GOP declares war on veterans

[geniph]

If there's one thing about the modern Republican party that really makes me sick, it's the unending hypocrisy. At the same time the GOP is piously spouting that we must "support our troops" and never question the Boy King's endless quagmires lest we somehow weaken their morale, the party is removing the head of the House Veterans Affairs Committee because he was too sympathetic to the veterans.

Excerpted from the Florida Ledger, http://www.theledger.com, January 17, 2005:

The incoming chair, Steve Buyer, has practically declared war on veterans groups, suggesting they are part of a Democratic plot to create a universal health care system. "Some within veterans service organizations confuse their party politics with how we honor our commitments to veterans," Buyer said at a press conference in his home state. After four years thwarting policy plans of President Bush and winning some concessions for veterans health care and benefits, the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and other national groups face a new test of their clout.

It does not just come from Buyer, whom House Republican leaders installed after removing the former chairman, Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, who frequently sided with veterans groups against GOP leaders. The chairman of the Senate veterans committee also has been replaced, and Anthony Principi, the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs and a friend of veterans groups, has resigned.

The result is more than mere uncertainty in a time of change. Replacing Smith with Buyer stripped the veterans lobby of a key ally and installed a longtime antagonist with fundamentally different views of the VA's mission. It also sent a chilling signal to Republicans who have bucked the party leadership. "They've made the calculation that the benefit to their agenda outweighed the risk of inciting the veterans public," said Dennis Cullinan, legislative director for the VFW.

At stake is whether the VA budget is frozen or cut, more veterans are shut out of the health care system, and new fees and higher drug co-payments are imposed based on income. Such changes are possible given past White House requests and the general Republican hostility toward veterans. Veterans groups have used their leverage on Capitol Hill to fight many of these efforts in the past.

WARNING: Major rant follows

The real agenda of this should be clear to anyone. The Republicans want to reduce veterans' benefits to the barest essentials. Only the disabled and indigent veteran receives benefits - the middle class veteran receives nothing for his/her service. The middle class veteran has to pay for his/her own healthcare, thereby causing his/her money to flow into the coffers of a hospital corporation/drug company, and ultimately into the wealthy's pockets in the form of non-taxed dividends. This is in line with the Republican agenda to remove any government program that benefits the middle class and protects any wealth or security they have managed to accumulate. In this way, the assets of the middle class return to what Andrew Mellon called their "rightful owners" - the very wealthy. The oligarchy sees middle class persons enjoying comfort, and sees their wealth in the wrong hands. To the old money, the blue-collar working class of this country should never have been able to rise into the middle class. So the polarization of our society continues unabated and apparently unopposed. This has happened in our country before, and would have led to violent redistribution of this unequal distribution of assets, were it not for the foresight of a few brilliant men who forestalled such calamity. Both those men were named Roosevelt, and both were accused of being "class traitors."

This is not right. This is the same kind of hypocritical cognitive dissonance that allows a person to claim to be 'pro-life' - right up until a child is born, at which point it becomes an unwanted burden on society. 'Support our troops' right up until the point that they become veterans, at which point they're flushed down the toilet. This is not the thanks our men and women in uniform should come home to. "Oh, you're not homeless, and you weren't shot, so you get NO benefits for having risked your life, your health, and given us several of the best years of your youth. Thanks, now go away and don't bother us." This is DISGUSTING.

[mslux]

1. Buyers is an office in the Reserves or Guard

Sent him to IRAQ!

[purduejake]

5. Better yet, send him to the protestors and people...

[purduejake]

2. And to think Buyer "represents" me.

He's a danger to a LOT of people and always seems to target the weakest people who need the most help.

[atommom]

3. Pesky veterans. Don't they know, they're just supposed to fight for

the country, accept whatever money they get for that, and then fade back into the woodwork when they get home.

The hatefulness and hypocrisy is just mindboggling.

[rkc3]

4. Repubs love veterans - unless they have to run against one.

[alfredo]

6. Could you supply a link to

the original article. I would like to send this to some veterans.

TKS

[geniph]

7. You bet!

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050117/NEWS/501170363&SearchID=73196748722031

PLEASE pass this on to all the veterans you know. This needs to be publicized.

[alfredo]

10. Damn! you're fast.

You a vet?

USASA 65-69
USASAFS Asmara Ethiopia.

[geniph]

12. Married to one, daughter of one,

niece, sister of several, and aunt and cousin of troops currently serving. My husband's USMC 1968-1971, Viet Nam combat veteran. My dad was Navy, my uncle was Navy, one brother was Army, one was Air Force, and I have a nephew and two cousins serving in Iraq in the Army right now. Those are just the closest relatives who are either vets or currently serving; there's quite a few others.

Oh, and I forgot my ex-husband - USCG.

[alfredo]

19. good for them. Let's hope we get new leadership that

values their service.

[Earth_First]

8. "...they are part of a Democratic plot to create universal health care"

OR to put it another way: They are veterans.

[Ezlivin]

9. Some Veteran's organizations are more "in line" with Bush than others

I'm a life member of both the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) and Disabled American Veterans (DAV). Both organizations send out monthly publications, indicating important legislation and other government actions that concern veterans.

My local chapter of PVA has taken great pride in printing verbatim whatever comes out of the local Republican representative (I'm in Texas, which has spent the last few years trying to eliminate all Democrats). Plus they love to print Bible verses and Bible lore (Did you know the Washington Monument had a religious purpose? It doesn't, but it didn't stop them from claiming this.) Not once did the PVA seem to indicate reticence over what the Bush administration was doing.

