Tracy Press editorial
If it hasn’t already, Karl Rove-style White House politics is about to bite Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton. The victim might be the Livermore Veterans Affairs Medical Center, which the Pleasanton Democrat has campaigned hard to keep open, even if with a different mission.
In an attempt to win back the House for the Republicans in 2008, Rove, the senior adviser to President Bush, has been charting the vulnerabilities of House Democrats. McNerney, a freshman representative who upset seven-term Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, last fall, is No. 2 on the hit list of 36. We’ve learned that Rove and his associates have presented the targeted list at “general political briefings” to political appointees in the General Services Administration, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Peace Corps and to an invited group of seven ambassadors.
The General Services Administration “brown bag” briefing even ended with its chief, Lurita Alexis Doran, reportedly asking her staff members how they could “help our candidates.”
That’s a violation of the Hatch Act, say investigators of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. In an appeal, Doran has denied any wrongdoing. It will be up to Bush to determine Doran’s guilt or innocence and any punishment.
In the meantime, we don’t expect anyone associated with the White House to assist McNerney in his quest to turn the Livermore VA facility into a center to treat post-traumatic stress disorder — the perfect mission for this 115-acre, pastoral setting in the hills south of Livermore.
Politics should be removed from the decision of Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson or his successor. There are an estimated 320,000 to 800,000 veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who might seek treatment for combat disabilities, about one-third of them with psychological symptoms. For example, of the 229,015 veterans who sought VA care from 2002 through 2006, 83,889 were diagnosed with a mental disorder, including PSTD, drug abuse or depression.
Based on these statistics, Nicholson announced last week that more psychologists and social workers would be added and the number of drop-in treatments clinics expanded from 209 to 232. The Livermore VA facility should be such a drop-in clinic as well as an extended care center for the more severe patients who have served our nation with valor.
To remove partisan politics from this critical veterans issue, we encourage any and all Republican candidates in the 2008 11th House District race to support this new mission for the Livermore VA Medical Center.
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