Why doesn't Obama just say to the 'pugs: "YOUR WARS and your funding cuts caused the VA 'crisis'"

[Ken Burch]

Why doesn't he just say "look, we have the backlog for two reasons: "

"1)all the physically and mentally wounded troops coming home from the pointless Mideast conflicts you guys forced us into"

"2)the cuts in education and especially postsecondary education funding you've made at the federal and state level that forced up college and med school tuition to levels so high that massive numbers of potential physicians can't even dream of becoming doctors, thus creating the doctor shortage we have all over this country"

"It's on you guys, you war-loving, veteran-hating, soulless, miserly chickenhawks, that our troops are being denied the care they need after serving in the wars YOU had to have. How DARE you pretend to be righteously indignant with the VA about this".

The public would get it instantly if he phrased it that way. And it really is that freaking simple.

[flvegan]

1. LOL!

Yeah, okay. I wonder why he doesn't.

[GeorgeGist]

45. You win the thread.

The last post (44) that I read was equal but you were first. All the rest seemed to be beating around the bush.

[Lint Head]

2. Damn right! A war of lies was financed to the hilt but there wasn't enough money

in the budget to hire enough VA staff to care for the unprecedented number of wounded that war of lies caused.

[forthemiddle]

3. Maybe because a leader doesn't pass the buck

Especially when his appointed guy has been in charge for 5 years, and the "scandal" is coming to fruition now?
Had he said this stuff two years ago maybe it would have had credibility, but if you only wait for the bad stuff to come out before it becomes a scandal, then you are just passing the blame, and leaders don't do that.

[JayhawkSD]

25. It's not about the nobility of leadership

He doesn't pass the blame because he shares the blame and trying to pass it would be hypocrisy.

He cannot escape blame for the wars, since he ran on a platform of Afghanistan being "the good war" and he increased the troop level in Afghanistan and maintained combat operations there for more than four years after he entered office.

After getting "health care reform" passed he shifted to a program of deficit reduction for reasons that no one has been able to figure out, and made speeches about how just as American families have to live within a budget, so does the American government. At one point he was even willing to offer up cuts in Social Security in order to reduce the deficit, although he has since retreated from that position. The cost cutting has been driven in part by Obama policy.

[Ballast_Point]

4. They lost the argument when they showed the mountains of paper waiting to be filed 1980s style...

Politicizing it by party could really backfire. No one appreciates being used as a chess piece and they certainly don't appreciate having their face rubbed in it.

[bobduca]

5. Not Bipartisan Enough

Everyone knows that Lakoff is all wet, and that "liberal" framing is dishonest ( ), better to just accept the republican frames!

[Sunlei]

6. It was scammers/fraudsters in the VA hospital 'Leadership' that caused the VA 'crisis'

Firing a bunch of them was a very important first step. The next step should be criminal charges for fraud, 'cooking the books' and murder charges for any Vets who were killed or harmed.

The President mentioned yesterday, every Vet will be personally contacted "immediately" to take care of their health care needs.

And yes the 'for profit' many online "schools" who grab as much Vets Federal money for their education and didn't give Vets the education they deserved should also be charged with crimes.

Sure the colleges raised their prices on all Americans. They take all the Pell grants, all the scholarship money.

Because college prices are so high the education grants will not even cover the costs. Then the colleges burden all students with life-long student loans.

[DhhD]

28. Bush honors Veterans by slashing Veterans Affairs Budget by 1 Billion dollars.

This 2004 article is just one of many about the fact that the GWBush Administration cut taxes and the Republican Congress voted to underfund care for returning Veterans. Republicans continued to vote against the VA. I am looking forward to the investigation of the extra money being scammed from the VA that would make the need for the funding bills over the past 14 years no be necessary that your reply seems to infer.

http://irregulartimes.com/solvingveterans.html

Republican Congressional lawmakers continue to refuse to properly fund the VA Healthcare system and to vote for veteran's jobs bills.

[Sunlei]

34. sure, I agree Republicans will not even fund the mess to computerise the VA system from PAPER files.

Some of our Vets have paper files a couple feet thick!

