Teabaggers Exploit Veterans

This week, the Million Vet March at the WWII Memorial in Washington DC was crashed and hijacked by racist Teabaggers. Original organizers simply wanted to make the point that war memorials and parks should be allowed to stay open during the shutdown.

As you know, the fringe Teabagger Republicans in the House have been planning on shutting down the US government for months; they have stated so and have been admittedly giddy since it began two weeks ago.

The government shutdown stops vital services for veterans, the elderly, and America's poor, but also furloughs workers who keep tourist attractions and parks open. This makes for a perfect, if not ironic, backdrop for Teabaggers to make a scene.

So the very people responsible for shutting down the government, including the war memorials, were the ones stomping around screaming about them being closed. And then they complained about using vets as pawns, while using them as pawns.

And the usual racist, Obama-hating rhetoric was spewed. We heard about "being Kenyan," "bowing down to Allah," and demands that the President "come out with his hands up." In addition, several Teabaggers/racists waved confederate flags outside the White House. This, you may recall, was the banner under which the slave-owning White Supremacists fought for the right to keep slaves. This is what was waved outside the home of America's first black president.

But they insist they're not racist. See?

Remind your Fox-watching, Teabagging relatives of this little incident the next time they pretend the Teabaggers are not, in reality, 21st Century Klansmen.

And of course, you can't have a racist, blame-Obama-for-the-problem-we-ourselves-created photo op without Canada's Ted Cruz, and America's Favorite Quitter -- the Half-Term Governor of Alaska, Failed Vice Presidential Candidate and Failed Reality Show Host -- running in front of cameras, now can you? That's right: The lovely Sarah Palin flew in from wherever Fox has been hiding her for the last six months to bash Obama.

You betcha.

From Addicting Info and Think Progress:

The trite hypocrisy and shear evil of the actions of the GOP’s Tea Party faction is more dangerous than many believe. It will incite violence. This weekend it wrapped itself in the military veil. The world saw Sarah Palin and the GOP exploiting military veterans. They did so as they attempted to project blame for the shutdown on President Obama.

Suffice it to say Americans are not buying it. Americans love their veterans and understand that a shutdown hurts them both economically and emotionally. Exploiting military veterans will backfire as others take notice and it brings more scrutiny. 

Apparently, the original organizers of the veterans’ march are displeased with the Tea Party’s co-opting of their protest. On the Million Vet March homepage, the organizers suggest a local organizer invited Tea Party and birther groups against the wishes of the veterans:

The political agenda put forth by a local organizer in Washington DC was not in alignment with our message. We feel disheartened that some would seek to hijack the narrative for political gain. The core principle is about all Americans honoring Veterans in a peaceful and apolitical manner.

MSNBC's Martin Bashir saw right through the charade.

Martin Bashir: We bring you an act of such brazen dishonesty and speciousness that it's hard to know where to begin.

Sarah Palin at Rally: Our vets have proven that they have not been timid. So we will not be timid in calling out any who world use our military, our vets as pawns in a political game.

Martin Bashir: Now, for most people, travelling three thousand five hundred miles from Alaska to the nation’s capital in order to grandstand at the Second World War Memorial, that your own political party has caused to close, would seem like a political game. … Keep in mind that it is the Republican Party that continues to shutdown the government, thereby curtailing veterans’ benefits. And it is the Republican Party whose sequester cuts have hammered the military. … The singular proof, that Sunday’s rally was solely about using the military as pawns in a political game.

Larry Klayman at Rally: We are now ruled quote unquote by a president who bows down to Allah. … and to demand that this president leave town, to get out, to put the Quran down, to get up off his knees, and to figuratively come out with his hands up.

Martin Bashir: This is the political game Mrs. Palin and her allies have been playing even before this president was inaugurated. For them this is what the shutdown is really about.

 A closed park is inconvenient. It however is not the most severe pain being felt by veterans at this time. If Palin and the GOP were not simply exploiting military veterans, they would know that.

This government shutdown is affecting the well-being of veteran families and ordinary families. This shutdown has affected the payments of death benefits to the families of veterans. This shutdown is affecting the backlog of veterans’ disability claims. In effect, Tea Party Right Wing Republicans applied a significant amount of pain to veterans and their families in order to satisfy an irrational hate of President Obama. That is the height of exploiting military veterans.