http://thinkprogress.org/2008/06/12/votevets-mccainIraq Vet: McCain’s ‘Not The Only Person Who Suffered In War,’ ‘He Doesn’t Get A Free Pass’Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was asked on the Today Show whether he had an estimate of when troops could come home from Iraq. McCain replied, “No, but it’s not too important. What’s important is the casualties in Iraq.” Defending McCain against what his campaign called “a false attack,” Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) cited McCain’s Vietnam experience as justification for McCain’s assertion.
Appearing on MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann last night, VoteVets Vice Chairman and Iraq and Afghanistan veteran Brandon Friedman disputed the idea that McCain’s military experience gave him “carte blanche” on war issues. He called McCain’s comments “a morale crusher,” and said veterans like him “would expect a lot more” from someone who’s “been in our shoes”:
FRIEDMAN: John McCain should know better. You know, he’s been in our shoes. He’s had it worst than most of us. You know, he should know better. … You know, we all respect John McCain’s service. But he’s not the only person who suffered in war. We have troops coming back from this war who are quadriplegics, who’ve been maimed, who had to go through so much. And, you know, it doesn’t give him a carte blanche reason to say something like that. He doesn’t it get a free pass.
Watch it:
VIDEO AT LINK
Despite the McCain camp’s attempt to spin away his comments, the fact is McCain has a history of being careless when it comes to soldiers. He spearheaded opposition to Sen. Jim Webb’s (D-VA) 21st Century GI Bill, helped block legislation lengthening the time soldiers spend at home between deployments, and has consistently voted against increasing funding for the Veterans Administration.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
