John McCain No Friend of Veterans

John McCain No Friend of Veterans

by Ralph Parrott

Citizens. if you beleive that John McCain’s heroic record of service makes him the veteran’s friend then you need to look closely at his voting record. It is a record ofdeceit, cynicism and neglect.

Senator McCain has a long in undistinguished voting record on veterans issues.  In 2006 the Disabled American Veterans awarded his a rating of 20% (versus 80% for Obama).  In 2006 the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America awarded him a grade of D (versus B+ for Obama).  Consider these specific votes:

• Voted against adding $430 million for veterans’s health care (Senate Vote 98, HR 4939, 4/26/06).
  Voted against converting veterans’ health care funding into mandatory spending (Senate Vote 63, S. Con Res, 3/14/06).
• Voted against increasing veterans’ health care spending by ending certain corporate tax breaks (Senate Vote 41, S. Con Res, 2/14/06).
• Voted to kill $19 million for military and veterans’ hospitals (Senate vote 7, HR 4297, 2/2/06).
• Voted against establishing formula for veterans’ health care funding (senate vote 251, HR 2863, 10/5/05).
• Voted against protecting veterans, armed service members and spouces of deceased service members from new bankruptcy means test (Senate Vote 13, S.256, 3/1/05).
• Voted to kill transfer of Iraqi reconstruction funds to veterans’ health care (Senate Vote 379, S. 1689, 10/14/03).

McCain was at his most cynical and hypocritical worst during the debate on the GI Bill for the 21st Century.  First he opposed it.  Then he offered a bill to kill it. Then he missed the vote.  Finally, he took credit for it.

As it relates to our story posted McCain Snubs Fellow Veterans in RNC Acceptance Speech, Ralph Parrot writes in..
 
I usually try to stay out of these food fights; however, I just cannot let pass any ideal that John McCain is a friend of veterans.  His voting record, when he shows up to vote, is abysmal.  No amount of posturing and denial will change that fact.  He has been the Administration’s lackey in their effort to deny veterans their due.  Here is a link to a posting I made on DailyKos yesterday along with a response that provided even more specifics about Senator McCain’s record on veterans’ issues, http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/6/103656/4116/930/588924 .  I urge each of you to read it and challenge each of you to do your own independent research about his voting record.  You may still decide that he is your man as it is your right to do; however, you do not have the right to your own facts about his record on veterans’ issues.  The record is very clear and all the posturing about what was said and not said at the Republican Convention will not change his record.

I have spent a lot of time on Capitol Hill in the last year lobbying for the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors act and the GI Bill for the 21st Century.  I know who supported and worked for the passage of those bills and who did not.  Believe me when I tell you that Senator McCain was completely AWOL on these bills as well as most others related to veterans’ issues while Senator Obama was helping lead the charge..  Here is my honor roll, gained from up close and personal observation, of Senators who made these pieces of milestone legislation possible:

Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act:

Carl Levin (D, MI)
Jim Webb (D, VA)
Patti Murray (D, WA )
Hillary Clinton (D, NY)
Barack Obama (D, IL)
Susan Collins (R, ME)
John Warner (R, VA)
Kit Bond (R, MO)
 

GI Bill for the 21st Century:

Jim Webb (D, VA)
Daniel Akaka (D, HI)
Frank Lautenberg (D, NJ)
Barack Obama (D, IL)
Chuck Hagel (R, NE)
John Warner (R, VA)
Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R, TX) 

Note:  There were two senators that did everything they could to kill this legislation.  They were John McCain (R, AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R, SC).  These two gentlemen flaunt their status as veterans at every possible occasion and would have you believe that they are the veterans’ friends.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

So vote for John McCain if you must but do not delude yourself that his justly deserved war hero status makes him the friend of veterans.

By the way to avoid any accusation of being a “wannabe”, I am a retired Navy Captain that served on continuous active duty from March 1963 to October 1990, over 27 years.  I make no claim to hero status having been a Supply Corps officer riding on the USS Intrepid in the Tonkin Gulf for two deployments in 1967 and 1968.  My only experience with the VA is receiving education benefits while pursuing a PhD at the University of Tennessee in 1990-1992.

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Original Story Posted: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/6/103656/4116/930/588924