A 527 responds to Obama's McCain email ad

I will not stand by while McCain scores political points by touting his military service and "support" of the troops and libels Obama, who time and time again has sided with the vets against McCain. As McCain has been shown to be on so many other fronts, he is a hypocrite when it comes to caring for vets. He wants to be seen as a strong supporter of veterans when in reality he has deserted them again and again.

Here is John McCain's outrageous record of votes on veterans' issues:

"In brief: John McCain skipped close to a dozen votes on Iraq, and on at least another 10 occasions, he voted against arming and equipping the troops, providing adequate rest for the troops between deployments and for health care or other benefits for veterans, including the new G.I. Bill.

In mid 2007, Senator Reid noted that McCain missed 10 of the past 14 votes on Iraq. However, here is a summary of a dozen votes (two that he missed and ten that he voted against) with respect to Iraq, funding for veterans or for troops, including equipment and armor. I have also included other snippets related to the time period when the vote occurred.

September 2007: McCain voted against the Webb amendment calling for adequate troop rest between deployments. At the time, nearly 65% of people polled in a CNN poll indicted that "things are going either moderately badly or very badly in Iraq.

July 2007: McCain voted against a plan to drawdown troop levels in Iraq. At the time, an ABC poll found that 63% thought the invasion was not worth it, and a CBS News poll found that 72% of respondents wanted troops out within 2 years.

March 2007: McCain was too busy to vote on a bill that would require the start of a drawdown in troop levels within 120 days with a goal of withdrawing nearly all combat troops within one year. Around this time, an NBC News poll found that 55% of respondents indicated that the US goal of achieving victory in Iraq is not possible. This number has not moved significantly since then.

February 2007: For such a strong supporter of the escalation, McCain didn’t even bother to show up and vote against a resolution condemning it. However, at the time a CNN poll found that only 16% of respondents wanted to send more troops to Iraq (that number has since declined to around 10%), while 60% said that some or all should be withdrawn. This number has since gone up to around 70%.

June 2006: McCain voted against a resolution that Bush start withdrawing troops but with no timeline to do so.

May 2006: McCain voted against an amendment that would provide $20 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for health care facilities.

April 2006: McCain was one of only 13 Senators to vote against $430,000,000 for the Department of Veteran Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient care and treatment for veterans.

March 2006: McCain voted against increasing Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in FY 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.

March 2004: McCain once again voted for abusive tax loopholes over veterans when he voted against creating a reserve fund to allow for an increase in Veterans' medical care by $1.8 billion by eliminating abusive tax loopholes. Jeez, McCain really loves those tax loopholes for corporations, since he voted for them over our veterans' needs.

October 2003: McCain voted to table an amendment by Senator Dodd that called for an additional $322,000,000 for safety equipment for United States forces in Iraq and to reduce the amount provided for reconstruction in Iraq by $322,000,000.

April 2003: McCain urged other Senate members to table a vote (which never passed) to provide more than $1 billion for National Guard and Reserve equipment in Iraq related to a shortage of helmets, tents, bullet-proof inserts, and tactical vests.

August 2001: McCain voted against increasing the amount available for medical care for veterans by $650,000,000. To his credit, he also voted against the 2001 Bush tax cuts, which he now supports making permanent, despite the dire financial condition this country is in, and despite the fact that he indicated in 2001 that these tax cuts unfairly benefited the very wealthy at the expense of the middle class.

So there it is. John McCain is yet another republican former military veteran who likes to talk a big game when it comes to having the support of the military. Yet, time and time again, he has gone out of his way to vote against the needs of those who are serving in our military. If he can’t even see his way to actually doing what the troops want, or what the veterans need, and he doesn’t have the support of veterans, then how can he be a credible commander in chief?"

www.veteransforcommonsense.org

It is horrifying the way this issue has been distorted. The problem is not whether McCain can use a keyboard any more than he has to know how to operate complex computerized weapons systems. It is whether he has the ability and curiosity to learn about and understand the uses and influence of the internet, which he admits he does not. If McCain does not approve of the race card then he should stay away from the sexism and disability cards.

I am also appalled at his attempt to try to get out of the debate on Friday. There is no more important contribution that he could make to the current situation than appearing before the American people to answer questions about what is going on. If he is elected President, he won't get a chance to ask for postponements. This request makes him look weak and intimidated.

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America give the following grade for their voting records:
John McCain D
Barack Obama B+

Disabled American Veterans also graded the two candidates:
Barack Obama 80% voting record
John McCain 20% voting record

Support the Troops? McCain Consistently Votes Against Our Troops!

McCain's voting record does not support our combat troops:

5/2008: McCain voted AGAINST the Webb G.I. Bill. Obama voted FOR the bill.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/22/gi-bill-passes-senate_n_103091.html

9/2007: McCain voted AGAINST bill to minimize periods of time between deployment of units sent to Iraq. Obama voted FOR the bill.
http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00341

4/2006: McCain voted AGAINST $430,000,000 to VA for Medical Services. Obama voted FOR the bill.
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00098

3/2006: McCain voted AGAINST increasing Vet medical services $1.5 billion in FY2007. Obama voted to INCREASE funding for vet medical services.
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00041

3/2004: McCain voted AGAINST increasing Vet-medical care by $1.8 billion. http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=2&vote=00040

10/2003: McCain voted to TABLE an amendment for $322,000,000 for safety equipment for USforces. "Table" means the vote never hits the floor.
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=1&vote=00376

10/2003: McCain voted to TABLE a vote for $1 Billion for National Guard and Reserve Equipment in Iraq dueto shortage of helmets, tents, bullet-proof inserts, & tactical vests. http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=1&vote=00116 http://capwiz.com/vva/e4/cinfo/?id=157301

Source: http://www.barackoblogger.com/2008/08/mccain-consistently-votes-against-our.html

There are some extremely juvenile comments on this site. Your rabid McCain hatred is obvious. Other than the detailed review of some of Mr. McCain's votes I have to wonder where all the rest of you get your information and whether you ever think about anything before saying it. You are the kinds of minds mainstream media loves because you believe everything you see and read.

"McPOW" ?? "if he's supporting McCain, he must be paralyzed from the neck up"? "try to get out of the debate on Friday"? "Rednecks R US"? If I want to hear comments like these I go to a bar somewhere...

You are so easily duped by these cheesy, misleading, and basically useless 527 pieces. It is a shame that they are allowed to continue to produce and distribute things like this. The entire 527 system has to be reviewed and rethought. But because the Scarecro-W and Tinman-C benefitted from them -as McCain hopes to - there has been no effort to restrain them. Anyone who believes anything from any 527 should contact me about some prime real estate in the middle of Florida. It is "waterfront", but not near the Gulf.