July 22, 2008 - 5:35pm
Oregon Veterans gather to support McCain
By Britten ChaseWILSONVILLE - On a day when U.S senator and Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-Ill.) was meeting with military officials on his first visit to Iraq, U.S Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) Oregon campaign gathered 40 Oregonian war veterans at the Korean War Memorial Tuesday to express their support for the Republican U.S senator and Presidential candidate.
"John McCain recognizes and understands the sacrifices of those who serve our country in the armed forces. John McCain served our country heroically for 25 years in the Navy including 5½ years in the Hanoi Hilton,'" said former Oregon Congressman Denny Smith (R-Ontario), a war veteran who flew 180 missions in Vietnam. Smith is also a longtime friend of McCain and the Honorary Co-Chair of the Oregon McCain Campaign. "He has put our country's interest ahead of his own self-interest through his bipartisan work in Congress and his military service."
War veterans represent a solid base of McCain supporters, and with approximately 360,000 of them in Oregon, they could be crucial to McCain's efforts to get out the vote in the Beaver State, where he is behind in the most recent poll, 46 percent to 38 percent. Fortunately, McCain campaign spokesman Rick Gorka says, veterans are the most loyal and reliable base a candidate could ask for.
"They are our biggest and best source of support," Gorka said. "They are active, they will write letters, and they will get out there."
Many veterans at the War Memorial said they supported McCain because they thought the country needed a leader who has the experience of being in battle in order to successfully get through the war on terror. But McCain also appealed to the veterans gathered because they believe he represents the best of what being in the military is all about.
"He has an unwavering commitment to service," said Wilsonville resident and coalition member Jake McMichael, who was also a former classmate's of McCain's at the naval academy. "He puts service above himself."
The gathering of soldiers included veterans from World War II all the way up to veterans of the most recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And while the older veterans may have been able to relate to McCain's experiences in Vietnam, younger soldiers were looking to him to help guide them through the current wars victoriously.
"I feel much more comfortable having John McCain as my commander in chief and having him make decisions toward military futures," said PFC John Lancaster, an Army reservist who attended the gathering.
Lancaster had come to show his support with his mother, Anna, who says she is more comfortable with a military man being in charge of how to fight the war on terror, and how to make the right decision for her son when he eventually gets deployed.
"Someone who understands that type of mindset is what this country needs," she said.
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Quote of the Day
August 28, 2008
"We got to shift this dynamic, we got to change this paradigm. It's a big challenge and one which we better bite into."
- U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) explaining the importance of offshore drilling as a solution to America's energy crisis.
-The East Oregonian
Recent Press Releases
- Jun 12 2008
- May 29 2008
Syndicate
John McCain and Iraq.
The War in Iraq is over--we won.
We now have a military occupation of Iraq. Military occupations cannot
be won.
Who is going to surrender and sign the peace treaty?
Speaking of John McCain, John McCain is not young for his age. His father died of a stroke at
age 70.
His grandfather died of a heat attack at age 68. Both were four-star Admirals, therefore both received top notch medical care.
John McCain has a severe anger management problem. He has gotten into several verbal fights with other Senators, cursing them. Do we want that kind of person in the White House?
John McCain has a memory problem. He cannot remember what he said a few days ago or how he voted on a bill. Do we want that kind of person in the White House?
John McCain addresses the voters as "My Friends." How many of your
personal friends own eight private homes? Multi million dollar private homes.
Do you think Cindy McCain cleans any of their eight private homes?
Veterans Against McCain
McCain is hardly the champion he claims to be. Here’s what one Oregon veteran had to say about McCain’s veterans record:
John McCain, Republicans care little about veterans’ problems
By Stuart A. Steinberg / Bulletin guest columnist
Published: July 19. 2008 4:00AM PST
John McCain does not support veterans. Like most Republicans, he regularly votes against legislation that would increase the Veterans Affairs budget for veterans’ programs dealing with the problems facing our men and women returning from war.
Before the 2006 congressional elections, Disabled American Veterans published a list of how members of Congress voted on veteran legislation. The DAV rates each member of Congress from zero to 100 on supporting “the interests of American veterans.” I looked down the DAV’s list of Republicans and their ratings and I was overcome with revulsion when I saw just how much they do not care about veterans. John McCain’s score for 2005 was 25 out of 100. In 2006, it was worse: He got a 20. It took my breath away. When it comes to caring for American veterans, John McCain and the Republicans are total sellouts.
Two hundred and eighty-four Republican congressmen and senators were rated by the DAV for 2005. The highest score the DAV gave any Republican was 83. No Republican had a 100 rating, none were in the nineties. None were in the seventies, one at 60 and six at 50. That’s a total of eight Republicans — out of 284 — who supported veterans’ issues more than 50 percent of the time. That’s 2.8 percent of all the Republicans in Congress. Two hundred Republicans got zero ratings! Thus, 70.4 percent of the Republican members of Congress got zero ratings from the DAV when it came to truly supporting America’s veterans.
