In New York, the 29th district congressional race is focused on veteran’s issues. The incumbent Randy Kuhl has a weak to nonexistent record voting in support of our veterans. The challenger, Eric Massa, a U.S. Navy veteran promises he will turn the tide when it comes to lack of funding from the VA, and the burden of the bureaucratic runaround veterans have to deal with when seeking to acquire their VA benefits. According to the neo-conservatives we are in a fight to preserve democracy. Lets open our eyes to the fact that the sociopath in the White House and the rubberstamp Republicans in congress have turned their backs on those who fought for this country in the past, and are walking away from those fighting for it now. Randy Kuhl is a good old boy, Bush policy rubberstamp that sports an 85% anti-veteran voting record in congress.sports an 85% anti-veteran voting record in congress.
Randy Kuhl does not care about veterans. He never wore a uniform; hence he has no idea what life is like in "the suck". Kuhl is a Republican "yes man,"he votes with the Republican Party line 92.2% of house resolutions. Given the current Republicans’ shoddy record of veteran support, it is of no surprise Kuhl does not support our vets; he supports his salary. Kuhl managed to vote in support of one of the major 2006 military appropriations bills. By supporting this bill Kuhl supported major cutbacks in funding to traumatic brain injury research (TBI) at the Walter Reed Medical facility in Washington D.C. Since then Walter Reed has come under investigation for unkempt, and generally inhumane facilities that Iraq veterans were forced to deal with- (direct result of a lack of federal funding.)Kuhl also voted against the HR 1591- Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Fiscal Year. This more recent legislation provided 5 Billion in appropriations for extended health care coverage for Iraq veterans. Although Kuhl consistently votes against support for our veterans,he has made a cowardice attempt to claim responsibility for a local veterans suicide prevention hotline. This is the Kuhl camp’s pathetic effort to politically position him as a veterans supporter. In reality the suicide prevention hotline has very little to do with the big "nothing" Kuhl has done for veterans. The VA Medical Center in Canandaigua is one of the best because of the funding it used to have and the professionals that work there have kept it running proficiently. Whether it is incompetence, or apathy it is clear that Kuhl fails to fulfill the simple moral obligation to support our troops returning home. This is not a partisan issue it is a moral issue. Kuhl, given his history and his voting record has no moral platform, he has to be held accountable, he has to go.
Randy Kuhl’s opponent however has an entirely different track record. Eric Massa of Corning NY is a U.S. Navy veteran. Massa served up until he was a commander in the Navy. In 1996 Massa took the position of assistant to the supreme allied commander of NATO forces- General Wes Clark. Massa worked with Wes Clark in Panama, and in 1997, in Europe during the Bosnian crisis. Eric Massa has a stellar track record in regards to his service in the U.S. armed forces. Massa left the position as assistant to General Clark due only to a diagnosis of advanced lung cancer in Nov. 1999. Beyond Massa’s record in the Navy, his service as a member of the house armed services committee has been unwavering to say the least. As he worked overseeing funding for the U.S. Navy, Massa began to speak out in protest to the Administrations plans to invade Iraq in 2003. Massa ended up leaving the committee to work as a campaign staffer for General Clark during his 2004 run for the white house. Although Massa does not have to prove his commitment to the U.S. armed forces and veterans, he made veteran support a central tenet to his 2006 congressional platform, and the issue remains central for his 2008 congressional campaign.
Eric Massa has broken his veterans platform down into four major areas. Number one, full funding for VA inpatient and outpatient health care facilities- given the higher rates of TBI, and PTSD in Iraq war veterans local VA’s especially the Canadaigua VA need to be fully funded. Number two, he promises to introduce and/or support federal legislation that make VA funding mandatory, as opposed to discretionary. Numer three, end the practice of imposing financial penalties on veterans that are also receiving social security- the widow’s tax, and concurrent receipts. Number four, he will work to improve health care and educational benefits for National Guardsmen and Reservists.
To be frank, it is clear that Randy Kuhl cannot shake a stick at Eric Massa’s military record, and his comprehensive veterans reform platform. No matter what political positioning Kuhl uses to gain the veterans vote, those working for the Massa campaign should remain confident that Massa will retain the veterans vote in 2008. The Bush Administration and the rubberstamp congressional republicans are melting down because the American people, especially veterans are smartening up, and standing up for progressive change in this country. It is time to elect a moral leader to the NYS 29th congressional district. Eric Massa is going to congress not to get re-elected or represent corporate interest, but to legislate the change that is needed in this country.
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