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Ask a Vet
Author: TriSec    Date: 07/26/2016 10:15:58

Good Morning.

I feel no need to watch the carnage this week.

With that said, it would be irresponsible if we didn't take a look at the policies being put forward by the candidates.


I'll hold my nose and start with last week's result. Donald Trump is all sound and fury, signifying nothing, but he does supposedly have to have actual policy. Here's what he's come up with:


Veterans Administration Reforms That Will Make America Great Again

The Goals Of Donald J. Trump’s Veterans Plan

The current state of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is absolutely unacceptable. Over 300,000 veterans died waiting for care. Corruption and incompetence were excused. Politicians in Washington have done too little too slowly to fix it. This situation can never happen again, and when Donald J. Trump is president, it will be fixed – fast.

The guiding principle of the Trump plan is ensuring veterans have convenient access to the best quality care. To further this principle, the Trump plan will decrease wait times, improve healthcare outcomes, and facilitate a seamless transition from service into civilian life.

The Trump Plan Will:

Ensure our veterans get the care they need wherever and whenever they need it. No more long drives. No more waiting for backlogs. No more excessive red tape. Just the care and support they earned with their service to our country.

Support the whole veteran, not just their physical health care, but also by addressing their invisible wounds, investing in our service members’ post-active duty success, transforming the VA to meet the needs of 21st century service members, and better meeting the needs of our female veterans.

Make the VA great again by firing the corrupt and incompetent VA executives who let our veterans down, by modernizing the VA, and by empowering the doctors and nurses to ensure our veterans receive the best care available in a timely manner.


Surprisingly enough, that's not the entire thing - there is actually a plan here, some of which you can read and actually think some of it makes sense. I'd have to say that Mr. Trump didn't come up with this himself, but of course he surrounds himself with greatest people, doesn't he?

Moving on to this week's candidate, let's check in on Mrs. Clinton and see what the Democrats have on offer.


To support our veterans and ensure they have the opportunities and tools they need to succeed upon returning home, Hillary will:

Fundamentally reform veterans’ health care to ensure access to timely and high quality care and block efforts to privatize the VA—including improving health care for women at the VHA, ending the veteran suicide epidemic, and continuing efforts to identify and treat invisible, latent, and toxic wounds of war that affect veterans, family members, and caregivers after their service.

Build a 21st-century Department of Veterans Affairs to deliver world-class care. Hillary was outraged by the recent scandals at the VA, and as president, she will demand accountability and performance from VA leadership. Many veterans have to wait an unacceptably long time to see a doctor or to process disability claims and appeals. Hillary will make the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) a seamless partner in health care. She does not believe that privatization will solve the problems that the VHA is facing—this department must deliver high-quality care while acting as an integrated payer-purchaser and facilitating a full range of services for all veterans, regardless of where they live.

Empower veterans and strengthen our economy and communities by connecting their unique skills to the jobs of the future. Hillary will make the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill a lasting part of our social contract with those who serve, expand tax credits for veterans’ employment, improve certification and credentialing programs, strengthen veteran entrepreneurship programs, and create pathways for servicemembers to enter growing career fields. She will also protect veterans from discrimination and predatory companies and work to end veteran homelessness.

Overhaul VA governance to create a new veteran-centric model of excellence by creating a culture of accountability, service, and excellence at the VA; providing budgetary certainty; and ensuring our veterans are buried with the honor, distinction, and integrity they deserve.


Like Mr. Trump, there's actually far more detail on her campaign page than I care to copy and paste over to here, including a couple of highly-detailed white papers.

Surprisingly enough, a couple of the platform planks seem to intersect. But the contrast is clear - Hillary has a plan, where Donald plans to "Make the VA great again".

There is something a little deeper this time around - our friend Paul Rieckhoff at IAVA has posted a number of times about neither candidate having military experience. I'm not sure I agree with that sentiment, as the United States military was always meant to be led by a civilian. However, both Vice Presidential candidates are Blue-Star parents, with both their sons choosing the Marine Corps.

Perhaps later in the week I may actually watch the candidate and see what she has to say - both of them can post all they want about veterans on their website. It would be nice to hear it from a candidate's own lips for a change.
 

13 comments (Latest Comment: 07/26/2016 23:58:19 by Scoopster)
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Comments:

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Comment by wickedpam on 07/26/2016 13:09:05
Morning

Comment by Raine on 07/26/2016 13:14:37
SO happy to see Stephanie is back.

Comment by Raine on 07/26/2016 13:22:46
Miller caught on the hot mic!

Comment by wickedpam on 07/26/2016 13:27:15
omg I love that Steph just called Rove Turdblossom in public and at him.

Comment by Scoopster on 07/26/2016 13:53:45
Mornin' all!

A message to the GOP: Compare your entire convention to the DNC's first day and kill yourselves.

Comment by Raine on 07/26/2016 13:58:02






Comment by wickedpam on 07/26/2016 14:16:07
Susan Sarandon is the current face of bitter.

Comment by Mondobubba on 07/26/2016 14:29:32
Quote by Raine:






Susan, may I call you Susan, Ms. Sarandon? You are dead to me. Completely dead. So dead that I will most likely never watch one of my favorite movies ever again since you are the female lead. Please just shut the fuck up.

Comment by Will in Chicago on 07/26/2016 14:53:21
Good morning, bloggers!!! I hope that everyone is well.



Comment by Mondobubba on 07/26/2016 15:43:29
Keeping with the military/vet theme of blog Tuesdays, Marine Gen. John Allen has endorsed Hillary Clinton.

Comment by Raine on 07/26/2016 18:11:10

I did not read past the headline, however, I wantd to give this link...

Looks like the Emails were altered.

Comment by Scoopster on 07/26/2016 23:58:19
HOLY SHIT! DONNA BRAZILE JUST ROCKED MY WORLD!