We now know how the Bush administration got away with years of providing such paltry support to our injured and maimed veterans from the Iraq war and Afghanistan. The Republican congressional leadership forcibly removed the GOP House committee chair in charge of overseeing veterans. Why? He was too vet-friendly, too interested in meeting the growing needs of our war veterans, and the Republicans wanted to save money at the expense of our injured and maimed veterans.
And I quote Robert Novak, one of the most conservative Republican columnists in existence:
[T]he House Republican leadership had removed [GOP] Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey as chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. The extraordinary purge buttressed the growing impression of arrogance as Republicans enter their second decade of power in the House.Next up on AMERICAblog: Where was Maine GOP Senator Susan Collins all these years while the Bush administration was abusing our veterans and she was in charge of Senate oversight of the Bush administration?
The party's House leaders purportedly removed Smith, a tireless promoter of spending for veterans, to save money....
The leadership's problem with Smith has been his insatiable desire to make life better for veterans during 24 years on the Veterans Affairs committee (six years as vice chairman, four years as chairman).
