Senator Bernie Sanders' career in Congress has been living testimony to the fact that opposing wars but supporting our soldiers are not mutually exclusive goals.
When Bernie Sanders entered the U.S. Congress back in 1991, he chose to continue his already decades-long tradition of addressing the "... true costs of war." It was a tradition he began in the very first campaign for office he ever ran -- for high school class president in 1958 in Brooklyn, New York. That campaign centered around awarding scholarships for kids orphaned by the devastating effects of the Korean war. Bernie lost that campaign. However, he demonstrated his innate ability to reach out to his opponents in order to get things accomplished for the People. Bernie reached out to the winner of that election, convincing him to join his cause, and together, they got those scholarships... for some very grateful kids.
So, it's really no surprise that the first piece of legislation he worked on and got passed with bipartisan help in Congress was H.R.695 - Guard and Reserve Family Protection Act of 1991. The bill effectively ensured that any pay reserve and National Guard soldiers deployed in the first Gulf War received overseas was added to the pay and benefit package they were entitled to back home.
Congressman Bernie Sanders understood the injustice.
Vets For Bernie: Why the Most Anti-War Candidate Has Many Military Supporters
“He works for veterans. He’s not just saying that. He does do the work,” said Brenda Cruickshank a retired Army nurse who served as the past commander of the Vermont Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), over the summer.
The national VFW president presenting Sanders with its 2015 Congressional Award last spring
The award above came as a result of a bipartisan compromise on legislation to overhaul the Veterans Administration (VA) engineered by Congressman Sanders. At the time, the VA had been plagued for months by scandals over its inability to effectively handle the rush of veterans entering the system due to the troop withdrawal from Iraq.
“Last year when we had the scandal at the VA, he was incredibly effective, engaged in getting the legislation passed, in getting it funded. Frankly, without him, I don’t think we would have gotten it done because there was a lot of name-calling but there wasn’t a lot of constructive, ‘OK, here’s the resources. …’ And he did it,” said Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), noting how crucial Sanders was to the overhaul.
Senator Sanders wasn't only extolled by his colleagues in his own party. Fellow senator John McCain (R-AZ) on the right who also worked on the bill had this to say.
“I found him to be honorable and good as his word. And his word was good,” said McCain.
Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) also had praise for Bernie's earnest efforts in getting the bill passed.
“Senator Sanders understands what it takes to get legislation across the goal line,” said Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) of the VA compromise. “I think he's very outspoken in terms of where he is ideologically. But when he gets down to the need of get legislation into law, then I find him to be one who's willing to sit down and compromise and negotiate to get a final product.”
The VFW award mentioned above joins numerous other awards Sanders has received for his work for veterans, including the
2014 American Legion Patriot Award and the
Military Officers Association of America Colonel Arthur T. Marix Congressional Leadership Award, given to Sanders in April 2014.
So, it's no surprise that Bernie's work on veterans' legislation is now leading many veterans to support him. Recently, Veterans for Bernie, launched mobilization of veterans who support Sanders. The site publishes social media content based around endorsements from individual veterans, such as this one from Doc Bergeron, a Navy vet:
The group is currently led by Tyson Manker, an Iraq war veteran who joined the military in August 2000 and was incensed by the September 11th attacks, but calls his trust in Bush to go after the people who did the attacks “sorely misplaced.”
Manker recalls that when he returned home in 2003, “there were literally no PTSD psychological counseling services of any kind...They shipped us home and that was it.” The next year, he tried to seek help at the VA in Springfield, Illinois but was told there was nothing they could do for him.
A downtrodden Manker continued to suffer the ill effects of post-war life here at home. He soon began to use drugs and was drinking heavily one day when he was nearly stabbed to death over a petty drug deal in Austin, Texas. It was a clarion wake up call for Manker. After he recuperated, Manker cleaned himself up and managed to borrow enough money to attend law school. Today he enjoys his life as an attorney and an adjunct professor.
While in college, Manker learned about Bernie Sanders during a class project. As a fellow independent, he came to admire the Senator, believing him to be above the corruption he saw in the political process, and even showed up at his very first rally at Drake University, in Des Moines.
Presently, Manker spends about six hours a day organizing veterans in support of Sanders candidacy. He also had this to say about Bernie Sanders.
“When most every politician gives lip-service to military personnel, Bernie Sanders gets stuff done. He's heard hundreds of testimonials, and he understands our issues. He's the only candidate who talks about, let alone understands, the "true costs of war." Frankly, he has demonstrated a genuine concern over American Veterans and the issues we face. As President, I know Bernie will never rush to judgment on foreign policy issues, or lie about his intentions. I know that he'll never put troops into harm's way unless it's absolutely necessary to keeping America safe. And I know that he will fundamentally transform the VA into a leading example of modern healthcare, one that is worthy of all Veterans,” says Manker.
You know what?
I know those things too.
Bernie advocates for and is quite effective on many issues that help everyday people. But here's some more reading regarding how effective a politician Bernie is on veterans issues.
How Bernie Sanders Fought for Our Veterans One of America’s biggest ideologues knows how to make a deal.
And here's a quiz from the WaPo to see if you are a Democratic socialist at heart.
Are you a democratic socialist like Bernie Sanders? Take the quiz.
After you take the quiz, show Bernie some love.