Larry Scott (former E-5) served four-plus years in the U.S. Army with overseas tours as a Broadcast Journalist at AFKN HQ, Seoul, Korea and AFN Lajes Field, The Azores, Portugal and a stateside tour as a Broadcast Journalism Instructor at the Defense Information School (DINFOS). Larry was decorated four times including the Joint Service Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster. He was awarded DOD's First Place Thomas Jefferson Award for Excellence in Journalism. After the Army, Larry went back to radio news, working in Indianapolis as a News Anchor on WIFE Radio and then in New York City as a News Anchor on WNBC Radio. He receives VA compensation for a service-connected disability and uses the Portland, Oregon/Vancouver, Washington VA facilities for healthcare. Today, Larry resides in Southwest Washington and operates the veteran's help website YourVABenefits.org. To contact Larry Scott email larry@yourvabenefits.org.
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Like the old saying goes -- when you've got a lemon, make lemonade. But if your job is to sell the lemon, how do you go about doing that? The current U.S. administration is facing the same problem as it tries to sell the 2006 VA budget.
One way to sell the 2006 VA budget is to borrow well-tested tactics from PsyOps and add the best your political operatives have to offer. The method? To Distract, Distort, Disinform, Demonize and Divide. (NOTE: These political tactics are not exclusive to the VA budgetary process -- they are used to hide a multitude of sins. My examples will deal with the VA budget only.) After this, move forward with full knowledge that the veterans' service organizations will be true to form -- they'll squawk a little, but eventually back off.
The 2006 VA budget proposal is on the table, and the news is bad. The proposed increase for healthcare doesn't even cover inflation, much less the astronomical price hikes in pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and equipment. Add to that a registration fee for Priority Group 7 & 8 veterans, plus more than double the amount of co-pay for prescriptions, and you have a VA budget that is truly a CUT in benefits. (More on this below.)
However, the VA budget can -- and most likely will -- be sold. True, the service organizations have raised some heck about it, but that's all. Here's how the administration's political tactics are being carried out on a daily basis:
DISTRACT. Put a volatile, high-profile non-issue in front of the people and let them spend all their time arguing about it. How about keeping us all upset and distracted by changing Social Security? With Social Security in the headlines every day, the House and Senate Veterans' Committee hearings never make the news that is actually seen by most Americans. Out of sight is out of mind. And the VA is not the only agency suffering the budget axe as our attention is elsewhere. Where are the service organizations? Discussing Social Security.
DISTORT. To some, a half-truth is better than no truth at all. And when it comes to the VA budget, we get lots of half-truths. When asked about the VA budget, President Bush's stock answer is that the VA budget has increased every year of his Administration, and is now the largest budget ever. That's half the truth. The other half of the truth is that the VA healthcare budget has been chronically under-funded for years, veterans are waiting a year or more for necessary surgeries and diagnostic procedures, VA hospitals and clinics are closing, and many VA facilities have had hiring freezes for years, rendering them unable to fill open medical staff positions. With the budget going backward, there is no hope that any of these problems will be resolved. No major service organization has ever held President Bush accountable for this distortion.
DISINFORM. Deliberate disinformation campaigns abound. One of the most blatant was a recent headline in The Army Times: "Affluent veterans may see fees increase at VA facilities." A quick look at the headline would lead one to believe that affluent, or wealthy, veterans might have to pay a fee at the VA. At a glance, most would not have a problem with this. Nowhere in the story is "affluent" defined in terms of income. The "enrollment fees" would kick in for Priority Group 7 and 8 veterans who make more than about $26,000, varying slightly depending on location. It's been at least 50 years since a $26,000 income was considered affluent -- try living on that little with the added burden of paying for your healthcare. In response to this disinformation, there have been ripples of discontent from the service organizations, but little else.
DEMONIZE. To demonize is to "represent as evil or diabolic," something that's done to any enemy during a time of war. Well, the war is on -- and veterans are losing the battle. Who would dare demonize veterans? How about the Pentagon's own Dr. David Chu, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. In a Wall Street Journal interview Dr. Chu said of veterans' benefits, "The amounts have gotten to the point where they are hurtful. They are taking away from the nation's ability to defend itself." The anger this statement caused in the veteran community is already legendary. Did Dr. Chu apologize? No. Many analysts see this statement as demonizing the VA system and not veterans (see my previous Military.com article). Either way, the statement is false. But it was a deliberate, carefully formulated statement meant to do damage to the public perception of veterans' benefits. Although some major service organizations called Dr. Chu to task, none of them asked for an apology or his resignation.
