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Tennessee: Veterans report tough on McCain

By: Lauren Gregory
(Contact)

Included in this article

Andrew Roberts

Despite the release this week of a report skewering Sen. John McCain’s voting record on veterans issues, the Republican presidential candidate — and former prisoner of war — maintains a solid base of support among local veterans.

Hearing that the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America’s 2008 Congressional Report Card gave Sen. McCain a “D” compared to his Democratic opponent Sen. Barack Obama’s “B,” Pat Canerdy of Flat Rock, Ala., dismissed the evaluation for its failure to look at “the big picture.”

Though Sen. McCain hasn’t always supported pay raises and voted against the newest version of the G.I. Bill, Ms. Canerdy said, “I think there are bigger and better things the military needs. When you look at the entire defense budget, that money could be better utilized elsewhere.”

Ms. Canerdy, 49, served with the Army in both Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom. She noted that most Iraq and Afghanistan veterans probably have just returned from the war zone and are “probably just bitter.”

“Give them awhile,” she said. “When I first came back, I didn’t even want to talk about anything related to the military.”

not an endorsement

IAVA Veteran Membership Associate Andrew Roberts insists the report is not meant to portray any candidate in any particular light.

The nonpartisan group, which has been in existence since 2004 and is based in New York City, rated every member of the U.S. Senate and House in the report based on their votes on key issues affecting veterans such as the G.I. Bill and funding for health care and benefits. That included nine votes in the Senate and 13 in the House, Mr. Roberts said.

“We don’t endorse either candidate,” he said. “We understand that there’s going to be compromises that any politician is going to make. It’s simply holding people accountable.”

Neither the American Legion nor the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is endorsing a candidate in the election. Both groups are nonpartisan.

The VFW’s Web site cites statistics indicating that, at the time of the 2004 presidential election, 47 percent of America’s veterans aligned themselves politically as Republican, 42 percent as Democrat and 11 percent as Independent.

obama supporters

Donald Turney, of Ooltewah, a 71-year-old Navy veteran who served in the Vietnam War, is taking the IAVA’s voting information to heart as the election approaches.

He said he has been tracking Sen. McCain’s record and has been very disappointed in what he perceives as the senator touting his veteran status during Tuesday’s debate without backing himself up with veteran-minded votes.

“McCain plays on his veteran experience, but it doesn’t faze me,” Mr. Turney said, emphasizing his strong support for Sen. Obama. “I’m sorry that he got captured ... but that doesn’t qualify him to be president.”

Cleveland, Tenn., resident George Martel, 80, served with the Army during World War II. He, too, plans to vote for Sen. Obama.

“I want the one who’s going to be the next president, not the general in charge of the next battle,” Mr. Martel said.

As long as Sen. Obama can surround himself with good advisers, his own lack of experience would make no difference, Mr. Martel said.

mccain supporters

But several other local veterans disagree, believing military experience is paramount.

Kim Dees, who served in Iraq from 2004 to 2005 with the Tennessee National Guard’s 278th Regimental Combat Team, said he believes any “no” votes from Sen. McCain have more to do with other measures attached to the bills than his refusal to support veterans.

“I think that if anyone would be campaigning for veterans’ rights, it would be someone who has been in the service previously,” said Mr. Dees, a 60-year-old Cleveland, Tenn., resident.

“They know how the troops feel. They have walked the walk,” Mr. Dees said. “And nobody has walked the walk like John McCain. ... I’ve been hard-core McCain since the beginning.”

Sgt. 1st Class Rick Mullins, of Chattanooga, who at 50 years old has been to Iraq twice and is on deck for a third deployment with the Tennessee National Guard’s 252nd Military Police Company of Cleveland, said almost everyone he knows with military affiliations plans to vote for Sen. McCain.

Despite the IAVA report’s findings, “I think he’s looking out for everybody’s beliefs,” Mr. Mullins said.

Former POW should back veterans

Blake Knowles, a 24-year-old Dalton, Ga., resident who received a medical discharge from the Marine Corps after serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom with the Chattanooga-based “Mike Battery” reserve unit, agreed.

“He was a prisoner of war, so I know, if nothing else, he will take care of the military,” Mr. Knowles said.

On top of that, he said, “I think Obama will pull the troops out of Iraq, and that’s something that does not need to happen. That shows the world, ‘OK, (the U.S. will) start something, but they won’t finish it.’”

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