On Hugh Hewitt’s radio show on Thursday, conservative commentator Mark Steyn reacted to an interview CNN’s Jake Tapper conducted with White House Chief of Staff Dennis McDonough over the falsified waitlists at Veterans Affairs hospitals that may have resulted in as many as 40 veterans’ deaths who were waiting for appointments at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care system.
McDonough had said he had the scars to prove that President Barack Obama had very upset over situation in Phoenix, which was a metaphor that set Steyn off.
“It’s completely insensitive,” Steyn said. “The funny thing about Washington is it’s so disconnected from the real world is that all language becomes metaphorical. You know, they say, ‘Someone’s head is going to be on the block for this.’ And this guy said, you know, ‘I have the scars to show it.’ He doesn’t have any scars. The veterans who are dying – and by the way, America, since we’re talking comparatively with commonwealth countries – India and others – America I think treats its veterans absolutely appallingly and has turned them essentially into a victim class, going around with these sob-sister ribbons saying, ‘We support our troops.’”
“The Veterans Administration is one of the most disgraceful units of the federal government,” he continued. “So to go around where people have real scars, real wounds from these ineffectually waged wars, and you’re comparing them to your metaphorical scars. I don’t even know what that means – the president stood up holding a piece of cardboard with ‘#YoureALoser’ written on it. What scars is he talking about?”
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