In 2005, Barack Obama was rated at 92. In 2006, Obama was an 80. The DAV rated 239 Democrats on how they voted on veterans’ issues in 2005. One hundred and fifty-four were rated by the DAV at 100. That’s 64.4 percent of the Democrats in the Congress, versus 0 percent of the Republicans. Thirteen Democratic members of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee were rated by the DAV in 2005. Nine were rated at 100, three were at 80, and one was at 60, the lowest rating of any Democrat. Of the 12 Republicans on the House committee who were rated, 11 were rated at zero, one was rated at 20. Thus, the average Democrat on the House committee was rated at 92; the average Republican was rated at 1.66. In the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, the average score of the eight Republicans on the committee in 2005 was a lowly 40.7, while the five Democrats’ and the one Independent’s average was 92.
Here’s what McCain has done for veterans recently:
He didn’t support new GI Bill legislation because he thought it was too generous and would result in soldiers choosing to go to school instead of re-enlisting. This bill passed 75-22, and McCain was one of three senators who didn’t show up to vote. Only after the bill was attached to the war funding request of the Bush administration did McCain vote for Sen. Jim Webb’s bill.
He voted against providing at least $19 billion for military health facilities, paid for by eliminating tax cuts for the wealthy.
He voted against providing $2.8 billion to increase veterans’ medical care.
He voted against establishing a $1 billion trust fund to provide improvements to health facilities that treat veterans and military personnel paid for by allowing dividends and capital gains tax breaks, for those with incomes greater than $1 million, to lapse.
He voted against increasing medical services to veterans by $1.5 billion in 2007, paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes. In April 2006, McCain was one of 13 senators to vote against $430 million for medical services for VA outpatient care and treatment for veterans. Despite his vote against, it passed overwhelmingly, 84-13. All 13 voting against were Republicans.
John McCain was recently questioned at a town-hall meeting by an Iraq veteran about his refusal to support Webb’s GI Bill. McCain, responding in a testy and angry fashion, claimed that he has the support of veterans’ organizations. This was a materially false statement. In addition to the DAV ratings noted above, they rated McCain at 50 in 2004. Also in 2004, the Retired Enlisted Association rated McCain at zero. In 2003, the American Legion gave McCain a 50. In 2006, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America graded McCain a D on an A-F scale. They gave Barack Obama a B+. And during the recent debates over Webb’s GI Bill, both the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars said McCain was wrong not to support the bill.
If you care about veterans, these are the issues you should be thinking about when you vote in November.
Stuart A. Steinberg, of Terrebonne, is a disabled Vietnam veteran and a national service officer for Vietnam Veterans of America. He assists veterans of all wars with VA benefits claims.
John McCain
Why we stand with John Sydney McCain III?
Hello fellow veterans and fellow patriot Americans. Thank you for your service to country, and thank you for standing with Mr. McCain. In deed thank you for standing up for our American way of life and ensuring it is past on to our children.
My name is Stephan Brodhead and I served as a flight Engineer in Iraq for 18 months performing C-141 medivacs. I performed some 35 to 40 medivac sorties involving over 5000 wounded warriors. I even had the honor to fly the Hanoi Express. I am also running for United States Congress for Oregon’s 1st district. My website is: www.IraqERAVeteranGIBill.com
That’s enough about me.
Our buddy Barack Hussein Obama is in Iraq and Europe this week. He is there to research his shifting position on Iraq and gain some refresher training on what his European style Democratic Socialism is all about. He will be in France looking at their successful Nuclear power program that he doesn’t support... He will be in Berlin, Germany among crowds of people saying Ich Bin Eine Beginner!
All along Obama has been a Hanoi Jane style defeatist along with his cheer leaders John Murtha, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton and Jim Webb and based his entire political existence on not supporting the war. He opposed the surge. He said it wouldn’t work. He didn’t believe General Petraeus when he said we are making gains. He didn’t support this. He didn’t support that. He didn’t support the troops in Iraq. Now he realizes we are winning and wants to finally join the team. Not only that, he wants to drive the team bus to Afghanistan. In fact, he has bad mouthed the team for over 5 seasons, and now he wants to be the team captain and drive the bus too.
I say we grab him by the political scruff of the neck and make him sit with his defeatist cheerleaders!
Over the last 5 years he had the opportunity to get on board, support the troops, support the surge, support the generals and he didn’t.
John Sydney McCain, ladies and gentlemen stood with us. John Sydney McCain stood with us in Vietnam. He stood with us as a POW at the Hanoi Hilton. He stood with his fellow POWs when he wouldn’t take early release.
Think about that!
He could have saved himself from years of torture and confinement and took an early release. His answer was let my friends go first and I will take you up on it.
