dicksmith has shockingly bad grasp of politics [updated]

I know the title goes without saying generally, but this time it is even more egregious. First off, let’s look at his post:

Zero GOP Votes for Veterans by: Richard Allen Smith Fri Dec 11, 2009 at 16:28:09 PM EST Yesterday, the House of Representatives approved the conference report that contains the budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The budget, as EyesOnly reminded us earlier this week, is already 73 days passed due.  The bill passed by a vote of 221-202.While 28 Democrats have a lot of explaining to do for voting against funding the department that administers benefits and health care to those who have served their country in uniform, they are dwarfed by the entire Republican conference who voted, every single one, against appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Remember that in future elections when Republicans continue to portray themselves as the party of Veterans and the military.

Well, isn’t that interesting. I mean, *ALL* GOP Members are against Veterans? And some Dems? Let’s start looking at who is against “Veterans and the military.” Well, one of them would be the Chairman of the Armed Services Commitee, Democratic Congressman Ike Skelton. Another is my good buddy Jim Marshall (Democrat from Macon, GA, and member of the Ranger Hall of Fame).

Anyway, I contacted Congressman Marshall’s office this morning and spoke with his Legislative Director. When I told him about the VoteVets discussion about this vote, he sort of sighed, and told me that Congressman Marshall’s vote on the omnibus bill had exactly ZERO to do with veterans. In fact, he didn’t know of anyone that didn’t approve of the veterans portion. I hope later to have up a quote especially for TAH from Congressman Marshall, once it gets sent to me.

For the lamebrained, the ignorant, and VoteVets (which is to say both), the “no” votes were not votes against veterans. This is the same bullshit that I have problems with everytime someone uses a vote on an omnibus bill as a score. I expect it from dicksmith since he knows as much about the political process as I do about showtunes.

So what is in HR 3288? Just veterans stuff as VoteVets reads it. Medical News is better at reading:

The omnibus bill includes the Financial Services (HR 3170), Commerce-Justice-Science (HR 2847), Labor-HHS-Education (HR 3293), Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (HR 3082), State-Foreign Operations (HR 3081) and Transportation-HUD (HR 3288) appropriations bills

Here is the GOP statement on why they voted against it.

Lewis remarked that this huge hodgepodge of spending bills including every remaining Appropriations bill but Defense – is a result of the failure of Democrat leaders to pass the necessary funding for the federal government through the regular Appropriations process prior to the end of the fiscal year in September.

The overly generous funding level in the Omnibus allows virtually every agency and account to benefit from significant increases, and that tough but necessary decisions were not made to maintain fiscal discipline, Lewis stated. The rate of overall spending in the Omnibus corresponds with the Democrats budget blueprint that increases non-defense, discretionary spending by 12% over last year. When all Appropriations spending is combined, the Democrat majority will have increased non-defense, non-veterans discretionary spending by 85% over the last two fiscal years.

There is no question that the era of big government has returned to Washington, DC. I cannot and will not support this package of spending bills because it simply spends too much money and makes a mockery of our legislative process, Lewis said.

Sadly, the misplaced priorities of this Congress have resulted in too much spending, fewer jobs, and bigger government that the public doesn’t want and can’t afford. Some in Washington refer to this unrestrained spending as ‘change we can believe in.  Most people in our country would call it business as usual, he continued.

dicksmith has a child-like understanding of how Approps bills work. To assume that a no vote on this monstrocity reflects an anti-veteran, anti-military view is preposterous. It’s analogous to believing that because I hate the NY Yankees, I clearly hate baseball, all sports, and America. It’s an assinine, 4 year old’s view of reality, and it’s altogether typical of the myopic, ridiculous and misguided political underpinnings and philosophy held by Soltz and his miscreants.

Leave the politics to us, numbnuts, go elect your people and stop claiming to represent vets.

UPDATE: Congressman Marshall sends this:

Our spiraling federal deficits threaten our future national security and our ability to support veterans, active duty military personnel and their families. I would have voted for the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act as a stand alone bill. Unfortunately it was lumped in with other major spending bills averaging 7.32% percent increases, far more than the -0.2% inflation rate for fiscal 2009. Unlike tackling our recession with one-time-only spending, annual appropriations increases are with us year after year. They set a new baseline.

I detest the first vote Congressman Marshall makes each Congress, but I don’t know of any that he makes after that which I don’t approve of. To veterans and active duty, I honestly believe there is no better friend. I know you guys are loathe to believe that at times about a Democrat, but Jim is one of the finest people in public service, and I am proud to help him everytime he has an election.

Category: Politics