Paul Ryan Chooses Politics Over Veterans

 

Representative Paul Ryan recently chose partisan politics over veterans retirement homes renovations – or at least bragging about the funding for the renovations to the veterans facilities. A HuffPo investigation into emails about the veterans homes between Governor Walker’s office and Ryan’s revealed Ryan’s disdain to anything “Obama” related.

In 2011, Wisconsin received federal grant money for improvements to veterans retirement homes at Southern Wisconsin Center. The veterans grant provided a large amount of the funding for upgrades to sewers, water mains and fire hydrants. The grant was for $384,150.

Governor Walker’s office wanted to know if Paul Ryan would provide a quote about the grant but Ryan refused.

The reason? Part of the Obama Stimulus went to pay for the audit for the grant money. Since the Stimulus was remotely connected to the veterans grant money, it resulted in a refusal of Paul Ryan to acknowledge the veterans home or the benefit from the grant money for veterans.

While not a significant story uncovered by HuffPo, it does show that Paul Ryan will put politics ahead of veterans assistance. This certainly is no shock given Paul Ryan’s look into cutting veterans benefits last year. Then, he wanted to cut $6 billion from the VA healthcare budget.

The benefit of this investigation, however, is that we can learn how to get emails from government officials about certain topics that may be slightly embarrassing. Maybe we should all start requesting information via emails.

Source: Huffington Post “Paul Ryan Staff Emails Show Sensitivity To Stimulus Hypocrisy

 

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22 Comments

  1. Im DAV of 1973 I never vote because people tell me I no’t supouse Swera under Oath.Can anybody answer about my right to vote?

  2. In the past two years, the GOP has turned its back on war veterans. Some veterans don’t understand that, and continue to vote Republican. That is a big problem for all veterans. Until all veterans learn to vote for our own best interests, the politicians will laugh at us and ignore us. I don’t know anyone high up in the big veterans’ organizations that does not realize the Republicans are our enemies, but the rank and file that sit around the VFW drinking beer, can’t seem to understand it. Veterans must educate one another about the political realities. I salute Ben, for his effort in that direction.

  3. I am a 100% service related disabled combat vet, and life long Republican who has bailed out of the GOP and become a Democratic voter, exactly because of Tea Party extremists such as Paul Ryan. The GOP that I used to support has been hijacked by far right extremists such as Ryan. These people are interested in two things only, smaller government and lower taxes. For the past two years since gaining control of the US House of Representatives they have blocked the Congressional vote on ANY new spending bills for veterans, UNLESS that spending is accompanied by cuts of equal amount for existing veterans programs. In simple language, if more money is needed for oxygen for A/O cancer patients such as myself, cuts must be made to some other VA service, such as artificial limbs for amputees. This is called the pay and go rule, and was forced through by Paul Ryan and other Tea Party extremists. I was a loyal GOP supporter, all of my adult life, but since the party was hijacked by the anti veteran Tea Party extremists, I can no longer support them.

    I am a war veteran. The GOP under Tea Party control has decided to be my enemy, in order to cut taxes for the rich. For me to support Paul Ryan and the Tea Party would be akin to turning my back on my fellow war vets. I won’t do it.

  4. Ben is right, bush did the same thing, he is the one that changed many things about disbaility benefits, for example if you were 30% and below you now had a co-pay, he also started messing with how the system was going to work…
    ryan and mitty think disbaled veterans are the 47% and think we get hand outs. wright you are wrong, besides you had to sign up for the e-mails.
    they don’t care about Vets the only think he has said that what cuts they are going to make, I will not vote for someone who will either cut my hard earned benefits or tax them, which more than likely they would do both.
    mitty went overseas to get out of service… and serving in their cult of a church is not service to the country as his crazy wife stated.
    he will cut taxes only for the 1%…. they are clueless because they don’t know what hard work is or what it is like to serve in the military…
    I know the POTUS didn’t serve, but he was in college and as like many others got a free pass on that one.
    the worst thing that would ever happen is that mitty getting in.
    mitt does not fit, no voting for him or you will be sorry…

    1. lynn , there was no war when Pres obama was in college and so did not use college as a excuse to not serve anymore than bush used the national guard to stay home and not serve. Worse is romney using his religion as a excuse to to avoid service to his country to hang out in france during the vietnam era. I volunteered to serve in 1973.

