The Legend of John McCain

The political career of John McCain has been made possible by a series of political maneuvers and a skillful public relations campaign, creating the juggernaut that I like to call The Legend of John McCain^TM. There are many facets of The Legend^TM, but the base of the entire concept lies in John McCain’s military service. The deification of his service and of his time in Vietnam as a prisoner of war has been constructed into a nearly impenetrable firewall against scrutiny, and have also served, along with media complicity, as rose colored glasses to the public throughout his political career. Up until recently, no one could ever think of questioning any part of The Legend^TM without facing serious public backlash. Fortunately, his candidacy for President has allowed and demanded closer scrutiny of his history, and of the phenomenon that is The Legend of John McCain^TM.

The Legend of John McCain^TMstates that: John McCain is an honored Veteran, is always on the side of Veterans, and all Veterans admire him and will vote for him in the upcoming election.



Point 1: The Legend^TM states that John McCain is always on the side of veterans.


Paul Lindsay, an Ohio-based McCain spokesman, said: "Veterans and our military men and women have always supported John McCain because he has always, and will always, support them." The fact of the matter is that John McCain has consistently voted against veterans while in the Senate. Nothing could be further from the truth.


McCain opposed the 21st century GI bill because said it was too generous. McCain did not actually vote on the new GI Bill that provides better educational opportunities to veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, paying full tuition at in-state schools and living expenses for those who have served at least three years since the 9/11 attacks. McCain opposed the bill because he thinks the generous benefits would “encourage more people to leave the military.” (S.Amdt. 4803 to H.R. 2642, Vote 137, 5/22/08)

McCain Voted Against Increased Funding for Veterans’ Health Care. Although McCain told voters at a campaign rally that improving veterans’ health care was his top domestic priority, he voted against increasing funding for veterans’ health care in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. (Greenville News, 12/12/2007; S.Amdt. 2745 to S.C.R. 95, Vote 40, 3/10/04; Senate S.C.R. 18, Vote 55, 3/16/05; S.Amdt. 3007 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 41, 3/14/06; H.R. 1591, Vote 126, 3/29/07)

Opposed an Assured Funding Stream for Veterans’ Health Care. McCain opposed providing an assured funding stream for veterans’ health care, taking into account annual changes in veterans’ population and inflation. (S.Amdt. 3141 to S.C.R. 83, Vote 63, 3/16/06)

McCain Voted Against Adding More Than $400 Million for Veterans’ Care. McCain was one of 13 Republicans to vote against providing an additional $430 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs for outpatient care and treatment for veterans. (S.Amdt. 3642 to H.R. 4939, Vote 98, 4/26/06)

Voted Against Establishing a $1 Billion Trust Fund for Military Health Facilities. McCain voted against establishing a $1 billion trust fund to improve military health facilities by refusing to repeal tax cuts for those making more than $1 million a year. (S.Amdt. 2735 to S.Amdt. 2707 to H.R. 4297, Vote 7, 2/2/06)

McCain Opposed $500 Million for Counseling Services for Veterans with Mental Disorders. McCain voted against an amendment to appropriate $500 million annually from 2006-2010 for counseling, mental health and rehabilitation services for veterans diagnosed with mental illness, posttraumatic stress disorder or substance abuse. (S. 2020, S.Amdt. 2634, Vote 343, 11/17/05)


McCain Voted in Support of Disabled Veterans Only 25 Percent of the Time from 2004-2005. While McCain claims he “has been a leading advocate” for veterans with disabilities, statistics show he supported the Disabled American Veterans’ interests only 25 percent of the time in 2004-2005. In 2006, that figure slipped to 20 percent of the time. (Project Vote Smart)


McCain Voted Against Providing Automatic Cost-of-Living Adjustments to Veterans. McCain voted against providing automatic annual cost-ofliving adjustments for certain veterans’ benefits. (S. 869, Vote 259, 11/20/91)

Source: AFL/CIO

Point 2: The Legend^TM states that John McCain is admired by all Veterans and all Veterans support his candidacy.

John McCain’s presidential aspirations have shined a light on how Veterans really feel about him. Veterans of two generations, emboldened by the window of opportunity to challenge The Legend^TM afforded to them by his candidacy, are organizing and are vocalizing their disdain for John McCain.

Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain is a group formed by Vietnam Veterans and POW/MIA activists Jerry Kiley and Ted Sampley. From their website, their mission statement is :

“Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain was formed to dispel the myth of "Straight talkin’, principled, maverick war hero" John McCain. Through more than two decades of investigation of his behavior, through open-source documents, public statements of his colleagues, and personal conversations with other Vietnam POWs, we have come to the unavoidable conclusion that he is unfit by virtue of his temperament, character, dishonesty, and emotional instability to serve as President of the United States or in any other position of public trust.”

Their website includes a challenge to John McCain that if he can prove their statements about him to be incorrect, they will stand down. They even include their phone number on the website so he can call them. Contributors to the website include the late Col. David Hackworth, a Vietnam combat legend.

The warriors of this generation feel equally slighted and have similar oppositions to the thought of John McCain becoming the President of the United States and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

VoteVets.org, a group founded by Iraq War Veterans Jon Stolz and Brandon Friedman, campaigns actively against John McCain. It’s tagline is “The Voice of America’s 21st Century Patriots.” Their website includes video ads supporting Veteran candidates for public office, as well as support links for all veterans. Their organization is building grassroots support for Veterans' issues by helping returning Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans get elected to local and state offices. VoteVets has funded national ads opposing the policies of George Bush and of John McCain. Those videos are available for view at their website.

This week, a study by the Center for Responsive Politics reported that members of the military are giving more donations to Senator Obama than Senator McCain. The troops in the field are seeing first hand what the policies of the current Administration are doing to the readiness and morale of the military, and are contributing to the candidate who they believe will remedy the situation. Their support is absolutely contrary to The Legend^TM, and was not a variable that was planned for by the McCain organization. When the donations of troops that are actually deployed are isolated for examination, Barack Obama attracts more donations by a 6 to 1 factor. The troops are looking out for themselves and for the future of our military, in direct contradiction to The Legend^TM.

John McCain’s military service and his POW history have served him for decades as a shield against criticism and scrutiny. Until now, even taking a closer look at his Senate business and financial dealings have been considered a nearly traitorous act. Any question of his integrity or his intentions have been perceived as a direct attack against all Veterans due to the creation of The Legend of John McCain^TM. We must shine the light on this false media creation that threatens the future of our American way of life.

“The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.” – Winston Churchill

“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.” – Albert Einstein


Cross-posted at VetVoice