Does VFW Controversy Show Democrats Get No Credit For Helping Vets?
Ever since the political arm of the nation’s oldest major veterans group endorsed Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and nearly 200 other congressional Democrats earlier this month, the VFW has been in retreat from an onslaught of criticism from tea party conservatives. But does that mean the party in power — at least until Tuesday’s election — is made up only of “anti-military, anti-veteran, leftwing Dems,” as one right-wing blogger put it? Or is it conceivable that when it comes to pay and benefits — separate from their positions on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars — Democrats have looked out for the troops and veterans better than “pro-military” Republicans? “On issues specifically involving veterans’ benefits, many Democrats do match up well with the positions of veterans’ organizations,” said John Pitney, a former GOP House staffer who now teaches at Claremont McKenna College in California. “The party’s problem is that veterans do not base their votes on those narrow issues alone. They tak
