September 10, 2008 Adam Kokesh
Iraq Veterans Against the War board member Adam Kokesh is one of only a few people who can shake up the war-hardened Senator and Republican nominee for president John McCain. Maybe that's because Kokesh was an active duty reservist with the Marines until 2006. Maybe it was the fact that Kokesh's stand at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul last week was stealing camera time away from the Senator from Arizona as he gave his acceptance speech. Or maybe it was simply because Kokesh was telling the truth. Kokesh stood in a balcony during McCain's speech, holding a black and white, two-sided sign. One side read, "You can't win an occupation" and the other featured, "McCain votes against vets" in the same stark, capital letters. McCain's most recent abandonment of U.S. troops came in the form of his opposition to the new GI Bill, which he called "too generous" to the troops. Also, his plan to privatize VA benefits has raised a fair share of eyebrows lately. But McCain has a long, established record of voting against the interests of the armed forces. McCain gets a "D" rating from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. In an analysis of what they call McCain's "horrific" voting record, Veterans for Common Sense issued this statement: "John McCain skipped close to a dozen votes on Iraq, and on at least another 10 occasions, he voted against arming and equipping the troops, providing adequate rest for the troops between deployments and for health care or other benefits for veterans."Kokesh and other protesters made quite the splash at the Republican convention. There were several moments where McCain supporters had to scream "USA, USA!" to drown out the dissent. "Please, please don't be diverted by the ground noise and the static," McCain urged his supporters during his speech. We think Kokesh deserves better than that. He's not slinging "noise" or "static," but truth and justice. With a Republican convention that was filled with obfuscation and outright lies, we thank Adam Kokesh for being a veteran willing to stand up to the "war hero" story McCain touts as his reason for "falling in love" with his country, and for showing that just because a person puts "country first," the truth doesn't have to come in second. And that is why we're honored to give him this week's BuzzFlash Wings of Justice award. * * * Nominated by the BuzzFlash staff.
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