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Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) Votes Against VA Bill, Voted For Both Wars

Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Image credit: www.ap.org

This one is going to be a doozy, y’all and you’ll have to excuse me for being a little bit more angry than usual. From the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot files: 3 Republican senators. Bob Corker, Ron Johnson and Jeff Sessions were the only senators that voted against a bipartisan veterans’ benefits bill earlier this week. Yes, out of all the senators voting, these three were the only ones who had a problem with the bill which was introduced by Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), and John McCain (R-Arizona).

So what was the reason that they chose to oppose it? Perhaps the bill didn’t go far enough, or maybe it didn’t have some special earmarks for their districts? Maybe it didn’t have an amendment for completely repealing the Affordable Care Act or perhaps they just couldn’t go on record as voting for anything that the president would sign? Nope, it was the cost.

Here’s what Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) had to say:

“This bill is moving back to the House where I hope they will more thoughtfully address the serious issues that have been uncovered in the VA and ensure the bill is paid for in a way that does not burden future generations with crushing debt so I can support it when it comes back to the Senate.” (Source)

And here’s some of Senator Ron Johnson’s (R-WI) defense of his “nay” vote:

“…just the first two years would cost $35 billion, and every year after that $50 billion.”

“Hopefully, we’ll come up with a bill that actually fixes the problem, that doesn’t mortgage our children’s future further…” (Source)

Yes, you heard that right and no, that isn’t the 2nd Friday afternoon margarita messing with your head. They actually thought that taking care of our veterans would be too costly. Seriously, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? Here’s the most hypocritical of them all, and I’ll tell you why in a little bit:

Before passing the bill, senators voted 75-19 to turn aside objections to its cost raised by Republican Jeff Sessions of Alabama. “I feel strongly we’ve got to do the right thing for our veterans. But I don’t think we should create a blank check, an unlimited entitlement program, now,” Sessions said. (Source)

So how much was this “unlimited entitlement program” expected to cost? $2 trillion dollars with the final sum of up to $6 trillion over the next 4 decades? Yeah, that could really be expensive and I can see why a strong fiscal conservative might want to see how we could offset the spending with cuts elsewhere or raising additional revenues but… oh wait, that’s the cost of the Iraq War that Jeff Sessions voted for in 2002. But surely as a fiscal conservative, wouldn’t Senator Sessions have made sure we paid for that war, especially since we were already involved in Afghanistan? That’s going to be a big negative ghostrider. You see, he voted for the Bush tax cut in 2001,voted to authorize war in Afghanistan, and then voted again to authorize yet another war without funding. Ok, so perhaps after voting to lower taxes during a war and then voting to put yet another one on the credit card Senator Sessions would finally come to his fiscal senses? Again, negative ghostrider. In 2003, he voted for yet ANOTHER round of tax cuts.

But what about Senator Corker or Senator Johnson? While they’re certainly the scum of the earth for opposing a bill to fix the very VA hospital issue they wanted to turn into yet another scandal to pin on President Obama, they didn’t vote for the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. Although I’m sure they would have gladly voted for any military action (not anything sanctioned by President Obama, of course) at the drop of a hat, they weren’t in Congress at the time – but Senator Jeff Sessions was. Don’t get me wrong, their votes were reprehensible as well but the Senator from Alabama voted for 2 tax cuts and put two wars on the credit card, yet he has the unmitigated gall to vote against the VA bill which would help fix the problem he criticized the president for in the first place.

For this blatant hypocrisy and absolute disregard for our veterans, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Asshole) is the inaugural recipient of my weekly Whiskey Tango Foxtrot? award. You’ve certainly earned it, Senator.

What can you do to express your outrage? You can make sure to vote this coming November, and here’s what’s at stake:

—All 435 seats of the U.S. House of Representatives

—33 seats in the U.S. Senate

—46 State Legislatures

—38 State and Territorial Governorships.

If you’re tired of people like Jeff Sessions and others who put obstruction of the President above the needs of American veterans, then don’t just complain about it, spread their shame and get out the vote in November.

TENNESSEE PASSES BILL ALLOWING THE BULLYING OF LGBT STUDENTS IN THE NAME OF ‘RELIGIOUS FREEDOM’

Tennessee governor Bill Haslam has just received a bill that allows and encourages anti-gay bullying in the name of “religious freedom.”

The Tennessee “Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act” allows students to use religion in any manner they choose, and protects their use of religion.The ACLU warns that the bill, SB 1793/HB 1547, “crosses the line from protecting religious freedom into creating systematic imposition of some students’ personal religious viewpoints on other students.”

“Should this pass, students with a range of religious beliefs, as well as non-believers, would likely routinely be required to listen to religious messages or participate in religious exercises that conflict with their own beliefs,” the ACLU adds. “Conversely, if a student of a minority religious faith (e.g., a Buddhist, a Wiccan, etc.) or a non-believer were to obtain a ‘position of honor,’ as defined under this bill, that student would be permitted to subject all classmates to prayer and proselytizing specific to his or her faith tradition in connection with school events. In both cases, parents would have no recourse to ensure that their children were not coerced into such religious exercise.”

According to TheNewCivilRightsMovement:

At a basic level, a student could merely write “God” on a chemistry test as the answer to a question asking to where water comes from. A student could also stand in class and say their religion says that gay people are sinners and going to hell, and that speech would be legally protected. The bill states “a student may express beliefs about religion in homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments free from discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions. A student would not be penalized or rewarded on account of the religious content of the student’s work.”

Creationists of course will love the bill.

But the more sinister part of the bill forces all students to be subjected to the religious beliefs of the popular kids.

Tennessee’s “Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act” actually mandates that schools allow students the use of public school facilities — including the school’s public address system, classrooms and school assemblies — and makes schools “[p]rovide the forum in a manner that does not discriminate against a student’s voluntary expression of a religious viewpoint.”

An evangelical student, or example, could preach the gospel during a science class, or “witness” during English. Attacks on LGBT people and same-sex marriage are automatically protected under this bill, offering anti-gay students a state-sposored license to bully. And of course, a student could claim they worship Satan and subject their classmates to that “religious viewpoint” as well.

The bill, of course, likely violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, but that rarely stops conservative lawmakers on a religious mission.

Republican governor Bill Haslam hopefully will show moral courage and veto this bill. If he signs it, he’ll be forcing all Tennessee students to be subjected to the religious beliefs of their classmates, and forcing Tennessee into a costly battle in court.

But given that the Tennessee senate passed the bill yesterday on a 32-0 vote, and the House passed it 90-2, any veto Haslam considers likely will be overridden.