| During a townhall meeting in Denver McCain said, "I have a perfect voting record from organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and all the other veterans' service organizations." The fact is that the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion do not release congressional scorecards; the American Legion's constitution specifically prohibits it.
According to Project Vote Smart, McCain has supported votes supported by veterans groups an average of 40.7% of the time since 1990. The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) gave McCain's voting record on veterans' issues a grade of a D in both 2006 and 2008. According to the IAVA Congressional Report Card McCain was absent for six votes this year that the IAVA supported, no other senator missed as many votes supported by the IAVA. McCain voted for legislation supported by the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) 66% of the time in 1999, 50% in 2004, 25% in 2005, and 20% in 2006. The only veterans group that has ever given McCain's voting record a perfect rating was the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) who gave his voting record a 100% rating in 2004. However, the VVA also gave McCain's voting record a rating of 46% in 2001, 0% in 1998, and 50% in 1990.
According to some estimates McCain has voted at least 29 times against veterans' medical benefits. According to other estimates McCain has voted against at least $278.9 billion in veterans' benefits, while voting for $700 billion to "rescue" Wall Street. There several examples of legislation that McCain has voted against that would benefit veterans, and despite all of the evidence to the contrary McCain continues to repeat what amounts to outright lies.
During the First Presidential Debate Senator McCain said:
"As far as our other issues that he brought up are concerned, I know the veterans. I know them well. And I know that they know that I'll take care of them. And I've been proud of their support and their recognition of my service to the veterans."
Senator McCain, you may know us but we do not know you. Veterans do not know who this Senator McCain is; the Senator McCain that veterans know is the person who has said that he supports veterans with his words and nothing else.
As a fellow veteran you should better than most what kinds of sacrifices that veterans have given for this country. You have sacrificed for this country more than most, and many other veterans have sacrificed much for this country and in some cases they have sacrificed everything. However, you have thanked veterans with their words but not with your actions.
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