  5. Sorry Benjamin, THIS combat veteran no longer wants your email. I’ve had it up to here with the socialist agenda and their willing idiots. Anyone who quotes that leftist rag HuffPO is a bullshit artist in my book.

    You may have some putative Disabled Veteran’s organization, but like that Iraq Veteran’s group leftist cabal also out there, you don’t represent me or other patriotic Americans with this silly-ass attempt to make Veterans vote for this cock-sucker-in-chief we currently have. He can pound sand up his ass and you can help him. I fought in 3 wars, and doubtful you fought in any. It’s just too bad socialists like you joined the military in the first place.

    1. Thank you for your service. This is ironic since I also served our country and report on politicians whenever they take an anti-veteran position, regardless of political affiliation. Meanwhile, we are arguing about 4 political candidates who never put on the military uniform, who also take anti-veteran positions.

      Last week I got called a Republican for reporting that Ted Turner thinks military suicide is a good thing – using Fox News and Alex Jones as a source. This week I get called a Socialist for reporting on an email between Scott Walk’s office and Paul Ryan’s because my source was HuffPo and a published email from Walker.

      I’m ok with that since my goal is to slam anyone saying stupid crap about vets and the military – I don’t care what party they are from or the source of the report, so long as it is verifiable. But like I said, unlike any of our presidential candidates for 2012, I at least served my country as an enlisted troop and am proud I did.

      Here is the pdf copy of the email Walker released in case you missed the link. Facts are facts. Good luck with everything and thanks for your service.
      https://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/stim.pdf

      1. Facts are there for folks to discover. All this vitriol about our POTUS is very disrespectful to our commander-in chief who has made great strides to support our veterans. I have worked at the VA and have seen the changes for the better in the past couple of years since the Bush Admin decimated the VA. But none of these folks here seem to want to look at the facts regarding the 8 years of cuts under bush. Nor that the War on Terror based on a lie ( read Colin Powell’s book) and the fall out is hitting us now.

        In any case I am a person who bases my trust on FACTS, not name calling. I am proud to be a Veteran, am a liberal, who believes in this country and believes that our President does too.

    2. Thank you Wright ..anyone who says he doesn’t want to hear anything from us just proof is a Obama lover..he is a troll .he sent me a post of FB and it pissed me off because he is spreading propaganda to confuse voters at this time in the election…

  6. If you think Obama cares for or about veterans than you are sadly mistaken. This country and it’s military cannot take another 4 years of Obama. He is the poster child for partisan politics.

    I am truly disappointed that you would take a web site that is suppose to be about assisting disabled veterans and turn it into your own political soap box.

    1. Thanks Bill – here’s my two cents. This article is about an email from Paul Ryan’s office. In that email, Paul Ryan refused to support a grant the state received to renovate veterans retirements homes. The reason for his refusal was because part of the Obama Stimulus money would pay for the audit to ensure the grant money was spent properly.

      There is no soapbox, just facts. I criticize both parties any time anyone puts politics in front of veterans. However, this is my site and I will stand on a soapbox whenever I damn well please.

    2. @Bill, I know that the truth is hard to swallow but it is what it is. Actions don’t lie, Ryan is anti veteran.

