Coleen Rowley Supports Our Veterans
[Disclaimer: This post was first published on Coleen Rowley's campaign weblog.]
As promised earlier, we will soon begin to catalog a number of votes Congressman John Kline has cast against the interests of our veterans. But before we start in on that, I'd like to take a moment to highlight Coleen's support for and from veterans.
Coleen's father, brother, and brother-in-law all served in the military. So Kline's smear attacks alleging that Coleen doesn't support our veterans aren't only dishonest, they're personal.
No matter how much Kline might try to get people upset over the fact that Coleen once wrote a personal email critical of a particular general (and when did personal emails become fair game in a campaign?), or the fact that she recently chose to convene a campaign rally by reciting a portion of the U.S. Constitution rather than the Pledge of Allegiance, a fair number of veterans have decided they'd rather see Coleen in office than John Kline. These would include Pennsylvania Congressman Jack Murtha, former Third District Candidate Tommy Johnson, Major General (ret.) Jerald Albrecht, the DFL Veterans caucus and others.
But hey, Kline can list off his veteran supporters as well. Not surprisingly, veterans are pretty much like everyone else. Some will vote for Coleen, some will vote for Kline. The critical factor in determining which candidate is strongest on veterans' issues is their policies. As we have previously discussed, Kline has struggled to point to any significant policies he's advanced to benefit veterans. What does Coleen have to offer?
For starters, she supports the Assured Funding for Veterans Health Care Act, which assures that the Department of Veterans Affairs always has sufficient funding. This bill has the support of most major veterans groups, including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and AMVETS, but our Republican-led Congress has shown little interest in passing it. Coleen also supports the expansion of the TRICARE program to cover reservists and National Guard members who do not otherwise have access to health care, a policy which John Kline explicitly voted against in 2005.
Support for veterans should not be a partisan issue. It's a shame John Kline has chosen to try to make it one.
(Disclaimer: This blog post is not a position statement. It is a discussion of Coleen's support from and for veterans.)
As promised earlier, we will soon begin to catalog a number of votes Congressman John Kline has cast against the interests of our veterans. But before we start in on that, I'd like to take a moment to highlight Coleen's support for and from veterans.
Coleen's father, brother, and brother-in-law all served in the military. So Kline's smear attacks alleging that Coleen doesn't support our veterans aren't only dishonest, they're personal.
No matter how much Kline might try to get people upset over the fact that Coleen once wrote a personal email critical of a particular general (and when did personal emails become fair game in a campaign?), or the fact that she recently chose to convene a campaign rally by reciting a portion of the U.S. Constitution rather than the Pledge of Allegiance, a fair number of veterans have decided they'd rather see Coleen in office than John Kline. These would include Pennsylvania Congressman Jack Murtha, former Third District Candidate Tommy Johnson, Major General (ret.) Jerald Albrecht, the DFL Veterans caucus and others.
But hey, Kline can list off his veteran supporters as well. Not surprisingly, veterans are pretty much like everyone else. Some will vote for Coleen, some will vote for Kline. The critical factor in determining which candidate is strongest on veterans' issues is their policies. As we have previously discussed, Kline has struggled to point to any significant policies he's advanced to benefit veterans. What does Coleen have to offer?
For starters, she supports the Assured Funding for Veterans Health Care Act, which assures that the Department of Veterans Affairs always has sufficient funding. This bill has the support of most major veterans groups, including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and AMVETS, but our Republican-led Congress has shown little interest in passing it. Coleen also supports the expansion of the TRICARE program to cover reservists and National Guard members who do not otherwise have access to health care, a policy which John Kline explicitly voted against in 2005.
Support for veterans should not be a partisan issue. It's a shame John Kline has chosen to try to make it one.
(Disclaimer: This blog post is not a position statement. It is a discussion of Coleen's support from and for veterans.)
posted by David Bailey | 9:29 AM
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