Both Bush and McCain love to say that they support the troops. I'd be willing to bet that nearly ninety percent of people would agree with that assessment. The way that they reached that conclusion is what is flawed.
Which one suggests support: Continuing to "honor" the troops who have lost their life by staying in Iraq OR making sure that when they come home or leave the military (and they will Mr. President and Mr. Senator), that they are given the benefits neccessary to be competitive.
Apparently, but not suprisingly, they have both their dangerous shortsightedness by callously voting against the GI Bill of Rights. The bipartisan bill "would pay full tuition and other expenses at a four-year public university for veterans who served in the military for at least three years since 9/11". It seems totally reasonable, but we are discussing the two most unreasonable men in our government, so "reason" is thrown out the window.
Their problem with the bill is so self-serving that I can't wait for the GE so the Dems can brand McCain as the unethical, immoral, scum bag that he has become.
"Mr. Bush — and, to his great discredit, Senator John McCain — have argued against a better G.I. Bill, for the worst reasons. They would prefer that college benefits for service members remain just mediocre enough that people in uniform are more likely to stay put. They have seized on a prediction by the Congressional Budget Office that new, better benefits would decrease re-enlistments by 16 percent, which sounds ominous if you are trying — as Mr. Bush and Mr. McCain are — to defend a never-ending war at a time when extended tours of duty have sapped morale and strained recruiting to the breaking point."
So they are worried about keeping the active duty numbers high? And they believe an education would dissuade some from joining or reenlisting (interesting)? Maybe this makes sense then, right?
"Their reasoning is flawed since the C.B.O. has also predicted that the bill would offset the re-enlistment decline by increasing new recruits — by 16 percent. The chance of a real shot at a college education turns out to be as strong a lure as ever. This is good news for our punishingly overburdened volunteer army, which needs all the smart, ambitious strivers it can get."
Ignore the facts, go with your gut. Does McCain really think that this will work...again?
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4 comments:
You might want to get your fact straight in regards to the GI Bill. If the Democrats were serious about getting a new GI Bill passed then why did they attach it the war spending bill that was filled with billions in Democrat pork projects they knew the president would veto?
Their only care was to use the new GI Bill to create a new political advertisement this campaign season that people like yourself would believe.
If they really cared about veterans they would then propose the bill as a stand alone bill that would be political suicide for anyone to appose? They don't want to do this, they want to play politics instead.
The Democrats has spent the past few years developing "veterans groups" that are nothing more then political organs of the party that can then go on to a supportive media and claim the Republicans oppose a new GI Bill which is not true.
The Republican bill offers increasing benefits for longer you spend in the service that ultimately exceed what the Webb bill offers. Why should someone who spent three years in the service get the same GI Bill benefits as someone who spent 10 years?
This bill also addresses the retention concerns that Pentagon has along with actually giving veterans increased benefits. This bill stands no chance of ever passing in a Democratic controlled Congress however.
Either bill would help veterans but helping veterans is of little concern to the people proposing the Webb Bill.
The GOP has somehow been given a free pass from the public on every misguided and illegal law, decision and lie that they have attempted in the last eight years.
GI's have come to the Dems for a reason. I like how you assume that if a GI defects, then it's because they were lied to or are some political tool who has no idea what they are saying or doing.
The GOP Bill only tries to entice people to stay in the military because they have no other options. The GOP wants war, otherwise they have no leverage and will seize to exsist. The party has always been more important than lives or the country.
0The Dems want them out of the military (if they want) and competing WITH an education.
We do not need anymore military Repub's running around waving flags in the faces of the majority of Americans who want them home and educated.
I like how you answered with a bunch of irrelevant rubbish and did not answer why if the Democrats really care about passing the Webb GI Bill then why won't they put it up to a vote by itself without billions of pork added to it that they know the president will veto?
It is a political game. They want Bush to veto the bill so they can demagogue it for election year politics.
The veteran groups backed with George Soros money and Amnesty International plants I have chronicled for a long time. Here is a few postings to get you started:
http://rokdrop.com/2007/02/27/exposing-the-gi-fifth-column/
http://rokdrop.com/2007/03/04/exposing-the-gi-fifth-column-again/
http://rokdrop.com/2007/10/26/asia-times-astroturfing-campaign-uncovered/
It has gotten so bad that now the Republicans have formed their own veterans groups that are nothing more then organs of the Republican party:
http://rokdrop.com/2007/08/18/politicization-of-the-military-continues/
This is all politicization of the military I am strictly against.
You also show little understanding of the military yourself if you assume that if people stay in the military they must have "no other options" and are not educated.
I will not pretend to know more on the issue than you, but I will say that the GOP has politicized the military and is essentially responsible for the current perception that people have. Don't blame Kerry as you have in the past, blame the people who forced increased recruitment to meet the needs of a usless war.
My previous post was not rubbish. I was quickly highlighting the fact that the GOP has politicized every military issue to the point that what is populary accepted has been polluted with absurd issues of patriotism that serve only the GOP. I agree that the Dems wanted Bush to veto the bill and as much as people don't want the military to be subject to political gusts, that is what the GOP planted and is not going to stop during this war. I was not happy to see the Dems join in with the GOP and their slimy tactics, but you gotta play the game and the Dems have a lot to learn from the filth on the right.
However, the basics of the bill are sound and should be supported.
We need do not need more military, we need more education and while they are generally not mutually exclusive, they are right this time and it's time to face that fact.
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