  7. Who’s facts….. yours and those of the Obama Media…… Libertarian…. nothing like throwing your vote away…… as you know a libertarian will never win a Presidential election… and only takes votes from the Republican…..the fact is no matter who anyone votes for no one is ever 100% happy with who they vote for.. common sense people vote for the lesser of two evils……or for those whose ideas are closer to their own. There has never been any reasonable person running under the libertarian party banner that could ever make a difference they are usually more self centered with ego’s so big.. the universe cannot contain them….

    any way to be sure….I don’t care who you vote for, and if you had not spouted political garbage I would not have removed my email from your mailings…for every item you find against a republican I can find two against the democrats…….. I can get political garbage anywhere… I did not subscribe to your cite for this.. You are just adding to the spam problem and lose creditability when you start sending political garbage out….

    Oh and for the record… I am neither a Republican or a democrat.. I am an independent and vote on issues and I have never voted a straight party ticket… I may vote for the GOP for President and democrat for Senate..

    Bottom line if I wanted Political emails I would join one of the major parties… and least then I know they are going to be one sided … I just expect better from a veteran advocate…..

    1. Richie – these “facts” came directly from emails provided by Gov. Scott Walker’s office. It does not get much more straight from the horse’s mouth than that. I advocate for veterans regardless of how popular it is – even with veterans while I am actually advocating for them. It’s not about Republican or Democrat. It’s about advocating for veterans when a politician puts their career in front of the needs of veterans.

      1. I agree ben and thank you for the facts.
        It is all about policy either you introduce policy for or against the veterans. Policies and procedures against vets should be like crossing our DMZ.

  8. My response is so what? Vet home improvement money should have come from the VA budget unless the home is not part of the VA system. If it is state owned then it should have been paid for with funds from the state of Wisconsin. I have enough trouble keeping the two state homes in Michigan aflloat and we certainly didn’t get any stimulus money for upgrades. Why is Obama only puts money where it is politically advantagous.

    Disability groups need to learn that the Democrat Party is not your friend.

    1. I believe Paul Ryan was partly responsible for Wisconsin’s receipt of the grant. But when the audit was to be paid for with money from the Stimulus, then Ryan refused to support the project.

  9. Benjamin,
    You called out Ryan but have you target locked on him because of the Romney/Ryan ticket? WE (as veterans) should be calling out every elected official who turns a blind eye to needs of our wounded, ill, and aging veterans.

    The problem with VA funding is systemic to the Washington DC bureaucratic quagmire. The military doesn’t want us around once we are “not combat effective.” Then the VA system is set up to frustrate and stonewall veterans except for those with a 100% ratings. These are the rules our lawmakers created “to take care of us.”

    With continually reduced reimbursement rates from various government providers; the current state of public medicine in the USA is frightening. The government is trying to do medicine on the cheap and quality providers are starting to refuse to accept government patients.

    I’m more optimistic of a Romney/Ryan administration taking care of vets than I am with our current administration. My biggest fear with a government take over of our healthcare system is that it will seek cost savings by consolidating the VA and Medicare/Medicaid into a gigantic single payer system. The DoD is already seeking rate hikes for Tricare users. How long before the lawmakers decide all veteran care can be rolled up into ObamaCare at a huge cost savings to the government? The government can’t take care of its veterans and we expect it to take care of a whole country?

    I remember the VA hospital in Charleston, SC and my WW2 vet uncles saying “never send me there unless you are ready for me to die.” They absolutely looked at the VA as “where vets went to die” because the care was subpar to what their private insurance provided. In the 1970’s a local TV station did an expose’ on the crappy state of VA medicine.

    I now live in an area with one of the best teaching hospitals and they are a huge benefit to the local VA. Still, I get better treatment through Tricare than the VA.

    Even though I’m 100% service connected, rated by the VA, I prefer to use my Tricare since I get seen quicker and it covers my whole family.

    1. This place sounds like the Salisbury facility in NC. Veterans actually travel 3 extra hours past the “The Butcher Shop” the (Salisbury VA Hospital) to be serviced by the best VA hospital in the US. The Durham VA hospital which interns students from Duke University. If you have your own insurance. This is a very good thing to have if you are a veteran with a service connected disability.

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