Bush is against the bill.  That goes without saying.  Bush seems to be against almost everything that makes it from Congress to the White House these days.  But, surprising to some of us, McCain is against the present GI Bill.

McCain has defended his opposition to the bill that would expand education benefits for veterans, saying it would hurt the military that he hopes to lead.

And, why does he thinking helping the vets would hurt the military?  Well, it’s simple.  McCain thinks that with good benefits military personnel would earn the benefit and then leave the military to use the earned benefit.  Well, yeah!  That’s the idea.  But, in light of an unpopular war military personnel leaving anyway.  In fact, with our all volunteer army and military many of those who enlisted have become disenchanted with the reasons they signed up and are trying to get out.  Enter “stop-loss.”  Those who volunteered in are finding that the volunteerism seems to stop once they are signed up.  Many of those who have been expecting to get out have found themselves being caught in the “stop-loss” trap.  In other words, they are forced into one more tour or an extension of the time they have to serve.  So much for volunteerism.

McCain and Bush argue that if the benefits were pushed out a little farther, the military would volunteer to stay in a little longer to get the educational benefits.  Maybe some would. 

Either way, the Bush-McCain administration has been out maneuvered.

“I think John McCain has been outmaneuvered,” said GOP strategist Ed Rollins, who had served as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign chairman. “Sometimes in politics, there are intellectual issues and emotional issues.”

“John McCain is going against veterans groups; he is going against a constituency that should be his. … But I think he is on the wrong side of this issue,” Rollins said. “A lot of Republicans are voting for this, and I think to a certain extent as it moves forward there will be more and more. There will be tremendous pressure from veterans groups past and present and I think you will see a lot of bipartisan support for this as well.”

This is an emotional issue.  The war is unpopular.  Even some of the early die-hard supporters of the Iraqi war have realized that a few of us who mentioned a comparison to Viet Nam after the first month of battle weren’t so far off course.  With the revelation that we were lied into the conflict, even more supporters began to question the validity of this war.  And, perhaps, based on the deceit that got us into this mess and the miscalculations that have kept us there, we as a nation feel an obligation, more now than ever, to give the benefits to those who have earned them… without moving the carrot a little farther away from their noses.

Education of our returning veterans is essential to the growth and well being of our country.  Many who come home wounded or having left an arm or leg on the battlefield must be given a quality education to allow them to earn a meaningful wage to support themselves and their families.  Some of these rough and tough soldiers return home physically incapable of returning to a day labor job even if they want to.

The Congress must realize this… across the isle.

The bill, which passed the Senate last week 75-22, would expand education benefits for veterans who served at least three years in the military after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

We owe our veterans an education.  Whether it is an intellectual decision or an emotional issue, the veterans deserve the educational benefits.

Well, the Democratic controlled House approved a new GI bill designed to make sure returning veterans are provided the educational benefits they were promised.  Chances are that’s as far as it will get, but it is an effort.

The House voted Thursday to endorse a greatly expanded GI education benefit for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan to be financed by a proposed .47 percent surtax on the wealthy.

The action pushes Democrats into new political territory for this Congress: raising income taxes outright on the rich to pay for new spending — and not just to shift the burden and pay for tax breaks for the middle class.

Individuals earning more than $500,000 and couples with joint returns in excess of $1 million would feel the surtax, which would apply only to income above the threshold level. Republican tax writers said small business partnerships and Subchapter S corporations would be hit as well, but Democrats argued that the education investment—costing $52 billion over 10 years—was warranted and worth the political risk on the tax issue.

Of interest in the bill, the wealthiest earners will foot the bill.

“You talk about working families? We’re talking about asking people who make over $1 million a year to increase their taxes $500 for these veterans to go to college,” said Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.). “This is dedicated funding, and it comes from people in this country who have to most to give to the people who gave the most.”

Thirty-two Republicans joined the majority on the 256-166 vote, a rare showing of bipartisanship in the bitter debate over Iraq policy that had provoked yet more political maneuvering on the floor just minutes earlier.

With 32 Republicans joining the Democrats in the vote, we are seeing a shift in House voting trends.  Perhaps, it is an act of desperation on the part of the Republicans.  They have lost several House seats to Democrats in the past couple of months and the trend seems to indicate that more Republican seats will be taken in the general election.  So, as a last ditch effort to show what has been previously Republican stronghold areas that the Congressmen care about the people… in this case, the veterans… some of the Repubs are starting to cross the line to join more populist cases.

I suppose there is little to no chance of the bill making it to the White House.  It still has to pass the Senate.  But, if anything has been exposed, it is the fear that is choking the old Republicans out of Washington.