Not All Veterans Salute McCain

[babylonsister]

Not All Veterans Salute McCain

Sunday 03 August 2008

by: Dan Moffett, Palm Beach Post



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.

In fact, the converse is true, at least since the Vietnam War changed Americans' perspectives about service in the armed forces.

more...

http://www.truthout.org/article/not-all-veterans-salute-mccain

[Hope And Change]

1. K & R!

[elocs]

2. I would like to see a side by side comparison of these votes:

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.

It would make for a very handy reference. Recently, the Vietnam Vets who support Obama were here and you should have heard the hissy fit by the veterans here because, after all, John McCain is a vet. It didn't matter how he voted on veterans' issues.

[babylonsister]

3. If I find one I'll post it, but you have to believe the vets throwing

the hissy fits are woefully uninformed.

[elocs]

8. For them, their logic and thinking need not be informed.

For them it is simple: McCain/vet, Obama/never served. Choice: McCain. Other details just get in the way for them.

[KittyWampus]

4. Dear Babylonsister, you know how much I love this angle, don't you

:)

[babylonsister]

5. Yes I do! There's more than one way

to get this out there, and I'm sure this won't be the last we hear from the vets. I keep looking. ;)

[blondeatlast]

6. I bookmarked this dandy DU post for a reason... Comparing Obama and McCain's Senate voting record:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6481751

Well worth a bookmark, fellow DUers.

[babylonsister]

7. And I just bookmarked your bookmark-thanks! nt