For Democrats, VFW will be a very tough sell

[EV_Ares]

Anti-war candidates Clinton and Obama will have to tread lightly when addressing the veterans group in Kansas City.

The anti-war credentials that Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are brandishing on the campaign trail might not do them much good this week in Kansas City. As featured speakers at the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the top Democratic presidential candidates could face a challenge in defending their views without sounding critical of their hosts.

President Bush, who will speak Wednesday, is a wartime commander in chief. Sen. John McCain, a Republican presidential candidate, is a former prisoner of war and military hero. His support of the war has been unwavering. “We expect a warm reception,” said Brooke Buchanan, a spokeswoman for the senator from Arizona. Likely Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson, a former senator from Tennessee, also will be there. He opposes a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.

There is little question that the positions that Clinton and Obama have taken differ from many of the nearly 6,000 people who will be in Bartle Hall, said John Green, who teaches politics at the University of Akron in Ohio. "It might serve them well to be able to address that audience and get a respectful showing. It shows they can reach out to a diverse constituency, not an easy thing to do,” Green said.
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Yeah, right, does this organization really have the troops interest at heart?????
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After all, this is the same group that last year endorsed a Republican who was not a veteran in a high-profile Illinois congressional race over a Democrat who was.

Tammy Duckworth was an Army helicopter pilot in Iraq who lost both legs when a rocket-propelled grenade exploded. Duckworth, who said she considered the war a mistake, lost the race.

More recently, the VFW publicly backed the troop surge.
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The VFW’s last endorsement for president came in 1996, when it backed World War II veteran and former Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas over President Bill Clinton. ((They always endorse a republican)

“We’re really concerned that it’s not just about talking the talk, but walking the walk,” said Dana Balicki, a spokeswoman for the group. (((AND BUSH DOES, who skipped out of even the Nat Guard, did everything in the world to keep from going to Nam)))

((((entire story @ link))))

http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/237689.html

[Maq]

1. treat them like Iowa

demote their influence. Don't go there.

[bahrbearian]

4. Right ,Why go there may as well go on Billo's show too,or Fox News

[trumad]

2. Fuck these stupid old codgers.

They elected a awol idiot and have been wrong about this war every step of the way.

[The Vinyl Ripper]

3. Hillary is anti-war?

Could have fooled me..

[glowing]

5. That's what I was thinking.. Nuclear options not off the table...

she really is a damn fool... crazy to threaten the extinction of the human race.. Who cares about global warming if we keep threatening to annihialate everyone with those weapons... How long before the depleted uranium dust is a thin haze all around the globe?

[madokie]

6. I can proudly say this ole vet ain't going to ever be a member of the vfw

the what ever the hell they call him here in the local vfw is one of our friends step dad and he'll set there and tell you with a straight face that he is a democrat but if you listen to him for only a minute or so you'll see that he is as re:puke: as they come.
in other words he's a lying sack of shit.

[tinymontgomery]

8. This Vet is with you

I will never join the vfw. After they supported that repub up north instead of the Disabled vet, I believe it was Tammy Duckworth, I swore I would never join or show any support for them.

[TahitiNut]

9. I actually like my local VFW ... most of the post leadership are liberals.

The Post Commander, a Navy Viet Nam veteran, openly detests Cheney/Bush. The Post Quartermaster, a Marine Viet Nam veteran, regards Iraq as a war crime. Sandy Levin, the Democratic congressman (and Carl Levin's brother), is warmly welcomed when he visits the post. The former President of the Ladies Auxiliary is a liberal.

It's been refreshing to actually enjoy the company of VFW members. I remember the 70s when I'd visit a VFW or Legion post and be treated like a skunk at a picnic. Hateful.

[madokie]

10. That would be cool if that could be the case here

but I'd be like the skunk today in our local. once ole chuck dies off and goes to where ever re:puke:s go though I may have to give em a visit. Once a person has been in combat they are a changed person and one who has not been in combat cannot ever be, will never be.

[w8liftinglady]

7. I think the Democrats need to focus on the younger vets-IAVA and the like

...and use them as spokespeople for "our" views.We are the pro-vet party,after all.