GOP Abandons Our Military (Again), Appeases Barbaric Insurgents

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GOP Abandons Our Military (Again), Appeases Barbaric Insurgents
Posted by SusanUnPC
Wednesday, 21 June 2006 at 14:22

Astonishingly — especially after the "U.S. Says 2 Bodies Retrieved in Iraq Were Brutalized" — Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), concerned that Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) wants to appease the Iraqi government — had to bring a resolution (S. 2766, On the Amendment S. Amdt. 4265) to the Senate floor yesterday to "express the sense of Congress that the Government of Iraq should not grant amnesty to persons known to have attacked, killed, or wounded members of the Armed Forces of the United States."

Nineteen "pro-war" Republicans voted nay on Nelson’s resolution:

Allard (R-CO), Nay
Bond (R-MO), Nay
Bunning (R-KY), Nay
Burns (R-MT), Nay
Coburn (R-OK), Nay
Cochran (R-MS), Nay Cornyn (R-TX), Nay
DeMint (R-SC), Nay
Enzi (R-WY), Nay
Graham (R-SC), Nay
Hagel (R-NE), Nay
Inhofe (R-OK), Nay Kyl (R-AZ), Nay
Lott (R-MS), Nay
McCain (R-AZ), Nay
Sessions (R-AL), Nay
Stevens (R-AK), Nay
Thomas (R-WY), Nay
Warner (R-VA), Nay

John McCain voted for amnesty for Iraqi insurgents? Chuck Hagel too?

"Here’s an interesting political position: Keep U.S. troops in Iraq and signal to the Iraqi government that its O.K. to pardon insurgents who kill Americans ... Notably, Kyl and Burns face serious reelection challenges this year. It will be interesting to watch them try to explain this vote on the campaign trail." (Yahoo/The Nation)

The GOP hurriedly sponsored a cover-their-asses amendment "to commend the new Iraqi government for not granting amnesty." That amendment passed too.

Look. The GOP doesn’t give a damn about their cannon fodder, er soldiers. Their talk is so cheap; when the money is needed to really help soliders and veterans, GOP legislators "cut and run." They make that clear in all their budget cuts for veterans benefits and their failures to provide adequate protective gear, vehicles, ammunition, guns (that work), and numbers needed to do the job right in Iraq.

Every GOP Congressional candidate deserves to pay for their cynical, callous disregard for active duty soldiers and veterans. That means you don’t vote for ANY of them in 2006 and 2008. It’s the most patriotic act you can take until we get rid of this GOP administration and its lackies in Congress.

Hal Spake, a Democratic candidate for Congress from Oklahoma — "for more than 22 years in the U.S. diplomatic service in several international trouble spots and ’a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and Oklahoma National Guard’" — wrote:

The administration and our incumbent Republican Congressman have reduced spending for our veterans’ hospitals. The Republican Administration and our current incumbent Congressman have been abandoning increasing numbers of Iraq war veterans, who have their lost limbs, sight and their health.
Failure to take care of our disabled veterans is not an American value.

Republicans praise our homeland defenders but cut funding to programs that provide bullet proof vests for police departments and equipment for firefighters to fund tax cuts for the rich. Abandoning those who protect us is not an American value.

My senator, Patty Murray (D-Wash.), is unrelentingly dogged in trying to get help for veterans. (But she has a hard time because she’s currently in the minority, and that has to end so she can do her dedicated job for veterans.) Here’s her latest attempt to get help to veterans:

Murray Introduces Emergency Funding for Veterans

For Immediate Release:
Monday, June 19, 2006

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - In the wake of Senate passage of a Supplemental spending bill which was stripped of an amendment to include funding for veterans’ health care and a recent security breach at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) which could compromise the personal information of 26.5 million veterans and active military personnel, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) today introduced stand alone emergency funding legislation to provide the VA with additional federal dollars to care for our veterans.

[...]

"To leave out veterans funding from the emergency supplemental spending bill was a particularly telling sign of the priorities of this Administration and the Republican Senate leadership," added Murray "When providing emergency funding to our brave service members to continue the war in Iraq it should be an equally pressing emergency to provide for their care after their service. This legislation will provide the money necessary to make veterans care a top priority once again."

And don’t miss "Republicans Quietly attack Disabled Veterans SSD."

The examples of how the GOP screws active soldiers and veterans are endless. Even Cher, a devotee of C-Span, is on the job:

Cher is working with Operation Helmet, a nonprofit organization that provides solidiers with upgraded padding for their standard-issue military helmets to better protect them from explosions.
She said she got involved in the effort because her sister tore out an article from the paper on the topic and said, “Do something about this.” So she picked up the phone and called Dr. Bob Meaders, founder of Operation Helmet, a retired Navy captain and ophthalmologist who founded the organization.

To almost everyone’s surprise, Cher called “Washington Journal” on the topic during an open phone segment on the early morning of Sunday, May 28. It was her second call to the program; in 2003 she also called after visiting wounded soldiers at Walter Reed.

Host Peter Slen assured viewers that the calls were not set up.

“I just kept dialing until my fingers were raw and I got through both times,” Cher said.

She also established her political bona fides on air. She said her first political “baby step” was a “huge fight” with her mother over her mother’s vote for Richard Nixon. She said she watches C-SPAN religiously and reads the papers. [...]

“I find it shocking or I’m amazed or whatever that they can’t find the money for this,” Cher said.

Cher visited Walter Reed again yesterday afternoon. Today [June 15] she and Meaders will appear before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces at 3 p.m.

On June 12, Sen. Murray introduced new legislation to help veterans:

Senator Murray, a member of the Senate Veteran’s Affairs Committee, also offered up new legislation that addresses a myriad of veterans concerns. The legislation provides funding for the data theft response, health care costs, mental health care and prosthetic services. Much of the funding would directly benefit the VA which is being stretched thin by an influx of Iraq War veterans. Many of those veterans will also benefit from the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and transition assistance funding provided in Senator Murray’s new legislation.
"I’m introducing legislation because veterans and military personnel deserve better" Murray said. "I believe this administration has a lot of work to do to win back the trust it has squandered, and I’m going to hold them to it."

Here at home, we have our own war to fight. We must get rid of the GOP leadership in Congress and the White House — who prioritize appeasing that imaginary Iraqi government they’ve installed inside the Green Zone over JUSTICE for our soldiers. Our over-exploited and under-aided soldiers and veterans deserve better.

Make the GOP pay. Just like they’ve made our soldiers and veterans pay.