McCain Not Speaking At CPAC

     Senator McCain is trying to be a slick little fellow as of late.

 Sponsors of the Conservative Political Action Conference invited McCain to speak at their gathering, which starts today, and McCain said no thanks. They call this event the premier gather of the countries conservatives but I guess that  " McPain " has gotten to big for them, but not to big to go and try to invite some of the attendees to a reception in private. Needless to say, the organizers are a little hostile towards  " McPain " at this point. Source

   If Senator McCain keeps things such as this up, the Democrats will have only themselves to blame if they do not capture the White House as McCain is simply splitting the Republicans into groups. Who is going to back who on the GOP side will become an interesting topic later on in the year.

Washington Times

  "It was a classical McCain move, dissing us by going behind our backs," said William J. Lauderback, executive vice president of the American Conservative Union.
    Convening through Saturday at a sold-out Omni Shoreham Hotel, the 34th annual CPAC will feature personal appearances and nationally televised speeches by every Republican presidential hopeful except Mr. McCain, said David A. Keene, chairman of the ACU, which, along with Young America's Foundation and Human Events, is a principal sponsor of CPAC.
    Conservative activists have speculated that Mr. McCain did not want to be seen on television "pandering" to Republican "right-wingers" but wanted to court those same activists at a reception in the same hotel.
    "He turned down repeated CPAC offers to speak but then tried to get around us by having his office call the hotel to rent a room for a reception for CPAC attendees -- without first seeking approval of CPAC organizers," said Mr. Lauderback.

 

Technorati tags: CPAC, John McCain, Conservatives

 

Walter Reed Problems/Complaints Ignored For Several Years

  In the ongoing saga of Walter Reed hospital, we now know that the  Army's surgeon general and higher up officials at the hospital had been hearing complaints from some of the members of Congress and veterans groups for at least the last three years.

    WaPo

A procession of Pentagon and Walter Reed officials expressed surprise last week about the living conditions and bureaucratic nightmares faced by wounded soldiers staying at the D.C. medical facility. But as far back as 2003, the commander of Walter Reed, Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, who is now the Army's top medical officer, was told that soldiers who were wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan were languishing and lost on the grounds, according to interviews.

                                  

   I'm just going to sit back and wait to see who the Bush administration is going to terminate over this. There are many in the chain who should be dismissed, beginning with Lt. Gen. Kiley.

 

In 2004, Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.) and his wife stopped visiting the wounded at Walter Reed out of frustration. Young said he voiced concerns to commanders over troubling incidents he witnessed but was rebuffed or ignored. "When Bev or I would bring problems to the attention of authorities of Walter Reed, we were made to feel very uncomfortable," said Young, who began visiting the wounded recuperating at other facilities.

Beverly Young said she complained to Kiley several times. She once visited a soldier who was lying in urine on his mattress pad in the hospital. When a nurse ignored her, Young said, "I went flying down to Kevin Kiley's office again, and got nowhere. He has skirted this stuff for five years and blamed everyone else."

Young said that even after Kiley left Walter Reed to become the Army's surgeon general, "if anything could have been done to correct problems, he could have done it."

Soldiers and family members say their complaints have been ignored by commanders at many levels.

 

Technorati tags: Walter Reed, Congress, Pentagon, Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, Veterans Groups