FACT: In the United States, a veteran commits suicide every 80 minutes.
FACT: Today, one in four veterans is unemployed.
FACT: The total number of employable, but unemployed veterans now stands in excess of 700,000.
FACT: On Wednesday, Senate Republicans blocked the vote on the Veterans Jobs Corps bill that would have infused $1 billion over the next five years to help veterans find jobs in their communities.
FACT: Arkansas Republican Senator John Boozman was one of the leading authors of the Veterans bill.
FACT: Boozman serves on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
FACT: Yesterday, Boozman voted against allowing that bill to come to a vote on the Senate floor. He did so along with three other Republican senators who authored the bill.
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The question is why.
The answer is clear.
It’s called partisan politics and the Romney Effect.
There were no downsides to the Veterans Jobs Corps bill. As a primary author of the legislation, Boozman and others knew that. So why in the world would they vote against a bill that would put veterans, whose 10.2 percent unemployment rate stands well above that of the general civilian population?
This generally bi-partisan bill was a cornerstone of President Obama’s 2012 budget and a highlight of his 2012 State of the Union Address.
At this late stage in the game with Republican’s likelihood of capturing the White House diminishing daily, the GOP will have nothing to do with anything that might be deemed a presidential success.
It’s like sending our veterans to war all over again.
And there is no “Plan B.” This measure won’t come up again for at least another year.
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All potential good aside, Boozman joins dozens of other Republican candidates this week doing everything they can to be anything but Republicans.
The Romney Effect has Republican candidates scrambling to hide from their identity, at least for the next several weeks.
Republican candidates in key swing states such as Wisconsin, Massachussetts, Ohio, Virgina and Nevada now claim no association with Romney after he willingly acknowledged his dismissal of 47 percent of the American population.
“I think there is a broad and growing feeling now that this thing is slipping out of Romney’s hands.” ~ conservative columnist Peggy Noonan
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“That’s not the way I view the world. As someone who grew up in tough circumstances, I know that being on public assistance is not a spot anybody wants to be in.” ~ Massachussetts Sen. Scott Brown, who now trails his Democratic opponent Elizabeth Warren.
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“I just don’t view the world the way he (Romney) does.” ~ Nevada Sen. Dean Heller.
Who is Sen. John Boozman? All veterans should remember.
He’s the politician who solicited your vote, then turned his back on you.
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Steven, I completely disagree with you here. I have been on fb with others who don’t understand this issue at all but this post of yours is about as one sided liberal as it gets. i for one am sick of people who don’t understand our military of which I live 2 miles from Shaw AFB; the largest Jet Fighter base in the world with a very large bomb site behind us and they don’t agree with President Obama. They want him voted out. The jets fly over my house; I hear the bombs when they detonate. The base employs around 9000 now due to the base PRESIDENT OBAMA CLOSED IN ATLANTA; an army base. those based there either were fired, or forced to move here. Many lost their jobs. That doesn’t count the 157 Majors that were fired last year; they were given a pink slip. no thank you. no health insurance. No benefits. One of those Majors was our neighbor. He has no job now after 27 years of giving his life for you, me and our freedoms. His wife has cancer and no health insurance to pay for it. He told me he had $30,000 in retirement built up and the President made it clear to all of them that if they couldn’t find another job with the government to give it all back.
The money is not there. That is why they voted against it. Don’t tell me other wise; I hear it every day how these troops are sacrificing to barely make it. They are being cut financially and still getting deployed! Yes; DEPLOYED NOW! So the President can get off of his podium and stop lying to the American people that he is bringing the troops home . If you don’t believe me; ask anyone who lives here. Go to our church and meet the hundreds of present troops and veterans who do not want Obama re-elected. I could go on and on with stories I have heard over the last 5 years from the actual people who have been shot at in Iraq, blown away by bombs or lived through pure hell for our freedoms. Freedoms they believe this President makes light of. There are many right now scared they will not have jobs in January due to the defense cuts. So for every job the Obama administration has created, he has fired military personnel. And if the military agrees with the present administrations policies for them why are they doing every thing possible to get him voted out?
The blog I wrote today about this very issue has brought to light to those who are in the military or have relatives the truth they tell me of how they really feel. It breaks my heart that people like YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO WRITE SUCH A POST as if Republicans or conservatives don’t care as much as the Democrats about our troops. An idiot democrat told me that today and accused me of being the kind of person who is ruining our country. And he expects me to keep my mouth shut when I live next door, across the street and down the street from people who wear our patriotism in the worst parts of the world? They are our friends, fellow church people, neighbors, many work with my husband who have relatives in the military; They are everywhere here where I live. And they are unhappy with the government.