Republicans seem like they want our federal departments to be messed up paper systems forever, so they can continue to 'private profit' off our federal money.

[Sunlei]

35. just to add, the day Obama took office he pushed the massive upgrade to VA & a lot of other Federal

departments like the DOI/BLM who were still using some ancient paper system to manage OUR public lands.

[TheKentuckian]

7. Because "bipartisanship" is either a con, the product of dangerously limited thinking, or both.

You can't play footsie and try to partner for five or six years and then get traction when the heat comes by pointing fingers. It isn't credible even if quite factual.

[zeemike]

21. I favor the con.

Because a smart man like Obama knows the score.

[m-lekktor]

8. that would look silly since he voted for every war funding bill

except 1, while he was in the senate!.

[libdem4life]

12. Sadly true...and many other Ds as well. Americans are a power-hungry, blood-thirsty culture.

That would refer to the majority, not the minority who still have real values and abhor war or any other euphemism we label it for taking over other folk's politics, culture and yes, freedom. When a culture has to take another's freedom away to keep their own, it's no longer freedom, but Empire.

[OnyxCollie]

9. The disadvantages of Looking Forward. nt

[malaise]

10. And it really is that freaking simple

Correct

[Le Taz Hot]

11. Well, for one, there were a WHOLE LOT of Democrats

who voted "yes" on those wars, including Hillary Clinton and John "man up" Kerry.

[NorthCarolina]

20. +1 n t

[yellowwoodII]

22. Something that I will not forget

Hillary and Kerry should have known better.

[Demeter]

13. Maybe because it would reflect badly on Obama's wars and budget cuts

sauce for the goose...

[Leme]

14. I would have asked Shinseki..can you fix this?

if he said yes, I would have stayed with him.

[davidthegnome]

15. Right on.

This is EXACTLY what he and every democrat should be saying and even shouting right now. These republicans want to offer bizarre tax cuts for the wealthy, de-fund education, medicaid, medicare, infrastructure - and promote foreign wars, all at the same time. Yet, somehow, when THEY cut funding for veterans it's Shinseki's fault, or Obama's fault, or those nasty democrats.

What still from time to time shocks me (I know after so long it shouldn't) is that they deliberately use misinformation and outright lies - blaming the President and democrats for the shit that THEY are responsible for. It's time to stop bothering with this "bipartisan outreach", they've made it clear they aren't interested in working together - and we need to respond to their sleazy tactics with truth.

[greymattermom]

18. bill naming

How about a bill called "Help our vets" or something like that. Let them vote against that.

[zeemike]

23. And of course that bill would cut funding to the VA

And privatize it...that is the answer to everything.

[Leme]

32. they would help vets

by giving them a voucher for 3000 and saying apply again in 3 years..if we have money. o yeah, they would close all VA hospitals. A name is just a name. example: Patriot Act

[progressoid]

16. It was a bi-partisan war.

*82 (40%) of 209 Democratic Representatives voted for the Iraq War Resolution.
*58% of Democratic senators (29 of 50) voted for the resolution.

[SansACause]

17. I mean, it's not like Hillary voted to authorize those wars.

Oh, wait...

[Martin Eden]

19. Lack of funding is a non-issue in my local paper (Chicago Tribune)

The article in this morning's paper about Shinseki's resignation focused on how this scandal will hurt the Democrats and the president. They did not attempt to explain why the wait times are so long, and no mention was made of Republican votes against adequate funding.

[hack89]

27. Lying about the backlogs is the problem, not the backlogs themselves

Shinseki was oblivious to the fact that senior VA executives were lying about wait times to protect promotions and bonuses.

The VA should have told the the world that wait times were too long but instead the lied.

[Martin Eden]

36. They're both problems, but the backlogs are the bigger problem IMO

The lies are inexcusable, but that has a negative affect on the lives of veterans only to the extent it forestalls adequate funding.

[hack89]

24. The problem is not the backlog - it is the hiding of it so executives could get performance bonuses.

The lying and fabrication is the scandal.

