Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), the ranking Republican on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, wasn’t too happy that most of the nation’s veterans service groups haven’t demanded that Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki resign in the face of the recent snafu involving the quality of care at VA medical centers.
Late Friday, North Carolina’s senior senator took it upon himself to fire off an open letter to “the nation’s veterans” questioning why they haven’t joined the American Legion in demanding Shinseki’s ouster. As Burr saw it, the nation’s other major veterans groups were more interested in safeguarding “their access to senior VA staff, including the Secretary” than standing up for their rank-and-file members. This letter got lost in the Memorial Day weekend news dump, but three major veterans groups got the message loud and clear — and they didn’t like it. So, they rolled out burning responses of their own.
When Veterans of Foreign Wars Commander-in-Chief Bill Thien saw this letter, he fired off a letter of his own that likely turned the paper brown. Thien denounced Burr’s comments as “a monumental cheap shot,” “an absolutely disgusting style of ambush politics,” and “one of?the most?dishonorable and grossly inappropriate acts?that we’ve?witnessed in more than forty years of involvement with the veteran community.” He claimed that any implication that the VFW isn’t concerned about the problems with the system is “ugly and mean-spirited in every sense of the words” and “profoundly wrong, both logically and morally.” On the contrary, Thien pointed out that the VFW understands the problems within the system because he and many of his colleagues rely on the VA for medical care and have been “willing to do what others won’t” to ensure those problems get fixed.
If possible, Paralyzed Veterans of America’s response to Burr was even harsher. National president Bill Lawson condemned Burr’s letter as a textbook example of “why the vast majority of the American public puts no faith in their elected officials to do what is right for this country.” He also pointed out how craven Burr was to write this letter on Memorial Day weekend. Lawson also reminded Burr that he voted against measures that would have insulated the VA budget from partisan bickering, allowed all veterans access to the VA’s Comprehensive Caregiver Assistance program and provided reproductive assistance to veterans who are unable to have children.
By comparison, Disabled American Veterans’ response was relatively mild. National Commander Joseph Johnston wrote that “plain facts and simple logic” prove that Shinseki’s resignation isn’t a cure-all for the VA’s problems. Rather than sit down and pursue constructive solutions, Johnston said, Burr would rather “launch cheap political attacks on the integrity of leaders of veterans organizations that do not agree with him,” notwithstanding that they defended this nation in the past and are now working to ensure that their colleagues’ service is properly honored.
We all know what Burr’s response will likely be — the leaders are out of touch with their rank-and-file members — but when Burr posted a link to his letter on his Facebook page, virtually all of the comments called him out for his shameful actions, and most of the responses on the Facebook pages of the VFW, Paralyzed Veterans and DAV have been critical of Burr as well. From the looks of it, if anyone is out of touch, it’s Burr.
Edited by D.H.
Darrell Lucus is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
