Help me deny McCain a vote

[quakerboy]

I have an older friend who asked me today to help him register to vote. For the first time in his entire life. To vote for McCain.

It should be noted my friend has difficulties. He has had severe memory problems ever since his first tour in Vietnam. His main reason for wanting to vote is that McCain was a POW and will therefore be good for veterans, and he sees this as his chance to "really make a difference".

I took him to get his registration card, but as we chatted, I found he is not really set on this. I gave some really basic comments on the 8 years of votes against Veterans Benefits, and he was very curious to hear more. He is not stupid, other issues aside. He is not set on this. Unfortunately, this is a vote that Obama will never get, because he is an unrepentant racist. But having helped this man for several years, this is a vote that can be denied to McCain with a few well chosen articles and some conversation.

So. Help me with this. Articles spelling out clearly how McCains actions as a senator have effected veterans are needed.

Thank you all.

[eshfemme]

1. For one thing, his fucking vote against Webb's GI Bill for some crappy "alternate version"

It passed but that was because it was practically a no-brainer for most other Congressmen to support.

[ingac70]

2. I'd tell the guy to find someone else to help him...

and that I don't want any part of it.

[quakerboy]

16. And yet

I don't have it in me to hate him. He is a product of his life, and unlike most of us, he CANNOT better himself. Vietnam BROKE his brain. And that is not his fault.

So its up to me to help him within the framework of what he is able to comprehend and deal with. And that is what I will do.

[gateley]

3. He's older and cares enough to vote for the first time in his life.

This means a lot to him - a Viet Nam bond or something.

Don't make him question himself, just let him vote for McCain. Don't take what may be a very proud moment in his life away from him. I think it's the kindest thing to do, and it won't matter in the big picture. We're gonna stomp him.

[ContinentalOp]

10. I'm inclined to agree. -nt-

[quakerboy]

11. Here's the thing

If he does it, and then finds out later(and likely he will, at some point in the future, because despite retention issues he does a lot of reading, though mostly in the realm of fiction) that his first ever vote was actually contrary to his actual values, it is my opinion that that will add yet another layer to his depression and mental self immolation.

[gateley]

14. I understand your point and you may be right.

But I was just thinking what I would do with my dad (now deceased) and I wish I would have been a little KINDER to him when he was alive.

Either way, it's so good of you to take an interest and help him. I know it means a lot to him. You'll do the right thing.

[quakerboy]

19. As I briefly mentioned

He really was interested, when I mentioned that 8 years of voting against veterans, and his 2 immediate comments were "I would hate to make the wrong vote, all the commercial told me was that he had been a POW, so I thought he would be good for vets because he would understand" and, as to the votes "I wonder what the votes were, if they were truly against necessary veteran benefits, thats not what I want, but I could see if they were just unnecessary spending that would be ok".

He really is damaged in his mind. But he is not stupid, nor is he evil. And he has enough he forces himself to feel bad about without adding anything.

[gateley]

23. I have no doubt that you will do what is best for him.

You KNOW him and I was just plopping in my opinion on what I'd do if it were my dad -- who actually has nothing in common with your friend.

Again, it's a good thing you do. :hi:

[ContinentalOp]

17. I think this goes beyond politics.

You just need to be a friend and do what's best for him. If he votes for McCain but he doesn't win, he likely won't ever know. If you get real pushy with him or deny him the experience of voting for the first time in his life that might not be so great. If McCain actually wins and he regrets his vote... well we'll all have much bigger problems to worry about if McCain is president.

[quakerboy]

24. I do too

For myself, it would be very sweet to deny a vote to McCain. But that is not my only thinking. He really does want to do what is right by his fellow vets. And I want to help him with that. I made one comment in conversation about McCains voting record. Not pushy or out of place. I left it to disagree, ask more, or pass it by. He chose to ask more. And actualy did ask for reading material on the topic the next time I see him.

[FrenchieCat]

4. Here's something.....

"I have a perfect voting record from organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion and all the other veterans service organizations."
John McCain on Monday, July 7th, 2008 in a town hall meeting in Denver

That statement from John McCain is --->



Not perfect with all the veterans

Sen. John McCain isn’t used to criticism about his support for veterans. After all, he spent five years in a Vietnamese prison camp and has staked his presidential campaign on a pledge to carry on the Iraq war.

But of late, McCain has taken heat from antiwar veterans groups such as VoteVets.org for hedging his support for legislation to expand federal funding to help veterans go to college and then for failing to show up for the Senate vote on a supplemental war spending bill that secured passage of the expanded GI Bill benefits last month.

So when a man confronted McCain during a July 7, 2008, town hall meeting — accusing the Arizona senator of speaking out against the GI bill — McCain got testy.

McCain responded that he hadn’t opposed the enhanced educational benefits in the GI bill but wanted to ensure that they didn’t stand in the way of the military securing re-enlistments. He said he and his allies successfully lobbied the bill’s chief sponsor, Jim Webb of Virginia, to include a provision allowing a soldier who wanted to continue his military service to give his educational benefits to a family member.

All that was true. But then McCain took it too far.

