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(D) J. Hickenlooper*
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(D) Phil Weiser
(D) Joe Neguse
(D) Jena Griswold
60%
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Att. General
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(D) Alexis King
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40%
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(D) Jerry DiTullio
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CO-01 (Denver)
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(D) Diana DeGette*
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(R) Lauren Boebert*
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(D) Jason Crow*
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(R) Gabe Evans*
(D) Yadira Caraveo
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DEMOCRATS
REPUBLICANS
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State House Majority
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DEMOCRATS
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May 30, 2014 09:55 AM UTC
33 Comments
I don't see how this gets a single vet a quicker doctor appointment. But I'm a mere mortal.
It doesn't but that's a separate issue. Will firing Shinseki solve long standing systemic and funding problems? No. Has his performance up to now been one that inspires confidence that he is the right person to spearhead an aggressive effort to start us on the road to solving the problems? Also no. That's why his resignation became inevitable.
While the issue of adequate funding to provide the best possible care for our vets can only be addressed by congress there are also issues that can be addressed by VA leadershiright now and could and should hav been long before now. We can't expect any Veteran's Affairs Secretary to be able to do more than push for the former but we have every right to expect the most aggressive efforts concerning the latter and Shinseki has lost the public confidence there. This coach had to go.
That said, the core issue is and has been a congress that places a higher priority on lavish spending to benefit the top .1% than it does on the vets congress members claim to honor so damn much. Unfortunately their idea of honoring them is to use them for photo ops and the like to make themselves appear more patriotic than thou.
Elections are the only solution to that problem. All congress members who have consistently opposed giving our vets the high priority they deserve in every budget need to be voted out. That would include pretty much all current Republican members. Any vote for any Republican (even if you can find one who truly supports vets they all contribute to Republican anti-vet majorities) is a vote against our vets.
I am curious to see what kind of shenanigans go on during the confirmation for a replacement. Obviously, having a deputy step in as acting Secretary does nothing to resolve a lack of confidence in top leadership.
If Obama is able to quickly forward a qualified nominee and the GOP drags its feet, the kabuki will become a little too obvious. At least an outright filibuster will no longer be on the table.
Obama must appoint someone so sterling the shenanigans will only help the public see the GOTP for what it is. Now is the time for every Dem candidate to highlight the GOTP's long standing and continuing prioritizing of the top .1% over our vest in every budget going back decades.
The latest 300 billion for tax cuts for the Masters of the Universe must figure prominently along with clear graphs showing that these cuts and have never, are not and will not stimulate the economy via any trickle down mechanism. The facts show clearly that all the largess heaped on the top .1% and top .01% has only made them more wealthy than ever in comparison to a middle that has consistently lost ground and poor more entrenched in harder than ever to escape poverty while these discredited conservative think tank policies have been in place.
America is no longer the world leader in opportunity via upward mobility as a direct results of these policies and all our vets get from the party that wears its patriotism on its lapels and bumpers is crumbs. No more begging to be liked because we're almost as conservative and "responsible" as the GOTP. Time for all out attack with the truth as our best and primary weapon.
Shinseki was a great choice. And whille I get that he gets to be held accountable for problems, the problem was not his fault.
politically, I would love Tammy Duckworth or Max Cleland get the gig. Though the politics may suggest a high profil Republican.
Pprofessionally, I have no idea what skill set is needed to fix the problems.
How long has Obama had to fix these problems which he identified before he was elected?
First 2 years he controlled both the House and the Senate. He could have passed anything he wanted and spent any sum of money he wanted.
To date, they have done a good job of addressing Veteran homelessness. They have not addressed wait times for medical services and the processing of disability claims.
At some time the President needs to man up.
He wanted the job. He got the job. Now do the job.
If that were the only GOPer mess that the president has had to cleanup . . .
. . . hmmm, I wonder why the spokesdouche for the party of the 1%ers thinks that this President is supposed to be some kind of janitor for all their messes ???????
1) Andrew's party takes a huge shit on Americans that will take decades to clean up
2) Obama dosen't clean it up immediately
3) Andrew's party is outraged
See: War in Iraq, War in Afghanistan, the economy, the national debt
etc., etc., etc….
@AC, "First 2 years blah blah blah" is factually incorrect.
You might look it up, but probably won't.
Speaking of man up when are the wingnuts who signed on to make the president a one termer going to refudiate that stance and actually do something positive for veterans and the rest of the country?
Can we start kicking Republicans' asses for their despicable treatment of our Vets?
Indeed we can, Zappa.- starting with Tipton, who voted to filibuster Senate Bill S.1982, known as the Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014, or voted "No" in the House on appropriations for veteran's health bills (Coffman, Lamborn, Gardner).
We need to nail them as the hypocrites they are.
But Zap, yoou said it, yourself: Memorial Day. The day to honor soldiers who DIED for their country. Not the wounded warriors who come back and create an ongoing expense for Congress to have to shell out for. Am I a cynic? You bet. But I've seen this movie before. I was just a little girl when the 'Nam vets were returning and were treated worse than ths batch has been. My brother-in-law served and was gravely wounded in Afghanistan. His C.O.kept him on active duty for 2 years while he was treated in military (not V.A.) hospitals, because hy knew he'd never get the same quality of care.
Agree with your cycnicism and wish it weren't justified. It is.
