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Wednesday, May 28,2008
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Think You Know John McCain?
He chose fund-raising over supporting vets
Last week’s Senate vote on the 21st-Century GI Bill
was unusual. The 75-vote veto-proof majority of senators approved long-overdue
tuition increases and educational aid for returning veterans of the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan. Those who voted “yea” included Wisconsin’s two senators, Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl;
Democrats such as veterans John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Jim Webb (D-Va.); and 24
Republicans, including Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), John Warner (R-Va.) and Arlen
Specter (R-Penn.).
The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs and the largest
organization of combat veterans in the nation, the Veterans of Foreign Wars
(VFW), supported the bill. So where was presumptive Republican presidential
nominee John McCain during this rare bipartisan, pro-veteran vote? Fund-raising
in Silicon Valley, where rich folks
could pay $25,000 for a picture taken with the straight-talking Republican, or
merely attend an event for $2,300 a pop.
Even though McCain didn’t vote
for or against the bill, the Arizona senator has verbally opposed it, claiming that it was
too generous to the men and women who have served on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11. McCain developed his own version of
a GI Bill, which would have reduced the amount of tuition granted to returning
war vets and would have excluded members of the Reserves and National Guard who
have served in Iraq. McCain said that granting
vets the upgraded educational benefits would encourage combat veterans to leave
the military and get an education instead of returning to the front lines of the
war.
“Our bill has a sliding scale that offers generous benefits to all
veterans, but increases those benefits according to the veteran's length of
service,” McCain stated in a rambling press release. “I think it is important to
do that because, otherwise, we will encourage more people to leave the military
after they have completed one enlistment.”
While fund-raising in California, McCain also missed Gen. David Petraeus’ confirmation
hearing in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee. (Democratic candidate
Sen. Hillary Clinton attended instead of campaigning.) If confirmed, Petraeus
will become the CentCom commander and lead American forces in the Middle East and Central Asia.
If McCain is elected in November, he’ll become
a war president. Is it too much to ask for him to vote on veterans’ benefits and
thoroughly evaluate the general who will oversee the war that McCain has long
championed?
What’s your take? Write:
editor@shepex.com or comment on this
story online at www.expressmilwaukee.com.
Also in News Features:
Should Nonprofit Hospitals Pay Property Taxes?The Reality of the Iraq and Afghanistan WarsMcCain’s Shocking DiscoveryGuns in the Wrong HandsMcGee’s Trial HaltedIs WTMJ-TV Treating Its Workers Fairly?Think You Know John McCain?Cindy McCain Flaunts Her PrivilegeWhat Teens Want to KnowWhat Parents Should Know
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