Eric Shinseki is out of a job today because...

[Savannahmann]

95. Certainly not.

But while you are blaming the Rethugs for not providing the funding, realize the truth. That the message the VA was sending was at best mixed, and at worst disingenuous. Let me ask you this. Let's say I work for you, I supervise a warehouse, one of many that you own. I tell you that the staff at the warehouse is meeting and exceeding all expectations. I then ask you for more money to meet operational needs, a lot more money. Would you give it to me?

The answer is no. You would deny me a large increase in operating funds, because I was reporting to you that all operations were meeting or exceeding the standards. While the VA was asking for more money, they were reporting that they were attending to every Vet within 14 days. It takes six months to get my wife in to see her Doctor for a routine appointment. The PA's are booked solid for the next three months. By the VA reporting that the average wait time for an appointment was less than two weeks, hence the bonus money paid to the fraudsters, it was a performance that was far superior than a vast majority of private practice medical providers.

Now, even if you do want to prove that you are absolutely in favor of supporting the Vets, could you vote for more money? Remember, the reported average wait time was less than two weeks. In reality, we now KNOW that the average wait time was more than three months, but the bonus checks were paid for achieving a wait time of less than two weeks on average. Especially when you know that Boston has an average wait time of 45 days.

SO while the VA was reporting fantastic service, meeting or exceeding all the expectations of Management, they were asking for large increases in their budget.

Back to the notional warehouse I am running for you. If I tell you that I must hire more people, and that the people I have are working their asses off and still not able to meet the expectations, and they need more manpower, and more equipment to reach your goal. Then my request for more money seems far more reasonable. I am trying to meet your standards, but I am unable because I do not have enough people, and enough equipment to make it an achievable goal. Then you would consider giving me more money far more seriously than if I told you I wanted it in the other scenario. If the VA had reported that the average wait time was 115 days, and many people were not even on the list because the appointments program did not allow you to book anything further out. Then if I declined to provide you with more money you could, and should, call me a heartless bastard and blame me for the problem that I refused to address. If you tell me everything is going swimmingly, and could you please have more money, you can't expect me to cough it up or blame me that the truth was hidden from me.

I mentioned above. There are plenty of times to oppose the Rethugs. Plenty of issues on which they are on the indefensible side of an issue. On this issue, those Democrats who bemoan the firing of Shinseki and who say that it's all the Rethugs fault are standing solidly in the middle of the indefensible. By pointing the finger and pretending that Shinseki did not have five years, let me repeat that, five years, to find the truth, Democrats look like partisan hacks who won't accept responsibility for failures.

If you found I was lying to you about how well your Warehouse was operating, you would fire me. If you paid me bonus checks because I had cooked the books, you would turn those books over to the police and have me arrested for Fraud. Why shouldn't we expect the same level of honesty, and hold those at the VA equally accountable. Everyone holds con men who take advantage of Seniors and the disabled in the highest contempt with good reason. How are you going to stand there and complain it's the Republicans fault that the con men at the VA were lying and stealing from the Veterans?

If Shinseki had told the truth, that wait times were over 115 days and people were dying waiting for appointments and procedures, then yes, you could and should blame the Republicans and you would have me standing beside you in full throated agreement. But blaming the Republicans for believing the lies reported by Secretary Shinseki is asinine, and isn't going to fly with the public because it is so obviously a partisan trick to try and shift the blame to your political opponents. We can not claim to be the party of Responsibility, of accountability, and of honest Government with that plan. All we can say we stand for is blaming the Republicans when we get caught. That is not the Democratic party I voted for in 1988, and every election since.