The War Criminals Bush and Cheney are walking free. Cheney calls Obama weak cuz he won't fight more wars, even as we are in our current reality, a reality Dick Cheney helped create.
The War Mongers cheer them on: McCain, Graham, Ayotte are a little Bloodthirsty Greek chorus changing "Yes" at each hint of aggression. Did they insist we increase the VA budget as Sanders' bill would have done?
The Problem isn't the VA or Shinseki by Charles Pierce
dffffffffffffff
Compounding a personnel and budget problem with a sudden shift in top leadership? Problem solved!
I am sorry to see Shinseki leave, and I am glad that Obama – in his understated way – cast the blame on the atmosphere caused by the media and political grandstanding in Congress rather than on any shortcoming of Shinseki's.
SSG_Dan provided a short list of some of the many accomplishments that Shinseki managed while heading the VA.
In addition to that, Shinseki this morning announced the first steps in resolving the current VA scandal: removing senior officials at the Phoenix VA, nixing performance bonuses for senior VHA officials on a broader basis, and, importantly, removing wait times as a performance bonus metric.
Sad.
Sad indeed
Maybe the prsident finally came to understand that the job wasn't as much suited to an administrator as it needs the hand of a muleskinner.
Jay Carney, POTUS Press Secretary's out, too…hmm… coincidence?
Does it have to stop here?
How about Holder?
Benghazi!
Tell me. What's wrong with Holder? Oh, he's black?
Strike two — he's not a fascist
Strike three — he's a Democrat
AC's point is we need more incompetent industry lobbyist Republicans running departments overseeing their former employers and hiring their cronies to prove government doesn't work.
Word has it that Michael Brown is tanned, ready, and rested . . .
Monica Goodling.
The VA is completely and ruthlessly screwed now. All of Shinseki's major programs now go on hold, to be dismantled by Congress when everyone's not looking.
The New Guy (3 months on the job) gets to spend the next two years re-apologizing to Congress instead of focusing on the porblem. Think Benghazi is a flogged dead horse? The moment any new program gets proposed by VA, Repubs will just retort with "you mean like Phoenix?"
Meanwhile, the GOP begins their campaign to completely privatize the VA, selling their normal snakeoil that "the private sector can do better."
Selling their snake oil while forgetting the amount of time they've spent squealing about General Motors- corporation heavily involved in the "free market".
Disagree. Had Shinseki stayed the Rs would have had a field day demanding his resignation and bashing Obama and every Dem by extension with it going into the election. That's why Shinseki wisely offered and Obama wisely accepted his resignation. The whole conversation would have been about the failure to remove Shinseki. Now the conversation can move to the VA's real core problems and we're already seeing that.
All over non-Fox cable people, non-rightie radio and other news media, veteran's organizations and retired military are being given a platform to talk about the fact that the VA has consistently been starved of the funding needed to have the number of doctors, nurse and other staff needed to meet the exploding demands posed by aging boomer vets and the vets of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts converging on the VA system. They are consistently blaming congress and we all know which congress members are most responsible. This started happening, this completely changed conversation, immediately after Shinseki's resignation.
The programs he set in motion aren't going to fall apart without him. His number two is now acting Secretary. The Republicans can't privatize anything as long as Obama is in the White House and they can't even get legislation passed and sent along to be vetoed if Dems keep the Senate. The worst case scenario is Rs taking both Houses and keeping them while taking the WH in 2016. That's why the politics of the situation matter whether you like it or not.
And this is nothing new. This is what happens when a government institution suffers major failures and scandals. The head guy goes. Period. That's just life its own self. There was never a snowball's chance in hell Shinseki was going to survive this. Never.
Be pissed off, if you want. Certainly many of the generals and colonels who served with him are. We're hearing their glowing praise of the man in interview after interview. But surely you must have known this is exactly what was going to happen. Now that the completely predictable and inevitable has happened, it's time to direct all that angry energy into the next steps. That includes supporting Dems to do the best they can in the House and keep the Senate in the coming election. And not just on account of the VA. Rs would love to privatize everything and cut everything but big tax breaks and subsidies for the top .1% to the bone.
Robert J. Henkel
Direct appeal from the President, for the good of millions.
then take the opportunity to pressure Congress for funding and legislation.
For laughs, check out Doug Lamborn's Fox News interview on Shinsecki's resignation.
Lamborn is advocating for privatization, less money for VA, mass firings going up into (of course) the Executive Branch. He also makes the dubious claim that there are fewer veterans now than there were in WWII.
He also has really bad eye makeup. Polsters like to comment on crappy female eye makeup, so equal time for the roosters. Lamborn, just a tip: the raccoon look is not a winner for you.
If your stomach is really strong, you can check out Mike Coffman's interview, too.
Alternately you can sign up to volunteer for Andrew Romanoff. Anyone living in or near Littleton in CD6 can always drop by Blueberry Cafe at 1500 Littleton BLVD (shopping center at Littleton and Windermere) from 10 AM to 4 PM and report for some quality phone calling, door to door canvassing or voter registration time. Any spare time, a little or lot, will be greatly appreciated. And you'll feel so good about pitching in to help cure that Coffman induced gut pain for good. I know I do.
Wherever you are in CD 6 you can find out what the volunteer ops are in your area. Good place to start is with your HD Chair, the Arapahoe County Dems site or Andrew's site. And this time, you can honestly tell people that we have a real chance to take the seat. That makes volunteering much more fun than it ever was before.