McCain--their blood is on your hands

In 2006, McCain voted AGAINST HR 4297, which among other things meant to increase funding for mental health treatment for veterans.

 In 2005, McCain voted AGAINST both HR 2863 (which meant to increase discretionary funding of veteran's health benefits to match inflation) and S 2020 (meant to provide special funding for veterans returning from the war to help them readjust to civilian life and for mental health treatment)

Keep these facts in mind for a moment and read on:

As of the end of August, there were 62 confirmed suicides among active duty soldiers and Guard and Reserve troops called to active duty, officials said. Another 31 deaths appear to be suicides but are still being investigated.

As officials have said before, Cornum said the main factors in soldier suicides continues to be problems with their personal relationships, legal and financial issues, work problems and the repeated deployments and longer tour lengths prompted by an Afghan war entering its eighth year and Iraq campaign in its sixth.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080905/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/military_suicides;_ylt=Ao2AMQRZCxlBya2Cerz1Gz2s0NUE

 Besides the suicides, how often have we read news articles just over the last year about servicemen and women committing heinous crimes upon returning home?  Soldiers killing their pregnant wives or girlfriends have become commonplace.  Our vets are NOT getting the help they need after serving two, three, and in some cases four tours in the Middle East. 

For someone who spent 5 years in a POW camp and should understand better than most the horrors of war, you would think McCain would indeed put "Country First" and look out for the interests of our vets.  McCain always says these programs are too costly.  Really?  So tell me, what is a soldier's life worth these days?  What is the life of his pregnant wife worth?  Or his unborn child that dies with her?  Are they too much of a strain on the bottom line?  Can't afford those tax breaks for the wealthy if we try to actually prevent these soldiers from killing themselves.  And hey, maybe that is a way to solve the unemployment problem.  If they kill themselves, that opens up jobs for others, right?

Where is all the venom from the Right to Lifers?  What, the lives of soldiers who spill their blood fighting a war you support don't matter enough to you?  Can't look up from your holier-than-thou drivel to take a moment to fight for these men and women half as much as you fight for the unborn?

I see these statistics, and it breaks my heart.  My father fought in Vietnam too.  I have cousins currently stationed overseas.  McCain only cares about Vets so long as he can play his POW card to get their votes.  He has one of the worst records on Vets issues in the Senate, and yet he hides behind his POW status like it is some unassailable wall of protection. 

But every Vet that dies because you are too much of a cheap-ass to place a value on his or her life puts a chink in that wall.  I only hope that wall crumbles before November.