During tonight’s debate, McCain several times spoke of our caring for our veterans, both as an area of spending he would not cut/cap and later of his devotion to their care. Being a vet himself, this of course was no surprise. What did surprise me though was when i watched an interview with Biden post-debate and he mentioned McCain only had a rating of 20% with the Disabled American Veterans association. This seemed a little incongruous, so i checked it out , and it turns out for 2006, McCain is one of the two lowest ranked members in their support of veterans, as ranked by the DAV. He is joined at the bottom by Mr Wide Stance himself, Sen. Larry Craig. Obama on the other hand has an 80% rating.
So, I’m thinking maybe the non-partisan DAV isn’t really so non-partisan, since i notice a lot of Democrats have a 100% rating and only 3 Republicans do. But then, if you look at other veteran advocacy groups, McCain doesn’t generally fare so well on any of them. He did get a 100% from the Vietnam Veterans of America in 2003-04, but thats one of the only times his support broke the 50% mark. Indeed, the same VVA scored him a 0% in 1997-1998. Obama’s history is much shorter of course, but of the 4 rankings listed, he bests McCain by significant margins in 3.
I have to admit this really shocked me. Is this an a example of empty rhetoric from McCain, or is it just the needs of vets, while important, are really seen as secondary to the crusade against pork?
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Dems generally do better wtih Vets groups like the DAV – remember these are organizations with specific goals for veterans (support for the VA, COLA for those on medical discharges, etc) and historically the Democrats have been much more supportive of veterans issues than the Republicans. Consequently, they score well. It is also pertinent to note that Obama has raised more money from vets than has McCain.
It’s one of those realty v. perception issues.
(Disclaimer, I am a member of the DAV).
There is a difference between ‘disabled’ and ‘Disabled. One bilks the system, the other earned much more than they are granted. It ticks me off to no end when I hear some paper pusher retiree boast that he earned 40 percent disability, when I know for a fact that the closest to harms way they ever got was sitting down at midrats.