About Veterans, Obama is "President Passive"

Nearly ten years ago, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) blasted the Bush Administration for poor treatment of this country’s veterans:

There are thousands, thousands of veterans, many of them homeless, many of them with drug problems, who have been kicked aside by our own government [the Bush Administration, presumably] who said they would take care of them. . .

Apparently, she forgot about the many times when President George W. Bush greeted, thanked, shook hands, and commiserated with the many veterans who served their country. Bush never neglected the contributions of the United States veterans from World War II and Vietnam, either. 

Apparently Waters also forgot about the pains which Bush took to placate aggrieved parties at home and abroad following the Abu Ghraib scandal in 2003. In contrast, President Obama has taken no responsibility for the deaths  of four diplomatic personnel in Benghazi, Libya. In 2013, during the government shutdown , Obama made those automatic cuts “as painful as possible" by blocking veterans from visiting memorials.

Granted, the United States Government Veterans Administration has become a travesty of failed medial care. Such is the sad result of government-run health care—not exclusively the fault of President Bush—which at its best is inevitably poorly administered. Our veterans deserve better than this state-run monstrosity.

The Walter Reed Veterans Hospital scandals in 2007 also put the Bush Administration on the defensive, and the media were more than happy to hammer the 43rd President for everything, including this scandal of poor care which veterans were enduring. The Walter Reed Hospital finally closed in 2011. However,  veteran support has not improved, and the media have not held President Obama accountable, or at least not nearly as severely as Bush.

In 2008, Obama claimed that the Veterans Administration would be one of his top priorities. Emails show, however, that Obama knew about the backlog which veterans faced, as well as they poor treatment in government hospitals as far back as 2008. Yet to this day, he has done nothing about it. Despite arrogant claims about his pen and phone, and not afraid to use either, Obama issued no executive orders to repair the failing care and excessive waiting which veterans faced in VA hospitals throughout the United States.

In April of this year, the New York Daily News reported about secret waiting lists, which delayed appointments for up to twenty weeks, while an “official” list at the Phoenix VA suggested wait times up to 30 days max. The Washington Post followed up on the questions now facing President Obama because of this scandal, which has spread to eight VA facilities.

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post labeled Obama “President Passive” regarding the VA’s unfolding excessive wait times. Instead of helping our wounded warriors, Obama has hindered (or at least ignored) their recovery and reintegration back into American Society.

A more damning report shows that while our veterans were forced to wait for basic care, convicted traitor Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning gets VIP treatment for gender dysphoria.

So: espionage gets a sex-change, but our military veterans get a wait list?

In reaction to such inaction, even the left-leaning Politico blasted the Obama Administration for its gross incompetence:

And this one’s no contained, bureaucratic flub. The problems at the Veterans Affairs Department have engulfed an entire Cabinet department and may have left hundreds of thousands of veterans waiting for care, and as many as 40 of them dead.

Right now, Washington politicians are putting pressure on the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki. Republicans are calling for his resignation, but most  Democrats are focusing on climate change, the Washington Redskins, or the Koch Brothers.

Unfortunately for them, the politics of distraction is not working this time.

Two Democratic US Senate candidates in the 2014 election cycle are demanding Shinseki’s resignation—Michelle Nunn of Georgia and Alison Lundergan Grimes of Kentucky. These candidates refuse to be quiet. When will the rest of Washington Democrats speak up?

Because of his unprecedented passivity, President Obama might attempt to assure the American People: “If you like your veterans, you can keep them. Period.” Rep. Waters might as well shout: "The VA can go straight to hell!"

Don’t our armed forces deserve better than this unprecedented neglect and disrespect? Democrats boldly confronted the Bush Administration for failures to treat veterans. Why won’t they say anything to "President Passive" Barack Obama?