GOP congressman who was responsible for Walter Reed oversight now says the uproar is just politics
Yeah, if I were Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., the former GOP House Veterans Affairs Committee chair in charge of making sure that Walter Reed and the rest of our military hospitals didn’t abuse our soldiers - and they DID abuse our wounded troops under Buyer’s non-watch - I too would be making light of the scandal at the expense of our troops. Especially if I were the guy who replaced the previous committee chair in a coup, all because the previous guy was too much of an advocate for the troops. This GOP America-hater should be be forced to spend a month at Walter Reed, in a wheelchair, with the mold, the cockroaches, the asbestos, the 3rd degree burn showers, sleeping in his own urine - then see how political he thinks our maimed soldiers are being complaining about what the Republicans have done to them. Buyer knew that Walter Reed and our military hospitals didn’t have enough money, but he covered for George Bush and screwed our soldiers, all for politics. The thought that he is still to this day playing politics with our soldiers’ lives is sickening.
Yes, one might argue that there’s political hay to be made over the Walter Reed scandal. The reality, though, is that there’s absolutely no excuse for caring for our wounded soldiers by forcing them to live and recuperate in substandard conditions. Rats and mold aren’t generally conducive to the healing process, and we (all of us, regarding of political affiliation) should be ashamed that men and women who have suffered in service of their country are being treated so shoddily by their country. There is no way to justify this, and for Buyer to pass off the controversy as mere “politics” betrays the “But I have a magnetic ribbon on my SUV….” mentality that afflicts so many Republicans today.
Rather than trying to determine what might reasonably be done to ensure that our sons and daughters have the very best care available (much like Chief Chickenhawk Dick Cheney has access to), Buyer is determined to do what it takes to protect Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader © . Since our wounded soldiers aren’t allowed to speak for themselves, we’re left to chickenhawks like Buyer to thoroughly politicize this issue…which is exactly what he’s accusing opponents of Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader’s © of doing. It would seem hypocrisy is a political value that’s not lost on Buyer.
WASHINGTON — Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., said the reaction to the substandard facilities that housed some soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center rightfully has been strong.
But the top Republican on the House Veterans Affairs Committee also said he is concerned that the military care for active-duty soldiers and for veterans is being confused and that Democrats are using the issue for political purposes.
And Administration apologists like Buyer are hoping the issue will simply disappear so we can get back to shilling for the glorious Republican war of liberation in Iraq. After all, it’s all about the legacy and the Bush Doctrine (an illegal war of aggression in the name of oil and world domination is both a moral and acceptable use of American military force- especially when couched in the language of combating terrorism).
President Bush said Tuesday that former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala will head a bipartisan review of military health care.
Buyer, an Army reservist, said he did not hear complaints from soldiers in visits to Walter Reed and other military facilities.
“Soldiers are pretty gung ho. They’re very motivated. They’re eager to get well and get back with their units. They don’t necessarily gripe and complain,” Buyer said.
Buyer also said that, from his perch on the Veterans Committee, he was unlikely to hear complaints about Walter Reed, which is run by the Army to treat active-duty soldiers.
If Buyer had even an iota of compassion and a sense of what’s right, he’d be demanding that no stone be left unturned when it comes to fixing this problem. As an Army Reservist, he knows full well that most soldiers aren’t going to even contemplate going public with their complaints. This hardly means that the problem isn’t very real, and it doesn’t mean that Democrats and other opponents of the war in Iraq are trying to capitalize. If anyone is playing politics here, it’s Buyer…and frankly, he should be ashamed. Then again, he’s a DUMB@$$…so he probably doesn’t have an inkling that he’s the one politicizing this issue.
STILL GLAD YOU VOTED REPUBLICAN??
