So he resigned as VA head

[Care4all]

Wow, the President actually explained a great deal and I am glad he stood by Shinseki and did not completely throw him to the wolves, though the wolves won in the end I suppose

 

[Sallow]

Oh well.

Politics as usual.

That's really to bad.

 

[Sallow]

Now republicans can filibuster the next appointment.

Lovely.

 

[birddog]

Now republicans can filibuster the next appointment.

Lovely.

Until Barry appoints an independent prosecutor to investigate criminal wrongdoing at the VA, they should filibuster anything he wants!

 

[LordBrownTrout]

This won't solve anything. The problem is systemic.

 

[Plasmaball]

Now republicans can filibuster the next appointment.

Lovely.

Until Barry appoints an independent prosecutor to investigate criminal wrongdoing at the VA, they should filibuster anything he wants!

I agree...be nice to know why this has gone on for decades....even centuries.

 

[birddog]

Barry will probably have Holder investigate. What a joke that would be!

 

[Ravi]

Wow, the President actually explained a great deal and I am glad he stood by Shinseki and did not completely throw him to the wolves, though the wolves won in the end I suppose

None of it matters to the GOPers. They don't want anything fixed, they just want to place blame. It has been that way for years.

 

[bendog]

the General was an honorable man who sincerely cared for the troops. And fell on his sword opposing Iraq. I wish him well.

 

[manifold]

...though the wolves won in the end I suppose

And by wolves you mean veterans.

 

[whitehall]

Wow, the President actually explained a great deal and I am glad he stood by Shinseki and did not completely throw him to the wolves, though the wolves won in the end I suppose

Shinseki was the wolf. He took "full responsibility" for the negligent deaths at the VA (although "full responsibility" means exactly the opposite in political speak) and he should be indicted for manslaughter.

 

[Jarhead]

Wow, the President actually explained a great deal and I am glad he stood by Shinseki and did not completely throw him to the wolves, though the wolves won in the end I suppose

None of it matters to the GOPers. They don't want anything fixed, they just want to place blame. It has been that way for years.

you mean like the democrats have been doing since 2002?

And still doing it today?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Wow, the President actually explained a great deal and I am glad he stood by Shinseki and did not completely throw him to the wolves, though the wolves won in the end I suppose

The guy should have been fired when this first came out, all the president did by standing by him was give the Democrats more time to pile onto him.

 

[Jarhead]

Wow, the President actually explained a great deal and I am glad he stood by Shinseki and did not completely throw him to the wolves, though the wolves won in the end I suppose

you are glad that he stood by a man who was the leader of 300,000 people of which the most senior were lying to him?

You are glad he stood by a man who did not have the respect of his immediate managerial staff?

In my book, that is, by no means, someone I would stand by. If you do not have the respect of those you manage, you are certainly a poor manager.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Now republicans can filibuster the next appointment.

Lovely.

Until Barry appoints an independent prosecutor to investigate criminal wrongdoing at the VA, they should filibuster anything he wants!

I agree...be nice to know why this has gone on for decades....even centuries.

Because government has been in charge for decades, even centuries.

 

[bendog]

Until Barry appoints an independent prosecutor to investigate criminal wrongdoing at the VA, they should filibuster anything he wants!

I agree...be nice to know why this has gone on for decades....even centuries.

Because government has been in charge for decades, even centuries.

Well the problem is not political, and both parties failed at systemic fixes. The VA actually works well in responding to crisis, and this will get fixed, but something else will crop up. But it's not just that the govt runs the VA. Look at the Red Cross. Clusterfk city. Yet, most major hospitals are either state owned or non-profits. Insurers are generally monopolies that are heavily regulated. Of course even before Obamacare, our healthcare system was inefficient to put it mildly.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

the General was an honorable man who sincerely cared for the troops. And fell on his sword opposing Iraq. I wish him well.

No doubt he was an honorable man. However, that doesnt dismiss him from being held accountable for the horrendous accounts that occurred in the VA.

 

[Jarhead]

the General was an honorable man who sincerely cared for the troops. And fell on his sword opposing Iraq. I wish him well.

No doubt he was an honorable man. However, that doesnt dismiss him from being held accountable for the horrendous accounts that occurred in the VA.

the military is designed in a way where respect for your superiors is engraved into your head. He did not need to worry about respect from his subordinates.

In government, it is quite difficult to fire someone. Respect for your superiors is not a priority. A leader for a government agency needs one who knows how to earn the respect of the subordinates.

Seeing as his immediate subordinates lied to him, he is one who was unable to earn their respect.

Not everyone can.

 

[manifold]

No matter how you slice it, he's not the right guy for the job. Period.

No need to make it political.

 

[bendog]

Well, I'm not so sure he wasn't the right guy. He was brought in because the VA wasn't processing claims fast enough for guys who got blown up in Iraq. He committed professional suicide for those guys. And, from what I've read, he did improve how those claims are being processed.

He's not trained as a health care administrator. But that may be part of the problem. The VA has a lot of different missions beyond just being a holding company for a lot of non-profit in and out patient clinics.