By Sean Lengell The Washington Times
8:58 p.m., Wednesday, October 13, 2010
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Political Action Committee refused to rescind its candidate endorsements Wednesday, despite outrage from some veterans that its picks failed to represent the VFW's 1.5 million members.
VFW officials said hundreds of members have contacted the organization's national headquarters in recent days to complain about the endorsements by the PAC, which operates separately from the veterans group.
The protests particularly were heated regarding two Democratic endorsements: Sen. Barbara Boxer over Republican Carly Fiorina in California, and Rep. Ron Klein over Republican and Iraq war veteran Allen West in Florida.
A letter Tuesday letter by VFW Commander in Chief Richard L. Eubank and two vice commanders asked the PAC to withdraw all endorsements for the Nov. 2 congressional elections because the situation was having a "detrimental impact on the organization."
Some conservativ Web blogs oriented to veterans, some of which have taken issue with the PAC's position of endorsing some candidates without military service over candidates who have served.
But the PAC board of directors said Wednesday they weren't backing down and that its method for choosing candidates this year was the same as in prior years.
The PAC said it based its endorsements on how lawmakers voted on issues of importance to veterans and members of the military. The criteria meant that, in some of the 356 races in which the board made endorsements, incumbent lawmakers were chosen over challenging veterans - some who are even VFW members.
It would not only be unfair, but contrary to VFW-PAC [bylaws] to disregard the incumbent's record of support and endorse another candidate," said the PAC board in a prepared statement.
Rightardia agrees with the VFW PAC. There is realy no reason to give someone a VFW endorsement who does not have a voting record. Veterans Affairs was a mess when George W. Bush was president. Bush even ordered a review of all VA awards more than 50 per cent that slowed down pending claims.
The conventional wisdom is that veterans lean heavily to Republican candidates. The conventional wisdom was wrong in 2008 and may have to be revised in the future.
Veterans' political leanings have changed over time. During and after WWII, when veterans were drawn from a broader cross section of society, their votes mirrored the wider body politic. They tended to vote Democratic.
Robert McNamara was the most despised Secretary of Defense until Donald Rumsfeld managed to acquire this dubious honor. Ronald Reagan's increased defense budgets and obvious honoring of military service and George H. W. Bush's performance in the Gulf war gained the allegiance of veteran and military voters.
The lack of preparation for the Iraq occupation, the absence of adequate vehicle and body armor, the failure to acknowledge the insurgency, the abysmal conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the lack of resources to deal with returning veterans all eroded the confidence of veterans in the Bush Administration and especially Mr. Rumsfeld.
There were 125+ million voters in 2008 and according to a national Edison/Mitofsky exit poll approximately 15% of these identified themselves as veterans. This would calculate to a 75% veteran voter turn out that could be a bit on the high side.
If the 2004 65/35 split held, McCain would have received about 12 million votes and Obama 6 million. But the poll puts the actual split at 55/45 so McCain received about 12 million votes and Obama 8 million. The data also show that younger veterans favored Obama. Veterans under 45 favored Obama by 51% and those between 45 and 59 went 53% for Obama.
The slight majority of veterans (53%) who were 60 and older went for McCain by 61%. This new voting pattern netted Obama a swing of nearly 4 million votes, half his margin of popular vote victory!
This single poll may have a large margin of error but the trends, and the preferences of younger vets are persuasive and there are other indicators. Veterans put together a strong Veterans for Obama organization in Virginia that was assisted by the national veterans effort.
Veterans apear to be aware thea the Democrats are more supprotive of Veterans programs than Republicans. See http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_detail.php?r_id=3483
If you want to check out the voting records of local candidates on veteran's issues, see http://www.votesmart.org/
The Democrats have improved the Veterans Administration. This is greatly due to the efforts of Secretary Eric Shinseki and his staff. The VA still needs reforms in the claims process and the the Compensation ands Pension exams that are often redundant and adverse to the veteran. If the veteran has provided adequate private practice medical documentation to the VA, they should have the option of waive the C&P exam.
The Major had to complete seven C&P exams in the past two years after providing letters from board certified specialists on his conditions. One of the clinicians he saw on a complex medical condition was a physicians assistant who performed the wrong examination. Most of the other physicians were not certified in the state of Florida and many were internists who were not board certified.
If you miss a C&P exam, your entire claim may be compromised and thrown out. The Social security Administration (SSA) has a far more streamlined process and claimants can waive the physical exams. The Major completed the disability process with the SSA in 111 days. The VA is working with the same data and has yet to resolve the claim after three years. Part of the VA claim extend back to 2002.
source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-klass/will-veterans-vote-democr_b_149329.htm
Subscribe to the Rightardia feed: feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/IGiu
8:58 p.m., Wednesday, October 13, 2010
VFW officials said hundreds of members have contacted the organization's national headquarters in recent days to complain about the endorsements by the PAC, which operates separately from the veterans group.
