VFW PAC insurgents

The shit storm we started over the VFW PAC endorsements for the upcoming elections continues. Yesterday the Commander called for the PAC to rescind their endorsements;

As determined in the VFW By-Laws, as the national officers, we have specific responsibilities to take definitive action when events can have a detrimental impact on the organization. It is clear to us that the current situation now demands direct action; therefore, we are requesting the chairman and the directors of the Political Action Committee immediately rescind their endorsement actions.

The Board of the VFW PAC refused;

In the political endorsement arena, there will always be party loyalists and individuals that will not agree with the VFW-PAC decision. The Board respects their position and appreciates their activism in support of the candidate of their choice. The VFW-PAC endorsement is not designed to tell people how to vote; but to point out who has demonstrated support for veterans and America’s security.

The VFW-PAC disagrees with those who claim the endorsement process is skewed, flawed, or unfair. Some incumbents will have an advantage over another candidate because they have a good voting record on the issues. They also have a disadvantage if their votes don’t support the VFW’s position. Holding lawmakers accountable and judging them by their actions on legislative issues is a fair and necessary standard. This Congress has been very good to veterans and incumbent endorsements reflect that support.

The VFW-PAC stands by the endorsement process used during the 2010 election cycle.

Oddly enough, the PAC, on the web page of their refusal, continue to use the VFW logo. If there’s an insurrection over there, shouldn’t they fight their battle under another banner? The colonists didn’t fight the British under the King’s own flag, did they?

The PAC claims that it endorsed candidates that “have a good voting record on the issues”. Really? Over the last ten years or over the session? Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi were unable to pass a defense budget this year. They had to pass two budgets last year because they couldn’t pass one for 2009 in 2008. Is that a good record? Is that a position that the VFW takes – no defense budget?

What really pissed me off is that the Commander said that most of us who called the national office didn’t understand that the PAC was separate from our organization. I think I explained that the first day, didn’t I? We all perfectly understand the division, but the public doesn’t and I think that’s more important. And the candidates certainly don’t make the distinction for their constituents.

Previously, I’ve kept my personal criticism of the Board between me and my pals, now you’re all my pals. have you seen the pictures of the Board of the PAC? They all look like they rode with Pershing hunting down Pancho Villa – which is probably why they’re so out of touch with politics. They’re still excited that Woodrow Wilson has promised to keep us out of The Great War.

Hot Air outlines the absolute idiocy of the PAC’s endorsement of Boxer. In fact, Jom Hoft at Breitbart’s Big Peace has a piece today that two of the people who were endorsed by the VFW PAC, Waxman and Boxer, secured diplomatic courtesy letters for Code Pink so the smelly hippie wenches could deliver $600,000 to insurgents in Fallujah while they were fighting our troops in those streets in late 2004.

Does the VFW want to attach itself to that clearly treasonous act?

You can go through the (PDF) list and point out your own, if you want. If the list disappears, I have a copy.

At a minimum, the National Commander should forbid the PAC from calling themselves the VFW PAC and rescind the authorization for them to use the logo. If they want to endorse candidates without putting a moment’s thought into it, and if they want to argue with the membership over their inability to make distinctions beyond some survey, they don’t deserve to call themselves VFW. If they can’t do that, go nuclear and disband the PAC. If the American Legion can go all of these years without a PAC, so can we.

And, oh, the PAC still hasn’t returned my phone call a week later and they have the phone number on answering machine.

Category: VFW PAC