conservative lie #43,219

“This is a defining moment for the Senate, for the Republicans, and this war. I can tell you if we leave the generals alone and support our troops, they will win this war. And to my Republican colleagues, if we’ll stand firm for a fair procedure and a sensible solution to the veterans’ problems, we will get rewarded in the next election, not punished. If we give into this, we don’t deserve to be here.”

That’s a quote from Sen. Lindsey Graham (r-SC) before the Senate voted, 75-22, to overwhelmingly approve Sen. Jim Webb’s (D-VA) 21st Century GI Bill, which would expand educational benefits for veterans who joined the service after Sept. 11, 2001.

Graham, who introduced his own version of the GI bill recently (stripped of anything that matters) urged “President” Bush to wield his veto crayon again and, not surprisingly, Bush has already indicated he will.

Graham’s insistence that his republican colleagues would “get rewarded in the next election” if they vote against GI benefits is staggeringly stupid. Recent polling shows that more than 8 of 10 support the 21st Century GI Bill, 83% believe the new bill will benefit the US and 81% of Americans believe that that veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are not getting enough support in transitioning back to civilian life… something this bill will help decrease drastically.

And apparently Graham hadn’t heard that 9 of the 15 republican senators that are running for reelection this November voted for the bill… which proves they must have actually listened to their constituents… how dare they use their own brain.

Yes Virginia, that was sarcasm.

As if Graham didn’t sound dense enough, the “If we just leave the generals alone and support the troops, they will win this war” line is bizarre. What does allowing the generals to do their job have to do with a bill aimed at helping GI's after they leave the service?

The republican party’s lack of empathy for our military is showing, brazenly, once again… and they need to be called on it every chance we get by reminding people that the party that supposedly cares more about the military (lie #43,219) is the one preventing them from not only getting the medical attention they need and deserve, but improving their prospects after their tours are up as well.

Let’s make them pay and vote them OUT in November. It’s the right thing to do.