Jon Stewart slams Republicans for their hypocrisy in Veterans Administration scandal hyperventilation
A few days ago Rachel Maddow aired a report that systematically pointed out the deficiencies of the Veterans administration. She pointed out that the VA problems preceded General Eric Shinseki and the administration. Moreover she addressed the fact that while VA spending increased by 50%, because of America’s propensity for war, the number of people needing benefits increased north of 125%. Rachel Maddow had a rather poignant statement that should be repeated over and over till it metastasizes in every politician and American brain. She said the following.
There is a modern American dysmorphia when it comes to veterans. We see things that aren’t really there. We tell ourselves that we are doing things that we are not really doing. We have a poetry in this country about our love and respect for veterans that is not matched by the prose of how veterans are actually treated.
Jon Stewart picks up on the news coverage that has become increasingly partisan. Notwithstanding that many of the same hyperventilating Republicans and Democrats that want Eric Shinseki’s head on a platter are the ones that voted for the wars that feed the underfunded VA, it is sad that once again our veterans have become a political football.
Jon Stewart did a masterful job of showing recent Republican hypocrisy on support for veterans. It makes their recent concern at best suspect. They forget the fact that Bush severely short changed veterans even in the heightened war times. They kicked many veterans out of the system, they charged veterans bigger co-pays even as veterans health spending lagged behind other health spending nationwide. What were the results of these actions? — The Walter Reed scandal and huge delays and backlogs.
Lest one forget, an estimated 258,600 veterans are falling into the Medicaid gap. Statistically, it can be shown that of the millions of Americans that are falling into the Medicaid gap, approximately 10,000 will die this year for lack of access to care. Of the quarter of a million veterans in the Medicaid gap, this year between 236 and 568 will die before their time.
We owe our veterans much more than lip service and hyperventilation. We owe them the dignity they’ve earned. We owe them much more.
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