McCain's Vet Hypocrisy Rages On

Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films at 10:24 AM on May 23, 2008.

We've known for a while now that McCain's opposition to Jim Webb's GI Bill for the 21st century is a blatant hypocrisy since this bi-partisan legislation would award our troops the educational benefits they rightly deserve. But yesterday, when many Republicans broke ranks with McCain and Bush to pass the bill in the Senate 75-22, McCain didn't even have the courtesy to show up and vote. Instead of doing his duty in Congress, McCain attended a football fundraiser in California.

Of course, the fact that McCain skipped yesterday's vote is nothing new. He's missed a whopping 60% of the votes in this session, which is more than even Sen. Tim Johnson who suffered a brain hemorrhage and has spent several months recovering.

But what is particularly galling here is that McCain had the nerve to attack Obama yesterday, when Obama criticized him for opposing the GI Bill. McCain said he has received "the highest award from literally every veteran's organization in America." As Think Progress reveals, however, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Tagged as: john mccain, vets

ZP Heller is the editorial director of Brave New Films. He has written for The American Prospect, AlterNet, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Huffington Post, covering everything from politics to pop culture.