( – promoted by lowkell)
(crossposted from ProgressVA )
George Allen continued his "Do As I Say, Not As I Do" campaign tour on Wednesday, speaking with a military parent about properly equipping our men and women in the armed forces. Allen said it was "deplorable" that this soldier's family had to provide him with necessary equipment the government refused to pay for.
That would be a laudable position, if it wasn't for the fact that Allen himself cast the "deplorable" votes that refused to fund equipment for soldiers. It seems Allen is at odds with himself on the issue. According to video footage taken by American Bridge 21st Century, Allen told this parent "any man or woman that's serving in our military shouldn't be having to ask for their parents to provide them with the clothing, in this case their gloves. That is what we expect our federal government to do." (Video available here.)
Allen is developing a habit of glossing over his legislative record. He has been vocal in his support of congressional Republicans' economic hostage-taking in the debt ceiling debate. But Allen's concern over government spending is new-found. During his first term in the Senate, he voted four times to increase the debt ceiling without any corresponding spending reductions. In fact, during his 4 years in the Senate, Allen voted to increase the debt by over $3B. In other words, Allen supported a whole lot of spending–just not on equipment to keep our soldiers safe.