in a very right wing part of the country. Apparently, Bush & Co. feel it’s proper to wave flags and beat drums, but it’s a different matter to take care of injured veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Fortunately, Washington’s senators, in particular Patty Murray, backed down the Administration on this travesty. She got help from some of Oregon’s politicians as well.
3. Hnery | May 13th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Closing mental hospitals is consistent with the VA’s attitude about Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. The VA is denying claims of soldiers clearly having classic signs of the syndrome and problems functioning. At best, some of them are getting partial benefits. Shame of this administration for it’s treatment of vets.
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