[DhhD]

30. Which played right into the hand of the Privatization Profiteers who control some members of

Congress. They know how to use greed and hypocrisy to gain control. And calling for the resignation of a leader who knows how to fix the problem moves the democracy of correction to the fascism of private ownership board of directors-the 1%er Groups. It is such a sucking sound to the Right.

[hack89]

33. That leader was oblivious to widespread lying and cheating

So I question your assertion that he knew how to fix the problem.

[n2doc]

26. I think he will be better served by challenging repubs to let him fix it

The Senate has tried to pass a bill helping out the VA, the repubs obstruct it. That is what he needs to be hitting them on. The Repubs are obstructing a solution RIGHT NOW, and voters can fix this by voting them out in the fall. That is the message, not "Blame Bush", which , although true, doesn't fix the problem.

[kentuck]

29. Repubs are kicking our ass with this "scandal" and will continue to do so...

unless somebody fights back.

Great Communicator?

[onecaliberal]

31. I have been wondering

The same thing. The Congress is to blame. The do nothings are beholden to the 1%. No appropriations for the Middle East cannon fodder.

[bigtree]

37. because he shares responsibility for the fate of these military folks

. . . for instance, he extended and escalated the Afghan occupation - exposing the troops there to more casualties than under Bush.

He's not going to get away from that responsibility by blaming Bush for starting that conflict.

[Skittles]

38. because he would have to explain why we are still in Afghanistan?

[L0oniX]

39. Still trying to reach across the isle?

[baldguy]

40. Please don't conflate Republicans with Pugs.

Pugs are beautiful, soulful, sociable creatures & don't deserve to be lumped in with people who want to destroy the human race..

[Ken Burch]

43. I take your point...but that's why the apostrophe is there

Your pug would never be a " 'pug ".

Are we good now?

[AngryAmish]

41. As a practical matter he kinda owns the Afghanistan surge

In his campaign he said Iraq was a mistake but we have to win in Afghanistan. He had a surge and now we have declared victory and are leaving.

(Nevermind that there is no winning there, just a miserable shithole that was there for the last 3000 years. But that is another thung.)

[Munificence]

42. I'd be interested in

seeing some numbers on the VA and amount of folks served yearly over the past 10 years vs historical norms. Let us not forget that any vet qualifies for the VA, it's not just "war vets".

I could make the argument that if the economy was better and more of these men could get decent jobs that they would not have to use the VA....this economy is shit and all these men have to deal with health issues through the VA.

Veteran of a foreign war here, I've never used the VA.

and we need to quit "blaming the bullshit on other folks", it's been 5 years and we still want to blame others it's time for us to quit being little cry babies and "man up" and deal with things.

[burrowowl]

44. Yes! I wonder as well!

[joshcryer]

46. This is what happens when you elect a bipartisan candidate.

I wish to hell and back partisan wasn't a dirty word in American politics. It belies belief that this day and age it is still considered a bad thing! I suspect it's because the purists think the President is all powerful and can somehow use the bully pulpit to convince the neo-fascist Republicans to vote for positive legislation, so centrist politicians are all "oh hey I can work across the isle."

TBH I'd rather have a partisan President that shits on the other side while getting little done than a bipartisan President who is quiet when the other side fucks us over and who compromises when some near complete deal is in their sights and they pass it (see: gutting the public option in the near term; it's not gone, it'll be back in 2017, but it resulted in many a profiteer's pockets being lined).

[Savannahmann]

47. Seriously?

OK, try that. When 70% of the people vote for the Republicans in the next election, you can claim how stupid the people are for voting against their own interests. Then in 2016 you can shake with rage when Rand Paul gets the White House.

Because by throwing that smoke to try and protect a guy who was in charge of the VA for FIVE YEARS, you are doing nothing but playing into Republican hands. You are defending the indefensible, protecting the guilty, and trying to shift the blame. The Republican adds this October would be of President Obama campaigning on how the VA was going to be a high priority. Then they swap to the talking heads about how 67% of the facilities are involved in the FRAUD, and then another switch to President Obama shaking his fist and shouting it's the Republicans fault.

Oppose the Republicans, but do so intelligently for once.