"A Republican pep rally."
|
|
Comments |
Mail to a Friend
Tags: G.I Rights Hotline, G.I. Bill for the 21st Century, Heather Wilson, John McCain in Albuquerque on Memorial Day, Steve Pearce
Tags: G.I Rights Hotline, G.I. Bill for the 21st Century, Heather Wilson, John McCain in Albuquerque on Memorial Day, Steve Pearce
That's what local veteran Bruce Clark called Arizona Sen. John McCain's visit Monday to a ceremony honoring war dead at the New Mexico Veteran's Memorial in Albuquerque.
As he spoke to a Memorial Day crowd of about 1,000, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was joined by New Mexico Republican Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Steve Pearce and Rep. Heather Wilson, who are running for Domenici's soon-to-be-vacant seat.
Clark, a former Marine whose son Bradley Clark is serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq, said he showed up at the event to protest what he called "this criminal war" and McCain's support of it.
But though it was a public event on public property, all signs of dissent were quashed by the heavy presence of APD officers and agents from the Secret Service, he said.
"We were very intimidated," he said.
In fact, the Albuquerque chapter of New Mexico Veterans for Peace applied for permission to set up an informational table alongside others just inside the park entrance, but was denied, said Sally-Alice Thompson, a spokesperson for the group. Their request was denied after the United Veterans Council, who runs the city park/memorial, demanded to see the information they wanted to hand out.
"They looked at our literature, which is anti-war, and said it was too political. They said they could have nothing that was political," said Thompson. "Which is interesting, because they had a presidential candidate and two candidates for Senate giving campaign speeches up there."
Indeed, McCain spoke repeatedly of his race for the presidency and the policies he would seek to enact if elected.
McCain, a Vietnam veteran, spoke at length about his efforts to honor those who serve. As part of his speech, he attempted to justify his opposition to a popular expansion of the historic G.I. Bill.
The bipartisan bill, widely supported by the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and other veteran's groups, would provide full college benefits for soldiers who've served at least three years in the military since 2001. Seventy-five U.S. senators voted for the measure on May 22.
Sen. McCain, who sponsored another version of the bill that called for soldiers to serve at least 12 years before getting those benefits, was one of only three U.S. Senators who was not in Washington for the vote.
That's because on May 22, Sen. McCain was in California, at the home of San Diego Chargers owner Alex Spanos, attending a $25,000 a couple fundraiser for his presidential bid.
McCain explained Monday that he feared giving vets benefits after only one enlistment decrease would cause more of them to leave after serving only one enlistment. Military retention rates would slip, weakening the armed forces and putting our country at risk.
Maria Santelli, founder of the Albuquerque chapter of the G.I. Rights Hotline, said outside the event that McCain insults the veterans he claims to honor by failing to support the G.I. bill and not even bothering to show up for the vote.
Santelli said her organization provides badly-needed support and counseling to local military personnel who have returned from combat.
According to the Rand Corporation, in the last two years, 300,000 veterans have returned from combat with psychological difficulties and 320,000 came back with traumatic brain injuries, she said.
And every week, according to the Veteran's Administration's own numbers, 126 veterans take their own lives, she said.
As a veteran and former prisoner of war, Sen. McCain should know better than anyone the extent of difficulty our soldiers can face upon returning home after combat, she said.
Yet a study of Congressional voting records shows that, twice since the beginning of the Iraq War, McCain has voted against federal Veteran's Administration allocations that would raise benefits for veterans.
"He is in a key position to vote for veterans and he yet he votes against them, time after time," she said. "He says he supports veterans, and he just stood up here and lied to these people."
(To contact the G.I. Rights Hotline, call 505-404-6427 or visit the website.)
As he spoke to a Memorial Day crowd of about 1,000, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was joined by New Mexico Republican Sen. Pete Domenici and Rep. Steve Pearce and Rep. Heather Wilson, who are running for Domenici's soon-to-be-vacant seat.
Clark, a former Marine whose son Bradley Clark is serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq, said he showed up at the event to protest what he called "this criminal war" and McCain's support of it.
But though it was a public event on public property, all signs of dissent were quashed by the heavy presence of APD officers and agents from the Secret Service, he said.
"We were very intimidated," he said.
In fact, the Albuquerque chapter of New Mexico Veterans for Peace applied for permission to set up an informational table alongside others just inside the park entrance, but was denied, said Sally-Alice Thompson, a spokesperson for the group. Their request was denied after the United Veterans Council, who runs the city park/memorial, demanded to see the information they wanted to hand out.
"They looked at our literature, which is anti-war, and said it was too political. They said they could have nothing that was political," said Thompson. "Which is interesting, because they had a presidential candidate and two candidates for Senate giving campaign speeches up there."
Indeed, McCain spoke repeatedly of his race for the presidency and the policies he would seek to enact if elected.
McCain, a Vietnam veteran, spoke at length about his efforts to honor those who serve. As part of his speech, he attempted to justify his opposition to a popular expansion of the historic G.I. Bill.
The bipartisan bill, widely supported by the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and other veteran's groups, would provide full college benefits for soldiers who've served at least three years in the military since 2001. Seventy-five U.S. senators voted for the measure on May 22.
Sen. McCain, who sponsored another version of the bill that called for soldiers to serve at least 12 years before getting those benefits, was one of only three U.S. Senators who was not in Washington for the vote.
That's because on May 22, Sen. McCain was in California, at the home of San Diego Chargers owner Alex Spanos, attending a $25,000 a couple fundraiser for his presidential bid.
McCain explained Monday that he feared giving vets benefits after only one enlistment decrease would cause more of them to leave after serving only one enlistment. Military retention rates would slip, weakening the armed forces and putting our country at risk.
Maria Santelli, founder of the Albuquerque chapter of the G.I. Rights Hotline, said outside the event that McCain insults the veterans he claims to honor by failing to support the G.I. bill and not even bothering to show up for the vote.
Santelli said her organization provides badly-needed support and counseling to local military personnel who have returned from combat.
According to the Rand Corporation, in the last two years, 300,000 veterans have returned from combat with psychological difficulties and 320,000 came back with traumatic brain injuries, she said.
And every week, according to the Veteran's Administration's own numbers, 126 veterans take their own lives, she said.
As a veteran and former prisoner of war, Sen. McCain should know better than anyone the extent of difficulty our soldiers can face upon returning home after combat, she said.
Yet a study of Congressional voting records shows that, twice since the beginning of the Iraq War, McCain has voted against federal Veteran's Administration allocations that would raise benefits for veterans.
"He is in a key position to vote for veterans and he yet he votes against them, time after time," she said. "He says he supports veterans, and he just stood up here and lied to these people."
(To contact the G.I. Rights Hotline, call 505-404-6427 or visit the website.)
