McCAIN TAKES CREDIT FOR VETERANS BILL HE FOUGHT AGAINST

In still another brazen display of lying to not only the American public but to veterans as well, GOP Presidential hopeful John McCain took credit for a veterans education bill he never voted for and actually opposed the bill.

Meanwhile, Demorcatic hopeful Barack Obama joined 96 other Senators in voting FOR the bill.


McCain takes credit for a bill he fought against (again)

Posted August 18th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/16597.html

In late June, the Senate approved a war supplemental spending bill, which included the Webb/Hagel GI Bill, expanding educational benefits for veterans. It passed 92 to 6, with John McCain failing to show up to vote. (Barack Obama was there, and he voted with the majority.)

The next day, McCain bragged to an audience in Ohio that “we … agreed to an increase in educational benefits for our veterans.”

Ali at TP noted that McCain made a related boast this morning.

Speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) once again tried to steal credit for the 21st Century G.I. Bill, which McCain had vigorously opposed, even submitting his own proposal to undermine the chances of success for the main bill. Today, McCain told the audience of veterans that he “sought a better bill” and declared the final passage of the GI bill “the result” of his efforts:

“As a political proposition, it would have much easier for me to have just signed on to what I considered flawed legislation. But the people of Arizona, and of all America, expect more from their representatives than that, and instead I sought a better bill. I’m proud to say that the result is a law that better serves our military, better serves military families, and better serves the interests of our country.”

OK, let’s unpack this a bit. First, McCain not only opposed the GI Bill expansion, he actively fought against it. Indeed, he bragged that his opposition to the bill was evidence of his character. McCain not only opposed the bill, he did so for all the wrong reasons. He even went so far as to say the GI Bill expansion would literally “hurt the military.”

And yet, he’s gone from characterizing himself as a supporter to arguing that he personally made the bill even better.Second, McCain’s argument flatly contradicts what the VFW knows to be true.

VFW’s deputy director for legislative affairs Eric Hilleman: The Graham-Burr-McCain plan is “very partisan and is seen as a way to convolute the GI bill, or to slow the Webb-Hagel proposal down.”

VFW National Commander George Lisicki: “People are leaving after their first enlistment because they are tired of being shot at, and their families are tired of the frequent deployments… Whether they stay in four years or 20, we owe this newest, greatest generation the gift of education.”

In context, McCain was admittedly in a tough spot. The VFW championed the Webb/Hagel bill and made it one of the group’s top legislative priorities of this Congress, while McCain fought against the VFW every step of the way. McCain couldn’t exactly be honest, and address the organization today with an explanation on why he tried to deny veterans better educational benefits.

So, McCain chose Door #2 — he lied to them, and hoped the veterans in the audience wouldn’t know the difference. The result is a situation in which McCain adds insult to injury — he fought against better benefits for veterans, then he misled veterans about his own efforts.

It’s pretty much the opposite of “support the troops.”

As long as we’re on the subject, McCain also used his speech to the VFW to:
* attack Obama’s judgment on Iraq, just one day after the NYT highlighted how spectacularly wrong McCain’s judgment on Iraq was after 9/11;
* tout his plan for a “Veterans Care Access Card,” which by all appearances, veterans completely oppose;

* repeat the claim that Obama is effectively committing treason, insisting that Obama wants the U.S. to fail in Iraq because of his personal “ambition.”

Something digby recently said continues to ring true: “I am really starting to hate this unctuous, double-talking creep.”