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WATCH: John McCain Does a 180 on Jobless Vets
Sen. John McCain—Naval Academy class of 1958, Vietnam prisoner of war—has long enjoyed a reputation as a straight-talking protector of the troops. But yesterday, he joined 39 Republican colleagues in blocking a bipartisan bill that would have provided federal jobs for up to 20,000 out-of-work ex-service members—and in doing so, he went back on a verbal promise he made to a veteran weeks ago.
Mother Jones has obtained exclusive audio of an interview McCain conducted with military vet and citizen journalist Meg Lanker-Simons at the Republican National Convention in Tampa last month. In the exchange, McCain said getting vets back to work was job No. 1. (The jobless rate for former service members is up to 31 percent higher than for civilians.) "The fact is, it's a national disgrace that veterans' unemployment is 14 percent," McCain said. "That's a national disgrace. And we've got to try to find more ways and better ways to hire veterans. And that has got to be our highest priority."
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