  The American Veteran's On-Line News Magazine Click here to make VA Watchdog dot Org your homepage VA NEWS FLASH from Larry Scott at VA Watchdog dot Org -- 08-13-2008 |
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The American Veteran's On-Line News Magazine Click here to make VA Watchdog dot Org your homepage VA NEWS FLASH from Larry Scott at VA Watchdog dot Org -- 08-13-2008 |
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PROPONENTS DISTORT FACTS -- Not one veteran has been prevented from voting. Not one veteran has been prevented from registering to vote.
by Larry Scott For
complete background on the voter registration issue on VA campuses, use
the VA Watchdog search engine...click here... Read below:
------------------------- It's time for a reality check regarding the issue of voter registration drives at VA facilities.It seems like a no-brainer. I believe the VA should allow non-partisan groups to register voters on VA property.But, the VA has decided not to do that.
VA Secretary James Peake has stated: "...The agency [VA] is not
in the position to examine the agenda, history and motivations of every
organization that may wish to conduct voter registration drives in our
facility." Story here...
But, the battle goes on. Unfortunately, those who want to force the VA to allow voter registration have stepped over the line from presenting facts to presenting outright distortions (some would call them lies). On August 11, 2008, an article on AlterNet.org,
the openly liberal / progressive web site, was headlined: 2008's
First Disenfranchised Voters: Injured and Homeless Veterans.
Article here... This is absolutely false! The definition of disenfranchise is: "to deprive of the right to vote." No veteran has been deprived of the right to vote. Further, no veteran has been deprived of the right to register to vote. So, why is AlterNet.org using this type of language? Pure politics. In the article, Paul Sullivan, head of Veterans for Common Sense (VCS), is quoted as saying: "President Bush and Karl Rove are attempting to block voter registration of at least 200,000 and possibly as much as 400,000 veterans." This is complete nonsense. No one is trying to block voter registration for veterans. It just can't be held on VA property. Veterans can register anywhere they like and vote on election day. If Wal-Mart didn't allow voter registration outside their stores, would there be a cry about "disenfranchised" voters? Hardly. Sullivan should know better than to indulge in this kind of "Bush-and-Rove-gonna-getcha" hype. Politics, left or right, has no place in this argument...and, Sullivan's remarks merely muddy the waters with political bombast. Sullivan and AlterNet.org are entitled to their viewpoints. But, that's just what it's all about and nothing more...their viewpoints. It is NOT fact. Sometimes, when dealing with a story like this, it is difficult to dig through the political rhetoric and get to the truth. But, not this time. Putting aside all the "anti-Bush" politics and distortion of facts, I sincerely hope the VA reverses its policy and allows non-partisan groups to hold voter registration drives. It just seems like the right thing to do. -------------------------
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