McCain's Bald Faced Lie to Veterans

The John McCain for President web site says that “John McCain has been a leader in Congress, fighting for all those who serve and their families, improving veterans’ health care, providing veterans with the benefits they have earned, easing their transition to civilian life, and honoring the fallen.” This is easily proven to be an outrageous lie.

Since such a large part of the McCain persona surrounds his almost mythical military service, one would think that such a dedicated soldier would be devoted to the betterment of the military and the men and women who serve in it. McCain has often stated that he supports veterans and veteran issues, but interestingly, McCain has voted against every major amendment or bill that would in any way benefit his beloved military.

McCain didn’t just vote against giving the military money, he also voted against giving them rest when he voted, in 2007, against the Webb amendment calling for adequate troop rest between deployments.

McCain has a long record of voting against any monetary award that might benefit veterans. In the very busy year of 2006 he voted against an amendment that would provide $20 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs for health care facilities, like Walter Reed. Then McCain was one of only 13 Senators to vote against the $430 million allotted for the Department of Veteran Affairs for medical services to provide outpatient care and treatment for veterans.

McCain found a way to combine his real love of corporate finances, with his faux love of veteran’s affairs by protecting corporate tax loopholes from being savaged by veteran’s affair funding. He voted, in 2006, against increasing medical service funding for veterans by $1.5 billion to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes, and declined again in 2004, against closing a corporate tax loophole to provide funding for veterans medical care.

It is a bit hard to prove that you are a champion of the military when you won’t spend a dime to care for them, and a much harder case to suggest you are a maverick when you cater to corporate tax structures and the lobbyists for those corporations. The fact that McCain would put a bald face lie on his web site indicates he is shameless, both for the way he has abandoned the veterans that trusted him, and for the way he lies to voters.

Veterans are wise to McCain’s machinations, as can be seen by the low rating given him by veteran organizations across the nation. The Disabled American Veterans and the American Legion recently gave Barack Obama an 80 rating, while awarding McCain a measly 20. Also telling was the D rating McCain received from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, most probably for his votes against the veterans of those very wars.

If the veterans of America can see through McCain’s lies, surely the general population will have to follow suit.





Sources:
Vote Smart Records, The Daily KOS, McCain’s voting record - how he REALLY supports the troops ,clammyc, Jan. 26, 08, Political Affairs.net, John McCain and the Veterans “Paradigm Shift” Joel Wendland, Sept. 14, 08. Washington Post, Votes Database, 109th congressional senate recordVote Smart Records, The Daily KOS, McCain’s voting record - how he REALLY supports the troops ,clammyc, Jan. 26, 08, Political Affairs.net, John McCain and the Veterans “Paradigm Shift” Joel Wendland, Sept. 14, 08. Washington Post, Votes Database, 109th congressional senate record