Posted on 05/14/2014 8:43:31 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
You'll know it when President Obama really cares about something, because he can't stop talking about it.
Raising the minimum wage? Check. Climate change? Never misses an opportunity. Amnesty for illegal immigrants? Did that on Tuesday for what seems like the 100th time.
But there's one thing Obama doesn't talk about: the growing scandal over medical care for the nation's veterans.
There's a new story almost every day about how the Department of Veterans Affairs continues to fail veterans under its care. The drumbeat of media attention has led the American Legion and a growing list of lawmakers to demand the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.
What was Obama's response? To say -- through a spokesman -- that he has confidence in Shinseki and has ordered him to investigate.
Remember -- this is the same guy who found the time to pick up the phone over the weekend and personally congratulate gay football player Michael Sam on being drafted by the NFL -- when he wasn't playing golf. The same guy who attended five Democratic fundraisers in California over the past week, and has two others scheduled for Wednesday night in New York City.
And Obama is the same guy who never seems to miss an opportunity to weigh in even when it's not a matter of federal policy -- remember how Cambridge, Mass., police were "acting stupidly" when they arrested Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates in 2009? Or how his son would be just like Trayvon Martin if he had one?
When Obama cares, he makes the time to let Americans know about it. That's why it's not hard to conclude that he doesn't care about the fact that veterans are dying from bad care in hospitals that are under the direct control of his administration.
And I'm not the only one who's noticed. Here's what House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., had to say about it on Tuesday:
Judging by the throngs of veterans, families and whistleblowers who keep courageously stepping forward, VAs delays in care problem is growing in size and scope by the day. Thats why I am asking for President Obamas personal involvement in helping fix this crisis. For nearly a year, we have been pleading with top Department of Veterans Affairs leaders and the president to take immediate steps to stop the growing pattern of preventable veteran deaths and hold accountable any and all VA employees who have allowed patients to slip through the cracks. In response, weve received disturbing silence from the White House and one excuse after another from VA. Right now, President Obama is faced with a stark choice: take immediate action to help us end the culture of complacency that is engulfing the Veterans Health Administration and compromising patient safety, or explain to the American people and Americas veterans why we should tolerate the status quo.
So what do all those issues Obama talks about have that health care for veterans doesn't? The ability to mobilize Democratic voters.
The White House is in full campaign mode. Everything Obama does is calculated to rally the Democratic base and prevent a GOP takeover of the Senate, which would severely constrain him for the rest of his presidency. And admitting to another serious scandal on his watch is likely to rally Republican voters instead.
Since veterans can't help Democrats win, Obama won't help them get the quality care they deserve unless political pressure forces him to do it.
He ain't acting.
“Acts?”
No. He genuinely doesn’t care. Unless the VA directly glorifies the divinity of Obama, Obama doesn’t care.
Nothing, but some of the organized groups already have communications systems, contact info, etc., that would take a grass roots org months to put together.
What is the racial breakdown of the 40 who died because they were denied care? would make all the difference in the world to this White House and DOJ
Well, "Loathing the Military" is tough to top.
Talk about cognitive dissonance, being commander-in-Chief, and all...
Of course he doesn’t care.
He got his second term and he’ll just coast for the next couple of years.
.
Bingo!
i see the media is now using the word “acts” like it uses the word “unexpected”.
The POS revels in it..
Are you trying to say obamacare is like the VA med system?
Not even close. The Va Med system ha always been horrible. the timing of this is very in question to me. Anyone could have exposed the VA at any tome why now.
The VA has good points but this kind of thing is no surprise, but overall, no, the VA is notorious for being bad.
And It’s nothing like what obamacare is going to be The VA has doctors. It will look like the Mayo Clinic in comparison
The big picture is not secular. Bama and the brotherhood watch and wait for the great satan to fall down, implode. The 40% minions don’t know - dont care about facts and are driving the boat to ground. The default reality for bama is to punt not pass every day stuff and avoid taking responsibility. Nothing holds him accountable.
Vets don’t vote for obammy .
Since they are not truly his voters he really doesn’t give a damn for them or their problems.
It’s not an act.
And maybe, the Future Combat System, the creature that ate the Army while failing.
“Acting like?” He’s not acting.
It's not an act. He doesn't care.
They are trying to get it noticed now ,..so that by 2016 elections , it is "old news", and brushed off .
I am so ... just watching them try to incorporate it into BOdon’tCare
The VA medical service was the first thing BO went after after Jan 20 2009, the day he and mooch marched through the streets.
She still had that yellow dress on when he started going after the VA med service.
THe Vets here couldn’t believe me till they went to their groups and sure enough I was right.
No on in this country cares enough about indigent vets to do anything more than talk.
Maybe you’re right, but I do not see it as a campaign issue.
I think the campaign is get rid of the VA they suck. LEt’s Us take care of the vets.
Mooch is already on a VA parade.
It is...ugh I wish people would see them for who they are.
Without the rudimentary as it is VA med system many many less recruits will enlist.
Yeah , but when it comes to politics , talk is cheap .
Now let's see if there is any substance there !
I agree that the VA needs to provide better care of the Vets.
This is only another scandal in the Obdinga's long list of scandles that they want out of the way by the 2016 elections.
The timeing of this incident is to render it moot in the forthcomming elections , as it will be 'yesterday's news'
especially for those who only get their news in 30 seconds of 'sound bites' in the MSM.
Yes , it is a travesty what has happened , and yes , it will impact on future military enlistments .
But wasn't it just yesterday that the armed services announced that 80% of current applicants for enlistment were rejected ?
We need to take care of those who have already served , but I would rather see sustance and action , rather than just parade and talk .
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