CNN’s Ana Cabrera Slimes GOP, Wonders If Republicans Are ‘Anti-Veteran’

Which is the most simple and ineffective way to criticize Senate Republicans? If you’re a journalist at CNN, you suggest GOP members are “anti-veteran.” Discussing the new toxic exposure bipartisan bill traveling through the House and the Senate, on Tuesday’s CNN Newsroom: Ana CabreraThe host spoke with Jon Stewart, a liberal activist. Roll Call reports that this bill is an expansion of the House bill from March. The legislation would consist of “new health care and tax-free benefits as high as $3,332 a month to as many as 3.5 million veterans” at a cost estimated to be $278.5 billion over 10 years.

The bill was initially supported by Republicans. It was approved 84-14 by the Senate Republicans when it was put to the vote on June 16. Now, as Stewart claimed, Senate Republicans are “Flipping. Flipping their votes,” because of a “so-called budgetary gimmick.” The measure failed 55-42 last week.

Cabrera said, “Assume the worst.” “Why would they change their votes? Do you actually think they’re anti-veteran?” “No, I think they’re insulated and isolated, and that they’ve lost themselves to parliamentary procedures,” Stewart answered. He continued, “and you know, I’m not suggesting that there’s malevolence in the way that they’re treating veterans, but there is apathy and ignorance.”

The total spending would be more than $300 million over the upcoming decade, and in the words of Republican Senator Pat Toomey, “what I’m trying to do is change a government accounting methodology that is designed to allow our Democratic colleagues to go on an unrelated $400 billion spending spree that has nothing to do with veterans.”

Imagine what it would have looked like had this been a bipartisan bill? The networks might surely be calling them, “smart” or “intelligent” for checking where millions of dollars were planned to go.

Cabrera seems to be suggesting that GOP could be against service men and woman, asking the activist to make the same suggestion. Cabrera even went as going as far as to suggest that personal Twitter battles between Senator Ted Cruz and Stewart made the ‘No’ from the Senator a little more personal.

It’s not just CNN that has had a field day with the narrative that Republicans don’t care about veterans. The Guardian also featured quotes by Stewart, shining light on the evil GOP.

What CNN has failed to report is that POLITICO reported Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stating, “it will pass this week,” along with both Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) and Senator John Thune (R- S.D.) making comments on the same wavelength, how they would “expect it to pass.”

Cabrera prefers to paint the same narrative as CNN: The GOP is for nothing.  

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To view the full transcript, click “expand”. 

CNN Newsroom: Ana Cabrera
08/02/22
Eastern at 1:55 p.m.

(…)

ANA CABRERA – With the exception of their votes, not much has changed. Why? They would change their vote for any reason. Is it true that you think they are anti-veteran?

JON STEPART: I don’t think so. They’re isolated and insulated, and have lost their ability to follow parliamentary procedures.

You know what? I don’t think there’s any malignence or evil in how they treat veterans. But there are apathy, ignorance, and misunderstanding. These issues didn’t happen overnight. They have been fighting this battle for fifteen years. There are documents I have from both the Pentagon and VA which talk about the harm that burn pits will do to veterans. It also lists all of the diseases that would be coming down. But they ignored this and did nothing.

It is finally addressed by this bill. Unfortunately, both the Senate and House maintain budgetary oversight. The VA secretary must submit an appropriations listing each year, no matter what it is. They could also do something else. Because I told them they had a process that could help fix the problem if it was so serious. And they go, ‘oh, yeah, no,’ we could do that.

CABRERA: Have you felt that the “No” votes for this bill are personal because of some personal fights with senators like Ted Cruz’s Twitter battle with Ted Cruz?

START: If that is the case then that could be worse than their fist bumping after depriving veterans of healthcare benefits and other benefits. It’s possible that they are so fragile or weak that someone corrects them on Twitter, making them vote for somebody else. Perhaps they must be elsewhere where people aren’t affected by their power.

CABRERA: Jon. Why has this cause so deeply touched you? You can see your passion through the screen. It is amazing how much you have given of yourself. It is 100 percent of your effort.

START: I have been in this community 20 years. Walter Reid, USO tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, Achilles Heel Freedom Team and The Warrior Games. I have seen firsthand the impact of war on military families. This is the low-hanging fruit that makes a functioning society. What chance does the rest of us have if we aren’t capable of taking care the people who serve and protect us?