Think about that for awhile!
John McCain completed his naval career in 1981 and turned down a Rear Admiral promotion. He would have been the third Admiral in his family. Instead he was elected to 2 terms in the House of Representatives and later for 4 terms as a senator.
He continues to stand by his fellow Soldiers.
He stood by our Marines when they bombed the Barracks in Beruit.
He stood with our troops in Desert storm
He stood by the seaman of the Cole
He stood with our troops when they dragged a marine through the streets of Mogadishu Somalia
He stood with our troops when we stopped the genocide in Rwanda
He stood with the American people on 911
He stood with our troops when we rid Afghanistan of the Tally Ban and Alqaeda
He stood with the troops when we rid Iraq of a killing dictator that gassed Kurdish children, killed over 100,000 of his own people, used oil revenue to build his military while Iraq’s children starved, and had 550 metric tons of yellow cake WMD for his Nuclear program.
John Sydney McCain has always stood with the American people
He is standing with us on extending the Bush tax cuts
He is standing with us to eliminate the AMT
He is standing with Conservatives to secure our borders, build the border fence, and gain control of illegal immigration
He is standing with us on affordable healthcare.
He is standing with us with the first presidential Energy program in the history of our country. John McCain’s nuclear program will create over 700,000 jobs. When Detroit develops adequate Lithium Ion battery technology we will have extended range electric cars to go with this Nuclear power. In just a few short years John’s energy program will eliminate our need for foreign energy. Our trucking industry and Airline industry cannot get by with many forms of alternative energy. Drilling offshore and in the ANWR will support our Air and land transport system and ensure cheaper fuel sources and hence a sustainable air and land transport structure. Hybrid and electric car technology will do the rest. Under John McCain’s energy plan, America will be on its way to much cleaner carbon foot print and energy independence by 2030.
John McCain will balance the budget by 2013.
So my Friends, while Barackracy Inssein Obama is over in Europe for refresher training on how to spend 1 trillion dollars on his liberal tax and spend Great Socialist Society agenda, Mr. McCain is putting forth valid solutions for our economy. John McCain will cut spending and balance the budget. While Amateur Obama is in Iraq for “on the job training” and to see if he now finally supports the troops, John McCain is fixing the economy here at home.
My friends, if you have grown accustom and comfortable with the consistent quality of the Reagan, Bush one and Bush two administrations, an Obama administration will make you ill. Republicans presidents do what they say they are going to do. Republican administrations are professional, and lead by example. Our children can look up to Republican administrations. Republican administrations earn our respect and deliver on promises. John McCain will deliver!
Republicans stand with Americans on lower taxes, jobs, freedom and peace through strength.
Folks, we are winning in Iraq. We are bringing freedom and Democracy to the Middle East. No! Folks, from the blood and sweat of patriot Americans and Veterans like you, we have given the gift of Democracy and freedom to our Middle East friends.
With John McCain in the Whitehouse we will win at home. John McCain has always stood with the troops. He has always stood with Americans. He will make a stand for our children and the coming generations. Our children deserve the same American opportunity that we have had.
John Sydney McCain has always stood with Americans that’s why I am standing with John Sydney McCain. Please join my team, stand with me, and donate just a few dollars to our team.
While Mr. Obama is parading around the world stage looking for validation from Socialist countries that never lifted a finger to help us in Iraq, lets raise some cash for John. Let’s show him what raising money for the Patriot’s choice is all about!
Please give just a little, forward this email to several friends and help America defeat Democratic Socialism. Fellow Americans we need to stand with our children and our American way of life on this one!
Repost of an awesome post
McCain is hardly the champion he claims to be. Here’s what one Oregon veteran had to say about McCain’s veterans record:
John McCain, Republicans care little about veterans’ problems
By Stuart A. Steinberg / Bulletin guest columnist
Published: July 19. 2008 4:00AM PST
John McCain does not support veterans. Like most Republicans, he regularly votes against legislation that would increase the Veterans Affairs budget for veterans’ programs dealing with the problems facing our men and women returning from war.
Before the 2006 congressional elections, Disabled American Veterans published a list of how members of Congress voted on veteran legislation. The DAV rates each member of Congress from zero to 100 on supporting “the interests of American veterans.” I looked down the DAV’s list of Republicans and their ratings and I was overcome with revulsion when I saw just how much they do not care about veterans. John McCain’s score for 2005 was 25 out of 100. In 2006, it was worse: He got a 20. It took my breath away. When it comes to caring for American veterans, John McCain and the Republicans are total sellouts.
Two hundred and eighty-four Republican congressmen and senators were rated by the DAV for 2005. The highest score the DAV gave any Republican was 83. No Republican had a 100 rating, none were in the nineties. None were in the seventies, one at 60 and six at 50. That’s a total of eight Republicans — out of 284 — who supported veterans’ issues more than 50 percent of the time. That’s 2.8 percent of all the Republicans in Congress. Two hundred Republicans got zero ratings! Thus, 70.4 percent of the Republican members of Congress got zero ratings from the DAV when it came to truly supporting America’s veterans.
