MOSCOW, September 10 (RIA Novosti) – After this year’s Veteran Affairs [VA] scandal, American senators decided to use veterans’ issues as the basis for their midterm election campaigns, with this trend being especially common among those congressmen who oppose the Obama administration, the National Public Radio (NPR) reported on Wednesday.
"We don't see foreign policy events, the crisis in the Middle East, even border security here at home appearing in campaign ads to nearly the same degree," Elizabeth Winter, vice president of Kantar Media Ad Intelligence, which tracks political advertising told NPR.
Winter says, as of last month, some 34,000 veteran-themed ads appeared nationwide.
Republican Rick Allen says in his campaign, “Look at the mess Obama has made. Veterans dying, ignoring by the VA…” Allen claims that it is time to change Washington’s position and protect veterans.
Democrat Jackie McPherson’s campaign features an interview with a US veteran, who says, “With all that we’ve done for the gov. forces in Iraq, Afghanistan…I talked to a lot of veterans that are trying to get treatments, but don’t know how.”
However, some experts argue that the senators are only using the campaigns to get the votes of undecided and independent voters, but not to actually help the veterans.
“They both campaigned on being veterans' advocates, they were going to help fix the VA. But once they got into office, the situation at the VA got worse and they didn't really devote enough attention to it," issues and legislative campaign manager for Concerned Veterans, Dan Cadwell said as quoted by NPR.
In April 2014, it was found that at least 40 United States Armed Forces veterans died while waiting for care in Veterans Health Administration facilities in Arizona. The incident triggered a wave of criticism towards the Obama Administration and the Veterans Health Administration, with critics claiming that there were significant and chronic system failures within the department.
Obama has ordered a White House investigation into the case.