On the other hand, the DAV has repeatedly shown the budget shortfalls and has called for action to reverse the trend. Like the PVA, the DAV is non-partisan and it takes pains in criticizing the plans and not the people behind them.

As a veteran, I've come to realize that I'm a "dixie cup" citizen: Use once and throw away.

[geniph]

14. A friend of ours told us about that

He's also a USMC veteran (as is my husband), and he had been donating to both organizations until last year, when something happened to radicalize him. His son, also a Marine, was sent to Iraq. George, who'd always been a fairly middle-of-the-road guy politically, became active in veterans' affairs. The more involved he got, the more angry he became at what the Republicans have been doing to gut veterans' programs. George started telling people about the difference between the PVA and the DAV, and encouraging them to support the DAV instead.

[Johnyawl]

21. I know this is nitpicking, sweetie...

...but George was not in the USMC, nor is his son. George was a Navy corpman who served with the Marines, and his son followed in his footsteps. We Marines love our corpmen dearly, but they're not actually Marines.

And the original post was great! :loveya:

[geniph]

22. Thanks, hon!

I hate when I forget to run my posts past my fact-checker! :D

[madrchsod]

11. message to the obama" fans"

he is on the senate veteran committee-durban placed him there to get the help the vets need-illinois is third from the last in veteran benefits. he`s there to win the fight otherwise durbin wouldn`t have put in this position. what better way to rise in the stature?

[geniph]

13. Yes, and he'll be working with my senator, Patty Murray

Patty fights like a pit bull for veterans' rights. She was endorsed by the national VFW - the first woman AND the first Democrat EVER endorsed by the VFW. Bet you never heard about that in the MSM.

Thankfully, Patty won reelection quite handily.

[KharmaTrain]

15. More Retro New Dealing...

This regime's attitude is "I got mine, now go figure out how to get yours". Their concept of money and its value is totally distorted since so many have either never worked or worked honestly to earn a decent living. They're lucky to come from rich families or have a sugar daddy who put them on Easy Street and they think everyone else wants to be the same way. Those who don't, they have nothing but contempt for.

I heard someone mention that *'s plan is to totally dismantle the New Deal concept of the government safeguarding certain needs...and returning it back to the banks & insurance companies...where it was back in the 20's...and where they have zero responsibility or liability.

The scam here is to force companies and individuals into sanctioned "security programs" as an opt out of social security; similiar to the change-over of the health system from patient-need to allowing the insurance companies to determine how much coverage, and in most cases, what type of treatment is given. In this scenario, you'll be able to join a JP Morgan or Citicorp "Retirement Fund"...a gobbildy gook of stocks and other funds that they will totally manipulate and control; promising to return the same or a little more than if the money had been put in the SSI system. Of course, with all the transaction fees and other games, the banks make it coming and going...major bling bling.

Of course, not all will go into these special, controlled programs. Most will do the silly thing like spend it on food and shelter and decide just to pocket the money...further weakening whatever system is left. This suits the greedy just fine. They've got theirs, they want more, and they sure as hell aren't gonna share any of the spoils with you.

[geniph]

16. Exactly my point

that's why I said what I did about the Andrew Mellon quote. He, among others of the oligarchy, saw the Depression as "wealth returning to its rightful owners." The super-wealthy did not suffer serious losses during the Depression. The new middle class and the newly rich did. These people really hate the idea that blue-collar folk can become middle class, and they're trying to roll the clock back to the days when the only folks that were middle class were the educated professions that served the wealthy (doctors, lawyers, accountants). Truck drivers, nurses, and carpenters shouldn't aspire to the middle class, in their view. Old folks should live with their grown children; they shouldn't be able to live comfortable, independent lives.

These kind of cuts are aimed squarely at the middle class veteran. Many veterans went in the Armed Services in the first place to get an education or technical training, as that was their best hope for bettering themselves. In return for their giving their country the best years of their youth, and putting themselves in harm's way, I think the least we can do is pay for their healthcare!

[KharmaTrain]

17. There's Always A Shake-Out

The last was the dot com bust and the subsequent telcom meltdown...along with Enron...billions of dollars that just "vanishedd". Bullshit. It just went from the poor suckers into the rich suckers pockets. The market term for this is a "correction".

People got cocky with their "value" and not their actual worth...banking on those booming stock options and daytrading...thinking they were soooo smart. It's almost like watching the pros at a casino bilk a puppy out of his last time...and them let him think that he actually came out ahead.

This regime has a serious crisis ahead with the military...especially if this Iraq adventure continues. Besides the continued and rising costs of maintaining just what we have there now (this mission ain't gonna get easier nor cheaper) the residuals costs are starting to pile up. Veterans Hospitals are starting to fill up and more services and benefits will have to be supplied...and somehow this is going to be done with less dollars. It's gotta come outta somewhere. And this regime is not against robbing Peter to pay Paul cause most of these slime merchants have never nor ever will have to rely on the military for their health care or taking care of their families.

The real sad thing is how so many in the military still think the GOOP is their party...that is until they put their flags and macho down long enough to see how little they personally have to show for things.

[Disturbed]

18. Dixie cup military personnel.

If the grunts ever figured out just how much the Rethugs in power
really cared about them what would they do?

[geniph]

20. One hopes they'd vote for people

who actually had their best interests at heart!

It IS possible to win all but the most hidebound of the rightwingers over with dogged attention to veterans affairs. My US Senator, Patty Murray of Washington state, has done so with a remarkable amount of success. She's the first woman to serve on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and the first woman AND the first Democrat ever endorsed by the national VFW.