“The reason why I have a perfect voting record from organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion and all the other veterans service organizations is because of my support of them,” he said.

To be sure, the VFW and the Legion have given McCain awards in the past and can be fairly described as McCain supporters. The VFW’s political action committee has endorsed him for re-election to his Senate seat and to his House seat before that, but neither group keeps a voting scorecard.

At the same time, another veterans service organization cited by the McCain critic at the town hall meeting — the Disabled American Veterans — gave McCain only a 20 percent grade in its 2007 voting scorecard. McCain voted for only one of the amendments that the group tallied as key votes, while voting against the other four.

Likewise, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a relatively new group that was instrumental in pushing for the expanded GI Bill, says McCain only voted veterans’ way on 58 percent of the 155 Senate votes it tallied between 2001 and 2006. Even the Vietnam Veterans of America reports that McCain has voted against 15 of 31 priority bills it tracked between 2001 and 2008.

As a result, we find McCain’s claim to be False.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/573/

-------------------------

VETVOICE REPORTS: DISABLED VETS SHUN McCAIN IN LAS VEGAS

EmailWritten by CORKSPHERE on Aug-11-08 11:42am
The more combat veterans learn about John McCain and his plans, the less they like him. The Las Vegas Sun reports:

Sen. John McCain, speaking to disabled veterans Saturday in Las Vegas, attacked his Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, for his foreign policy record, while also proposing a program that would allow veterans to acquire health care at private hospitals and not just through the Veterans Affairs Department.

by: Brandon Friedman
Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 15:30:30 PM EDT
http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1743

The veterans, at Bally's for their national convention, gave him a tepid reception, especially considering McCain's life story. The Arizona senator was a Navy pilot shot down over Vietnam, tortured and held as a prisoner of war for 5 1/2 years.

Just one of 14 veterans interviewed by the Sun after his speech said he is a certain McCain voter, and the nonpartisan group's legislative director expressed concerns about McCain's proposed "Veterans' Care Access Card."

Still obsessing over the privatization of the VA for some reason, John McCain is poised to lose the veterans' vote for good. In fact, in response to his Saturday speech to the DAV, Iraq War veteran and double-amputee Tammy Duckworth had this to say about McCain's proposals:

"John McCain has said that improving veterans' health care would be his top domestic priority as President, yet he has repeatedly voted against increased funding for veterans health care. And now he offers up an plastic card option that will lead to privatization of veterans health care. No one knows how to help and heal veterans like veterans -- had I ended up in a regular hospital after returning from Iraq, I would lost my arm. McCain's plan will only hurt the VA and our veterans more than they are already hurting."

Not surprising. While vets who haven't served in the current war--and those who've never seen combat--have tended to lean toward Republicans in general (as a holdover Reagan/Clinton-era default setting among troops), it now appears that even McCain's support among older veterans is beginning to crack. Significantly.
http://www.zimbio.com/Disabled+American+Veterans/articles/23/VETVOICE+REPORTS+DISABLED+VETS+SHUN+McCAIN

More from the Las Vegas Sun piece: http://www.zimbio.com/pilot?ZURL=%2FDisabled%2BAmerican%2BVeterans%2Farticles%2F23%2FVETVOICE%2BREPORTS%2BDISABLED%2BVETS%2BSHUN%2BMcCAIN&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lasvegassun.com%2Fnews%2F2008%2Faug%2F10%2Fmccains-attacks-rival-fall-flat-vets-group%2F

[quakerboy]

25. Thanks

[Rosa Luxemburg]

5. if your friend likes big corporations raping the poor then McCain's for him!

[FrenchieCat]

6. Also, Obama is reported to be receiving more donations from troops than McCain

The Troops Support Ron Paul, Barak Obama (with Cash)
http://www.warcomeshome.org/content/troops-support-ron-paul,-barak-obama-(-cash)


and here's the YouTube of Obama speaking to Disabled Vets last week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6Vl96GNSZ4

[jenmito]

7. Here ya go:

http://www.aflcio.org/issues/politics/mccain_vets.cfm

[quakerboy]

13. Thank you

That will be helpful. He was a union man, when he could hold a job, so that will be a particularly handy source to use with him for him. That vote on opposing counceling money, particularly mentioning PTSD, will probably be the biggest one.

[jenmito]

20. My pleasure...

I hope he considers it seriously. :hi:

[FrenchieCat]

8. Post right here at DU

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6625765&mesg_id=6625765

[ContinentalOp]

9. What state is he in? -nt-

[quakerboy]

12. Limbo

I am not sure whether in the end his registration will come down to Oregon or Idaho. I suspect it will be Oregon.

[ContinentalOp]

21. Both are pretty solidly Red or Blue right?

So it may not really matter.

[quakerboy]

22. Eh

I doubt all the polling. My personal experience is pretty solid, but every time I get too confident, something bodychecks me. I think Oregon is closer than California or Washington.

Anyhow, I think it will matter to him.

[DebJ]

15. Do you have a local chapter of Vets Against the War or Iraqi vets

against the war? He would feel comfortable with old war buddies.

[Jackpine Radical]

18. Vets for Peace & VVAW