Jun 10 2008
McCain VP Candidate Opposed to Expanding Vet Benefits
Top McCain Veep Prospect Opposed Expanding Vet Benefits – Politics on The Huffington Post
I’m disinclined to wade to far into the whole “Veepstakes” mania that’s been swallowing the media. While I think it’s kind of interesting to talk about who the VP candidates will be, in the end I don’t think it will matter all that much. I also think that it’s more of an issue when you’re not that excited about your candidate, and for me that’s just not true this year…though it does seem to be for a lot of Republicans. So, with that in mind and with the veterans’ issues always being something very important to me, I felt that this was worth giving a little acknowledgement to. The original article described Governor Jindal as McCain’s “top” VP candidate, and I’m not sure that that’s really true. But I will say that if Obama had a VP prospect on his short list with this on their record, I would be very upset with him.
The problem with picking Gov. Jindal as a vice presidential nominee is that his voting record as a Congressman, before he became the nation’s youngest governor, does not suggest such an expansive view of the benefits veterans should receive.
Louisiana Democrats threw a barrage of anti-veteran charges against Jindal during his gubernatorial run, some of them more damning than others. Like all members of Congress, Jindal voted against some procedural moves, which, taken alone, reveal little about his actual policy preferences. But according to FactCheck.org, which worked to get to the bottom of those claims, the one incontrovertible instance in which Jindal opposed the substance of increasing benefits for soldiers came during a 2006 debate about TRICARE — a health care program run by the Department of Defense that is separate from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
At that time, some in Congress wanted to expand access to TRICARE to all National Guard and Reserve troops even when not on active duty. Hundreds of thousands of these soldiers have been activated since 2001, some serving multiple tours in Iraq in what has been described as a “backdoor draft.” Today, just under 100,000 are mobilized.
According to FactCheck.org’s 2006 analysis of Jindal’s voting record, “Republicans argued that expanding [TRICARE] to cover all non-active-duty Guard and Reserve would encourage their employers to drop them from private health care plans and let the government pick up the tab.” Jindal joined that view and voted against the expansion of TRICARE. Such a position squares with Jindal’s reputation for holding the line on spending increases. But it could conflict with Sen. McCain’s own suggestion, on his website platform, that TRICARE should be made more accessible to “people who have dedicated their careers to protecting our freedom.”
Bobby Jindal would make a great President some day. But that day isn’t today. He is needed in Louisiana and this executive experience can lead to the top spot. John McCain would do well to select JC Watts. The former congressman has a stellar conservative record and is an all around good guy. He could curb the harsh image that McCain has, along with brining a minority face to the ticket. I do not believe that JC should be considered because of his minority status, but it sure doesn’t hurt.