The protests particularly were heated regarding two Democratic endorsements: Sen. Barbara Boxer over Republican Carly Fiorina in California, and Rep. Ron Klein over Republican and Iraq war veteran Allen West in Florida.
A letter Tuesday letter by VFW Commander in Chief Richard L. Eubank and two vice commanders asked the PAC to withdraw all endorsements for the Nov. 2 congressional elections because the situation was having a "detrimental impact on the organization."
Some conservativ Web blogs oriented to veterans, some of which have taken issue with the PAC's position of endorsing some candidates without military service over candidates who have served.
But the PAC board of directors said Wednesday they weren't backing down and that its method for choosing candidates this year was the same as in prior years.
The PAC said it based its endorsements on how lawmakers voted on issues of importance to veterans and members of the military. The criteria meant that, in some of the 356 races in which the board made endorsements, incumbent lawmakers were chosen over challenging veterans - some who are even VFW members.
It would not only be unfair, but contrary to VFW-PAC [bylaws] to disregard the incumbent's record of support and endorse another candidate," said the PAC board in a prepared statement.
Rightardia agrees with the VFW PAC. There is realy no reason to give someone a VFW endorsement who does not have a voting record. Veterans Affairs was a mess when George W. Bush was president. Bush even ordered a review of all VA awards more than 50 per cent that slowed down pending claims.
The conventional wisdom is that veterans lean heavily to Republican candidates. The conventional wisdom was wrong in 2008 and may have to be revised in the future.
Veterans' political leanings have changed over time. During and after WWII, when veterans were drawn from a broader cross section of society, their votes mirrored the wider body politic. They tended to vote Democratic.
Robert McNamara was the most despised Secretary of Defense until Donald Rumsfeld managed to acquire this dubious honor. Ronald Reagan's increased defense budgets and obvious honoring of military service and George H. W. Bush's performance in the Gulf war gained the allegiance of veteran and military voters.
The lack of preparation for the Iraq occupation, the absence of adequate vehicle and body armor, the failure to acknowledge the insurgency, the abysmal conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the lack of resources to deal with returning veterans all eroded the confidence of veterans in the Bush Administration and especially Mr. Rumsfeld.
There were 125+ million voters in 2008 and according to a national Edison/Mitofsky exit poll approximately 15% of these identified themselves as veterans. This would calculate to a 75% veteran voter turn out that could be a bit on the high side.
If the 2004 65/35 split held, McCain would have received about 12 million votes and Obama 6 million. But the poll puts the actual split at 55/45 so McCain received about 12 million votes and Obama 8 million. The data also show that younger veterans favored Obama. Veterans under 45 favored Obama by 51% and those between 45 and 59 went 53% for Obama.
The slight majority of veterans (53%) who were 60 and older went for McCain by 61%. This new voting pattern netted Obama a swing of nearly 4 million votes, half his margin of popular vote victory!
This single poll may have a large margin of error but the trends, and the preferences of younger vets are persuasive and there are other indicators. Veterans put together a strong Veterans for Obama organization in Virginia that was assisted by the national veterans effort.
Veterans apear to be aware thea the Democrats are more supprotive of Veterans programs than Republicans. See http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_detail.php?r_id=3483
If you want to check out the voting records of local candidates on veteran's issues, see http://www.votesmart.org/
The Democrats have improved the Veterans Administration. This is greatly due to the efforts of Secretary Eric Shinseki and his staff. The VA still needs reforms in the claims process and the the Compensation ands Pension exams that are often redundant and adverse to the veteran. If the veteran has provided adequate private practice medical documentation to the VA, they should have the option of waive the C&P exam.
The Major had to complete seven C&P exams in the past two years after providing letters from board certified specialists on his conditions. One of the clinicians he saw on a complex medical condition was a physicians assistant who performed the wrong examination. Most of the other physicians were not certified in the state of Florida and many were internists who were not board certified.
If you miss a C&P exam, your entire claim may be compromised and thrown out. The Social security Administration (SSA) has a far more streamlined process and claimants can waive the physical exams. The Major completed the disability process with the SSA in 111 days. The VA is working with the same data and has yet to resolve the claim after three years. Part of the VA claim extend back to 2002.
source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-klass/will-veterans-vote-democr_b_149329.htm
Subscribe to the Rightardia feed: feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/IGiu
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