"A fine mess."

I have been waiting to weigh in on this VA debate. And I knew that I would have to, because, as was to be expected, the right wing-nuts jumped in head first to criticize O and his administration for all the problems that are currently plaguing that agency.



 

Now the thing you have to understand about the drive- by sound bite mentality of the typical American is that they do not have the ability to process facts and look at any problem in its proper context. Everything is driven by the 24 hour cable punditry class.  It's FOX on one side and MSNBC on the other.

 

This is another classic example. All you will hear from the right is that this looming VA scandal happened on O's watch so he is the only one to blame. This is all because of Obamacare. This is the precursor to death panels. Now this all sounds good for right wing  talk radio and trolls on websites, but nothing could be further from the truth.

 

The VA (I am glad that America is now finally paying attention) and military hospitals have been a problem for some time in this country. Just ask a vet and they will be glad to tell you.

 



Make no mistake, O should take some blame for this happening on his watch as well. But remember, it was the Socialist in chief who made it easier for vets to get treatment for post traumatic stress disorders and exposure to Agent Orange.  As a result, claims rose from 423,000 when he took office, to 883,000 in 2012. It was O and his administration who requested (and got) an additional 54 billion to add to the VA budget.


 

And I actually hate to do this, but I have to get with my man W again. Ok, that was a lie, I don't hate to do it. Anyway, he wanted a war and he got one. But when all the casualties of war started piling up our VA hospitals were not prepared to handle the deluge of claims. Under W the wait times for VA claims went from 166 to 224 days.



 

But it's not only W and O. The current republicans in congress should shoulder some of the blame for this mess we are in as well.



 
I mean how do you explain this, and this, and this,and this, and this ?





It's Obama's fault. Yep, that's the ticket.




*Pic from National Journal