The title of this post is also the closing line of a recent attack ad John McCain aired against Barack Obama.  This ad, which has already been ripped by NBC's Andrea Mitchell, FactCheck.org, and other sources, makes completely untrue insinuations about Obama using wounded military men and women as photo ops only.

Now, I found this an interesting line of attack from McCain, especially since he:

(1) Actively spoke out against Sen. Jim Webb's recent GI bill;
(2) Skipped the Senate vote on the GI bill (Obama voted yea);
(3) Actually touted the educational benefits of the bill after its passage, as though he somehow had something to do with it.

However, I figured that John McCain, being Mr. Military, would have a voting record that shows his unflinching support for our armed forces.

Apparently, Veterans For Common Sense disagrees.  They have a rather useful historical timeline of Sen. Straight Talk's votes on military-related measures and expenditures.

May 2006: McCain voted against an amendment that would provide $20 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for health care facilities.

April 2006: McCain was one of only 13 Senators to vote against $430,000,000 for the VA for Medical Services for outpatient care and treatment for veterans.

March 2006: McCain voted against increasing Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in FY 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.

March 2004: Again McCain voted against creating a reserve fund to allow for an increase in Veterans' medical care by $1.8 billion by eliminating abusive tax loopholes.

October 2003: McCain voted to table an amendment for an additional $322,000,000 for safety equipment for United States forces in Iraq.

April 2003: McCain urged other Senate members to table a vote (which never passed) to provide more than $1 billion for Guard and Reserve equipment in Iraq related to a shortage of helmets, tents, bullet-proof inserts, and tactical vests.

August 2001: McCain voted against increasing the amount available for medical care for veterans by $650,000,000.

I, for one, was unaware just how much McCain's voting record on armed forces expenditures and support belies his tough talk on national security.

To be fair, some of this may actually have been poor legislation.  However, Webb's GI bill passed the Senate 75-22, meaning more Senate Republicans supported it than opposed it.  (There couldn't have been more than 50 Democratic votes, even if you count both Bernie Sanders and Joe Lieberman as Democrats, because Ted Kennedy was in the hospital.)

Put this info in your banana clip, and fire at will the next time you hear someone arguing that McCain cares about the military and national security so much more than Obama. 

Yet another entry into the McCain Museum of Mavericky Maverickness.