TAH in Politico: That election thing
So, the week that I declare that TAH isn’t going to participate in the upcoming election and the campaign, Austin Wright of Politico calls me for an interview on the election and the campaign. It was influenced by the bit we did on the Gallup poll late last month which says veterans are carrying Romney in the polls and Obama’s attempts to curry votes from veterans.
So this is what I told Austin;
Jonn Lilyea, a conservative blogger who has amassed a loyal following among veterans, said many of his readers are currently unemployed.
“Veterans are starting to see that we do need to be a bloc of votes, and we do need to vote for our interests,” Lilyea said. “We don’t want to contribute to the debt, but we also don’t want to go into debt ourselves.”
Lilyea said he felt betrayed when Obama put forward a plan to increase fees for TRICARE, the health care program for service members and veterans. The increased fees — intended to slow the growth of the Pentagon’s ballooning health care costs — were rejected by the House last month. And the Senate is expected to follow suit.
Lilyea, a combat veteran, added he’s also disappointed by Romney because he was deferred from the draft during the Vietnam War. “This is the first time in my lifetime there hasn’t been a veteran to vote for,” Lilyea said. “I’ll probably end up voting for Romney, but I’ll have to hold my nose.”
Romney’s non-veteran status isn’t the real issue, though. He’s going to have to prove to veterans that he’s not an “Obama-light”, because he has a reputation as a flip-flopper and makes his “stands” based on opinion polls. Veterans don’t want more unkept promises and Congressional Republicans like Lindsey Graham aren’t helping him.
Like most of you, I find it difficult to find a reason to vote for Romney, but luckily for him, I can find myriad reasons to NOT vote for Obama and most of those reasons have to do with his duplicity on veterans’ issues like his planned Tricare cost increases and his hatchetmen’s cuts to defense. How can you trust a guy who says he wants to cut everyone’s health care costs while he hikes veterans’ healthcare costs? And then tells us that we have to do our part for the country – because, you know, we’ve done so little up until now.
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Veterans Issues
I was undecided until the WH tried to raise TRICARE enrollment fees. You don’t try to piss on me and then ask for my vote – Fuck you.
In an election year where none of the candidates gives me a “chill up my leg” (as Chris Matthews would say) I can definitely say that I AM looking forward to casting a vote against Obama. I’ve been unimpressed by the douchebaggery coming out of the GOP in recent years but that narcissistic prick in the WH has got to go. Putting my focus on the Congressional elections though, a lot of these assclowns need to get their pick slips this November, including my local eunuch, Rep. Jim Moron…er..Moran.
Well said, Jonn.
Thanks for being the voice for so many who don’t have one.
I second that. well done indeed.
And then tells us that we have to do our part for the country – because, you know, we’ve done so little up until now.
Money quote of the year. Too bad the Obama administration and anyone associated with the liberals fail to grasp that bit of dripping sarcasm.
And thanks for being on the front lines for us Jonn–AGAIN.
Didn’t bho also say that veteran’s need to pay for their own healthcare for war injuries since it is a volunteer force?
John, don’t feel bad – I have voted in every national election and most local ones if I was in the US, since I was declared old enough to vote back in ’71. Since then I have voted FOR a man once – in ’84 – and AGAINST a candidate every other time. It’s almost never about who is the best candidate, it’s usually ‘who is the least worst of these two idiots?’
Just a side note for this. Romeny or Obama, at this point I don’t really care. But know that the house armed services committee actually initiated the calls to increase those tricare costs, and it was non-other than fellow combat vet and ex Republican Pres Nominee John McCain who was leading that push. He also said he thought we should lead from the front on taking the financial hits, like we do in bearing the brunt of sacrifice in war. Toolbag…. period.
Sorry, Tanner, but it was the DoD, first under Gates and then Panetta, who forwarded their recommendations for hikes to Tricare enrollment to Armed Services Committees. Graham and McCain jumped on board, because, you know, they wanted to look like mavericks.