The T. Rex Essay
Republicans Hate Soldiers and Veterans
http://quinnell.us/politics/essay/hatesoldiers.htmlYes, I did title this essay: "Republicans Hate Soldiers and Veterans." No, clearly not all of them, but certainly the Republicans in office hate soldiers and veterans. This idea dawned on me when I say a homeless man sitting on the side of the road with a sign that said "Homeless Vet." It was far from the first time I've seen such a thing. In Tallahassee alone, I've seen such signs at least a dozen times that I can remember in my lifetime. And just to show that this isn't just some fluke or that I'm imagining such things, the homeless shelter in Tallahassee has special services just for veterans. And the problem is a local one, it's a national one. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that on any given night, there are 275,000 homeless veterans and that over the year, more than 500,000 veterans experience periods of homelessness. Almost one-fourth of all homeless people are veterans and veterans are twice as likely to become homeless as are non-veterans.
Now what does that have to do with Republicans? A number of things. The biggest is that everyone seems to think that Republicans love veterans and do whatever they can for our vets and soldiers while the Democrats hate those who have served their country and don't do anything for them. This is, of course, ridiculously wrong (with the exception of people like Bill Clinton, who didn't do a whole lot for veterans either). I'm not going to get into how good or bad Democrats are on this issue other than to say that they are better than the Republicans.
What have the Republicans done that is so bad? The Republicans have had partial or total control of the federal government since 1994, holding the House of Representatives the entire time, the Senate all but a year and a half and the White House since 2001. During this time, the federal government had huge budget surpluses (on paper). This means that they could've easily gotten any programs to help veterans and soldiers passed. They could've increased funding for veteran's programs and they could've improved the quality of life for active soldiers who are in harm's way. Have they done so? Clearly not.
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