The mindset that money falls out of trees is ludicrous. God plainly states in the Bible that if a government has the right to tax us, they are required by God’s law to have a strong, military defense to protect the people. The problem here is wasteful spending that take away from those who deserve it. And…if people think they can wish war away and wear it on their sleeve like “I am better than you because I don’t like war” should read the Bible. God gave many indications of wars and rumors of wars and he also gave those who were faithful to him how to fight and win. Get over it. God hates war and so do I.
I have kept my mouth shut about many portions of my faith. I have been slandered for it; hated for it; sent messages I wouldn’t repeat by people who are against Republicans and conservatives like me; most of which are Democrats. They have called me horrible names, defriended me, threatened me; all because I am telling the truth.
These are real people with real families, with the hardest job in the world. They are our hero’s and they deserve better than this.
Major Scott Stewart; one who was in for almost 30 years and was fired last year. He and his family were our friends across the street. He spent 18 months in Iraq fighting for our country only to come home losing his job, and his wife has cancer now and no health insurance. Oh and he told me he had built up retirement; thousands of dollars and the government; the PRESIDENT declared that any of those 157 that were fired and they were all officers to give their retirement back unless they found a government job. He still has no job. Oh and one more thing.
2 days after he arrived after being at Bagram for a year he told me; ” I don’t like getting shot at.”
Well, I am thick skinned and will not keep silent especially when it comes to our troops.
IF ANYONE WANTS TO DISPUTE THIS; FIRST; GO TO IRAQ TO BAGRAM AFB WHERE MANY FROM HERE ARE DEPLOYED. WHILE YOU ARE DODGING THE BULLETS REMEMBER THE DEMOCRATS WHO CARE MORE FOR OUR MILITARY THAN THE REPUBLICANS. AND WHILE YOU ARE RUNNING FROM THE MINES YOU CAN’T SEE OR THE BOMB THAT GOES OFF IN YOUR VEHICLE ASK THEM IF THEY CARE ABOUT WHICH PARTY SUPPORTS THEM THE MOST.
America. Grow up.
Glad you could get that off your chest.
did you see Rachel Maddow show night before last? She was talking about Boozman, among others….
Yes it’s what gave me the idea for the post.
Steven, this is not funny. Obviously you are not the man I thought you were.
Lady. I have no idea where you’re coming from or what you want to say to me. Your patriotism is admirable. You need to re-read my post. It was derogatory of the military in no way whatsoever. It was a personal commentary (based on facts) about a junior senator from Arkansas who sacrificed his morals and beliefs for the sake of politics. The post was nothing more, nothing less. Point out a single factual error I made and I’ll be glad to make it right. If you want to take your frustration on “liberal commentary” out on me, that’s fine if it makes you feel better. My post was political, not unpatriotic. Some of the best pieces ever written make people angry. I have no problem with that when my work is based on facts. I’m not mad. Not upset. If you are, I’m sorry about that, but without apology to you or anybody else. The piece had readership merit, it had more than a hundred hits from search engines alone, forget subscribers, etc. If you want to write something and personally name me as evil, go ahead. I’ve been a journalist for 30 years and have a much thicker skin that most. To question someone’s morals or ethics because you disagree with their opinion, is less than profession, but I have to admire you giving it to me directly. Most people are passive-agressive in their criticism, but you’re not, so I have to admire that.
Yikes. Ms. N raves about anything other than the subject at hand. I feel personally disgraced that Sen. Boozman is one of my senators. I did not vote for him and would not vote for him because he and his late brother Fay were well-known right-wing wing nuts. Fay was the first politician in this region to publicly espouse the theory that women have a secret ‘magic juice’ to prevent pregnancy upon rape. He was killed when his barn collapsed on him. But John ran against the Blue Dog Blanche Lincoln who was not, in the end, popular in anybody’s living room. She was adequately challenged in the primary, but was propped up by Bill Clinton in exchange for her vote on health care. That is how we ended up with John Boozman. And, BTW, our little oasis in the South will be gone forever after the coming election, when the legislature will probably go Republican for the first time since Reconstruction. Then we will have the same insanity going on as other states such as Mississippi and Wisconsin. Oh, but there is one slight chance this will not happen: the medical marijuana issue has been put on the ballot, and perhaps enough pot smokers will turn out and vote Demo all the way up and down to make a difference. Of course, a coalition of wing nuts is desperately trying to get the MM issue kicked off the ballot.
I’m familiar with them all. I was Marion Berry’s press secretary for four years, so i got acquainted with many. I started to throw the magic juice thing in just for kicks, but did not out of respect for his passing. Thanks for your comments. I really didnt get where the other lady was coming from, but I chalk it up to my first hate-email from a blog reader.
Interesting polling today noting Obama leads Romney 56-40 among military families.