Michelle Obama: Hey Troops, How About Campaigning for My Husband?

Katie Pavlich | March 20, 2012 8:32 AM

First she tried to tell them what to eat and now, she is encouraging our troops to campaign for her husband's relection campaign.

First lady Michelle Obama, whose advocacy for veterans and their families has defined her tenure in the White House, is now appealing to the constituency for political support for a second Obama term.

The first lady says President Obama has done “everything we can” to support veterans as they transition to civilian life, including boosting the Veterans Affairs budget, increasing access to health care, expanding job training programs and enacting new tax credits for businesses that hire wounded service members.

“I hope you’ll join me in standing up for all those who have served. Visit BarackObama.com/Veterans to get involved and to learn about all the ways your president is working to support veterans and military families,” she says.

Increased access to healthcare? Really? Funny she didn't mention President Obama's cuts to Tri-Care benefits, which will increase healthcare costs on military families by as much as 400 percent while unionized defense workers remain untouched. Not to mention her husband's gutting of the Army.

The Obama administration’s proposed defense budget calls for military families and retirees to pay sharply more for their healthcare, while leaving unionized civilian defense workers’ benefits untouched. The proposal is causing a major rift within the Pentagon, according to U.S. officials. Several congressional aides suggested the move is designed to increase the enrollment in Obamacare’s state-run insurance exchanges.

The disparity in treatment between civilian and uniformed personnel is causing a backlash within the military that could undermine recruitment and retention.

The proposed increases in health care payments by service members, which must be approved by Congress, are part of the Pentagon’s $487 billion cut in spending. It seeks to save $1.8 billion from the Tricare medical system in the fiscal 2013 budget, and $12.9 billion by 2017.