You can add veterans to the growing list of constituencies that Obama is starting to lose. It's a familiar pattern: while he's trying his darnedest to please the military-industrial complex elite--who will never really support him--he's neglecting the veterans who placed hope in him that he would significantly change the Bush policies that were seen as substantially damaging the military, particularly those in the ranks. Also familiar is that it goes far beyond "politically necessary" trade-offs, as suicides continue to mount, and critics emerge citing "unforced errors" and communications cut-offs, while the Administration issues a self-promoting "list of accomplishments" to try to convince veterans not to believe their own lying eyes. Salon reports:
Veterans for Obama? Some now have doubts
Leading military vets who joined the 2008 campaign now complain about White House "deafness" and inaction
By Mark Benjamin
Relations between the Obama administration and some elements of the military veterans community, a constituency the Obama campaign carefully cultivated for the 2008 election, have grown distant and, in some cases, icy. Some veterans advocates describe a tangible sense of disenchantment, even among some of Obama's staunchest veteran supporters who actively campaigned on his behalf as part of "Veterans for Obama."
The flagging support among veterans results from a combination of unforced errors by the White House in basic constituency relations, coupled with rising frustration that the Obama administration is not aggressive enough in tackling wartime crises that continue to escalate, like suicides in the military. The damage is serious enough that it threatens to lurk as a political liability for Obama in 2012, since disgruntled surrogates might refuse to help the next time around.
"Suicides are skyrocketing, people are being deployed to war with PTSD, people are being denied their healthcare benefits, and the Obama administration is allowing the Department of Defense to punish people who are suffering from PTSD rather than giving them the medical care they deserve," said Steve Robinson, a retired Army Ranger and longtime veterans advocate who has worked for a number of veterans' organizations. Robinson closely advised then-Sen. Obama on veterans policy and was prominently featured in a video tribute to Obama made by the campaign that played at the Democrats' 2008 convention in Denver. "I am confident that he believes in this generation and that he is actually putting into practice what he believes," Robinson said about Obama, from a huge TV screen at the convention. The Democratic nominee fought for vets, he added, "by stepping out, by speaking up, by legislating, by holding government accountable to take care of this generation when they send them to war."
Now, Robinson says he can't get his e-mails returned. "There is a deafness in the White House," Robinson said. "Let's forget about the idea that you might want to do the right thing and keep your campaign promises. It is politically stupid."
Yes, folks, it's time to face facts: The Obama Administration is politically stupid. Everyone else ran a stupidier campaign than Obama did, so he won the election. But when it comes to governing, not so much. Everywhere you look, the evidence is strikingly similar. Like Robinson said, "Let's forget about the idea that you might want to do the right thing and keep your campaign promises. It is politically stupid."
And Robinson is not alone. The problem is as widespread as it is familiar:
Concerns about the handling of veterans' issues and the veterans' constituency seem relatively widespread. E-mail traffic among numerous former members of Veterans for Obama -- shown to Salon confidentially to provide a view of the scope of the irritation -- portray frustration about the White House and Pentagon's ignoring former members of Veterans for Obama and freezing them out of key policy positions in government. The e-mails also include speculation that the bumbling of relations by the White House might bite back at Obama in 2012.
Medal of Honor recipient Paul Bucha agreed that the administration has filled some vital spots at the Pentagon with politically safe appointees, rather than more aggressive agents of change. "There are things they could be doing better," he said. "There are not a lot of military types around the White House people." Bucha suggested that even a 15-minute speech by Obama to Vietnam Veterans of America -- no president has ever addressed this group -- might be a good start.
So, don't feel bad, hippies. It's not just you, Shirley Sherrod, the unions and Nobel Prize-winning economists. They punch veterans, too.
The only difference: They punch hippies in the spotlight. They punch veterans in the shadows.
Even money on which is worse.
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