In 2005, Barack Obama was rated at 92. In 2006, Obama was an 80. The DAV rated 239 Democrats on how they voted on veterans’ issues in 2005. One hundred and fifty-four were rated by the DAV at 100. That’s 64.4 percent of the Democrats in the Congress, versus 0 percent of the Republicans. Thirteen Democratic members of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee were rated by the DAV in 2005. Nine were rated at 100, three were at 80, and one was at 60, the lowest rating of any Democrat. Of the 12 Republicans on the House committee who were rated, 11 were rated at zero, one was rated at 20. Thus, the average Democrat on the House committee was rated at 92; the average Republican was rated at 1.66. In the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, the average score of the eight Republicans on the committee in 2005 was a lowly 40.7, while the five Democrats’ and the one Independent’s average was 92.
Here’s what McCain has done for veterans recently:
He didn’t support new GI Bill legislation because he thought it was too generous and would result in soldiers choosing to go to school instead of re-enlisting. This bill passed 75-22, and McCain was one of three senators who didn’t show up to vote. Only after the bill was attached to the war funding request of the Bush administration did McCain vote for Sen. Jim Webb’s bill.
He voted against providing at least $19 billion for military health facilities, paid for by eliminating tax cuts for the wealthy.
He voted against providing $2.8 billion to increase veterans’ medical care.
He voted against establishing a $1 billion trust fund to provide improvements to health facilities that treat veterans and military personnel paid for by allowing dividends and capital gains tax breaks, for those with incomes greater than $1 million, to lapse.
He voted against increasing medical services to veterans by $1.5 billion in 2007, paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes. In April 2006, McCain was one of 13 senators to vote against $430 million for medical services for VA outpatient care and treatment for veterans. Despite his vote against, it passed overwhelmingly, 84-13. All 13 voting against were Republicans.
John McCain was recently questioned at a town-hall meeting by an Iraq veteran about his refusal to support Webb’s GI Bill. McCain, responding in a testy and angry fashion, claimed that he has the support of veterans’ organizations. This was a materially false statement. In addition to the DAV ratings noted above, they rated McCain at 50 in 2004. Also in 2004, the Retired Enlisted Association rated McCain at zero. In 2003, the American Legion gave McCain a 50. In 2006, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America graded McCain a D on an A-F scale. They gave Barack Obama a B+. And during the recent debates over Webb’s GI Bill, both the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars said McCain was wrong not to support the bill.
If you care about veterans, these are the issues you should be thinking about when you vote in November.
Stuart A. Steinberg, of Terrebonne, is a disabled Vietnam veteran and a national service officer for Vietnam Veterans of America. He assists veterans of all wars with VA benefits claims.
As a Christian, as a nation
As a Christian, as a nation that was founded with Christianity in mind "In God we Trust", I believe that Obama will not do any good for the united states. In fact, I believe that he will remove the name of God from everything that he possibly can.
There have been many emails (I don't know if any of you have received them) that state the belief that Obama will turn out to be the anti-christ. The emails (and the Bible) say that he will come from the middle east (like Obama) and that he will be dark-skinned (like Obama) and that he will completely destroy this whole nation. I believe that Obama will do this. If he's elected I believe it's only a matter of time.
present day Veteran benefits compared to WW2
How is it that present day veterans get more money for fewer people than in 1947? I do not understand...
Spending on vets exceeds 1947 high
Updated 7/23/2008 12:46 AM | Comments190 | Recommend25 E-mail | Save | Print | Reprints & Permissions |
Enlarge AP file photo
In this Nov. 8, 2007 photo, wounded soldiers involved in physical therapy wait for President Bush to visit a physical therapy lab for wounded soldiers at the Center For The Intrepid at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
Yahoo! Buzz Digg Newsvine Reddit FacebookWhat's this?By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The federal government is spending more money on veterans than at any time in modern history, surpassing the tidal wave of spending following World War II and the demilitarizing of millions of troops.
Expenditures hit $82 billion in 2007, because of the rising cost of health care, the expense of caring for an aging population of mostly Vietnam War veterans and a new crop of severely wounded troops from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
That exceeds the $80 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars spent in 1947 after most of the 16.1 million Americans serving in World War II left the service, according to a Congressional Research Service report submitted to Congress last month.
An 11% hike in spending to $91 billion is slated for this fiscal year, and the Department of Veterans Affairs has proposed $94 billion for 2009. And still more is needed, says U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who is seeking another $3.3 billion for the 2009 budget proposal.
"While we are spending more than in previous years, we are still not meeting many of the health care and benefits needs of our veterans," Murray says.
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