Ancient History
by Frederick
I heard one of those “On this day” segments on one of my favorite XM stations POTUS 08′ headed back home from work this morning. It referenced the following:
Richard Nixon – Statement About the Veterans Medical Care Program
April 2nd, 1970
FOR a number of years, the Veterans Administration hospital system has been experiencing increasing difficulties in providing a full range of services for the care of sick and disabled veterans. As a result of past decisions, the ability of the VA hospital system to meet future needs has been seriously impaired.
Action must be taken now to insure that eligible veterans will receive the medical care they require.
When I appointed Donald E. Johnson to be Administrator of Veterans Affairs last June, I directed him to make a thorough review of the veterans medical care program: to identify the problems, analyze the causes, take such immediate corrective steps as appropriate, and recommend a total medical care program appropriate for future needs. He has completed that review, and today he reported his findings.
I am pleased that the Administrator and his new management team have taken a number of immediate administrative steps to improve the quality of the veterans medical care program. However, his review shows that additional funds are required immediately if the VA is to meet its obligations to veterans requiring medical attention. Therefore, I have approved an increase of $50 million in the VA’s medical care budget request for fiscal year 1971–which makes it $210 million more than the approved appropriation for fiscal year 1970—and have authorized the VA to seek from Congress an additional appropriation of $15 million for the remainder of this fiscal year. These requests will enable the VA to improve medical care for all eligible veterans, particularly for those suffering from battle injuries.
This administration is committed to providing quality medical care for every eligible veteran.
A real, “the more things change, the more they stay the same” moment. I also heard that GOP presumptive nominee Senator John McCain would be visiting old stomping grounds in Annapolis, Maryland on the latest leg of his extended, “who am I and why am I here” Senior moment:
Today’s theme is “serving an interest greater than one’s self.” John McCain returns to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis for his speech on service, voluntarism, and the obligations of citizenship. Aides say it’s the most important speech of his biographical tour.
Maybe, since the good Senator, is speaking of service, he’ll explain why he’s left so many veterans behind:
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.
July 2007: McCain voted against a plan to drawdown troop levels in Iraq. At the time, an ABC poll found that 63% thought the invasion was not worth it, and a CBS News poll found that 72% of respondents wanted troops out within 2 years.
March 2007: McCain was too busy to vote on a bill that would require the start of a drawdown in troop levels within 120 days with a goal of withdrawing nearly all combat troops within one year. Around this time, an NBC News poll found that 55% of respondents indicated that the US goal of achieving victory in Iraq is not possible. This number has not moved significantly since then.
February 2007: For such a strong supporter of the escalation, McCain didn’t even bother to show up and vote against a resolution condemning it. However, at the time a CNN poll found that only 16% of respondents wanted to send more troops to Iraq (that number has since declined to around 10%), while 60% said that some or all should be withdrawn. This number has since gone up to around 70%.
June 2006: McCain voted against a resolution that Bush start withdrawing troops but with no timeline to do so.
May 2006: McCain voted against an amendment that would provide $20 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for health care facilities.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Comments
First off, I have a new desktop background – kudos
This is certainly a startling compilation of McCain’s recent record – especially given his stature as the war/military experienced/foreign affairs candidate who recently criticized Obama for lack of such qualities. I’m now curious about his “pro-veteran” record before the war started and what measures he took before the media really paid attention.
On top of all this is the Walter Reed scandal which brought public notice to the issue – along with the revelation that about 200,000 veterans are homeless – Thanks for your service, good luck on the streets!
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. There is a reason Senators rarely make the White House…they have a record:
From Maverick to Prostitute: The Untold Story of John McCain
Two Senators battling for the POTUS = mutually assured destruction.
When a candidate makes one yearn for the good old days of Nixon, how much of a chance will he have in November?
Well, Nixon was in a sense a Liberal, by today’s standard. The speech shows he thought Government could fix the problem in that it could, “identify the problems, analyze the causes, take such immediate corrective steps as appropriate, and recommend a total medical care program appropriate for future needs.”
My point was the problems are still there 6 administrations later. How anyone could come to a conclusion other than America doesn’t give a shit is beyond me. And John McCain wants more Service?
Excellent compilation of just some of the reasons why McCain is not a ‘veterans’ candidate. In the hoopla and sparks that typically surround the presidential campaign these kind of facts get lost as exemplified by the lack of veterans support over the few presidencies.
We have done a woeful job of caring for our veterans and this needs to change. As a veteran of the Nam era who was lucky enough not to get his ass shot off it makes me sick to see what we are doing to the vets.
I got a craw full of the current state of Veterans care as my late father lay dying in a veterans hospital a few years back(they did the best they could considering). Looking around at all the men my age who didn’t come back from Viet Nam whole and seeing all the men my fathers age who made it back from WWII and Korea but with problems really made an impression. The nurses and doctors at the VA hospital do the best they can with their limited resources but their best efforts fall far short of what is needed. This is just one thing that needs a serious fix when the Dems get back to the WH.
Who “surrendered” in Viet Nam? If I remember right, it was a Republican president. Who “surrendered” in Korea? If I remember right it was a Republican president. Who “surrendered” in Lebanon in ‘83? Could it have been another Republican president? Hmm. When the Cole was attacked two months from the end of Clinton’s term, who didn’t follow up? Geez, ANOTHER Republican president. Who was warned that bin Laden would be his biggest problem and did nothing? By nothing, I mean exactly nothing, not like lobbed a missile at a chemical production plant, missing bin Laden by less than an hour, I mean not a damn thing. Son of a gun, a Republican. How on earth did they manage to convince anyone they are good on national security?
TAKE MY WORD FOR IT KIDS…..JOHN MCAIN IS OO OLD TO RUN ANYTHING……HE IS 2 YEARS OLDER THAN I AM……I FEEL TOO OLD TO COMPILE A GROCERY LIST…..PEOPLE RUN TO OPEN DOORS FOR ME…..AND I AM GRATEFUL. OKAY, OKAY I AM JUST A CRABBY OLD BAG….BUT I AM NOT RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT….