Veterans go after McCain on his record against veterans

Veterans on bus tour criticize McCain
Group sponsored by union slams his health care record.
Mike Penprase • News-Leader • July 13, 2008

Sen. John McCain is a veteran, but he doesn't have the care of other vets at heart, according to the survivors of several wars who made a stop Saturday in Springfield.

A national bus tour dubbed the Road to Health Care tour is sponsored by the Service Employees International Union, which has endorsed Democratic Sen. Barack Obama for president.

And the labor union's endorsement of Obama didn't escape the McCain campaign when it responded to claims that the presumptive GOP candidate doesn't support veterans.

The vets not only criticized McCain's record on veteran heath care and other benefits, they also questioned whether a plan for a Veterans Affairs mental-health clinic in Greene County would meet pressing medical needs at a time when it's more expensive to make trips to VA facilities.

Speaking during the tour's midday stop at the Greene County Courthouse, the veterans made a frontal assault on fellow vet McCain.

Jack Hembree, a 22-year Army veteran who fought in Korea and Vietnam, spoke out against turning veterans' medical care over to private providers.

A self-described "yellow dog Democrat," Springfieldian Hembree said he believes McCain's proposed changes to Veterans Affairs would be a swan song for the government body that has long overseen veterans' medical care.

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Just because McCain enjoys the benefits of being a wounded veteran, he has not voted for the interests of other veterans. His record is what needs to be addressed. While he runs on his POW years, he's been running away from what other veterans need.