Votevets is a non profit organization that has registered the domain names VoteVets.org and a mirror to it from VoteVets.com. It claims to support veterans issues through political action, and it has received nonprofit status. It has run many advertisements against Republican candidates.
Vote Vets?
Although the committee claims to be nonpartisan, they are strongly anti-Iraq war. In 2006, the VoteVets group targeted key Republicans running for re-election in tough races, helping the Democrats retake the House and the Senate. In 2008, the group ran ads critical of John McCain's record on veteran's issues. Representatives of the group have frequently appeared on liberal-leaning political commentary shows, such as The Rachel Maddow Show and Countdown with Keith Olbermann.
VoteVets Ads
In 2006, the VoteVets ads attacked Republican Senators for voting against proper body armor for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. A veteran is shown shooting an AK-47 at two different types of armor, showing in graphic detail how only one protects against bullets. The ad ends with "Senator [Burns, Allen, et al.] voted against giving our troops this. Now its time for us to vote against him." In aother one of the VoteVets ads, a veteran describes how a Republican Congressman "voted to increase his pay while voting to cut healthcare benefits to vets like me," the ad concludes with the veteran saying "that may make sense from where he sits in Congress, but not from where I'm sitting." The camera then pans out, and it is revealed that the veteran is sitting in a wheelchair. These VoteVets ads are a sharp rebuke to Republican claims that only their party wants to "support the troops". The group today has its own website, as well as a presence on Youtube, Myspace, Facebook, and Flickr.
VoteVets and John McCain
VoteVets and John McCain were not happy bedfellows during the 2008 Presidential election. The VoteVets ads attacked John McCain for skipping a vote for a new GI bill for today's veterans. The ads ends with "Vet to vet, Senator McCain, when you put money from your rich friends ahead of vets like me, how is that 'Country First?'"
VoteVets Donation
As of February of 2009, the VoteVets donation page still had the following tagline: "Help VoteVets.org support the troops and oppose President Bush's anti-troop, anti-veterans' policies." A VoteVets donation, it must be concluded, is a donation to support liberal foreign policy, including ending the war and better healthcare for veterans.
The Vote Vets Charity has created a lot of different campaigns. It has used veterans to get people to "Vote vets," by describing Republican candidates as "against the troops," which was probably difficult for a party that had defined itself on supporting those troops. VoteVets ran ads against Republicans in Congress in 2008 and against John McCain in 2008, and is generally a voice for a more liberal foreign policy.
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