Vets for Freedom criticizes Smith, Collins

A political advocacy group formerly linked to John McCain’s presidential campaign has released a report criticizing two Senate Republicans facing difficult reelections. 

Vets for Freedom, which has aired television ads criticizing Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), has given Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) a failing grade on supporting the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

{mosads}Smith is locked in a neck-and-neck race with Democrat Jeff Merkley. A Research 2000 poll from the end of September showed Smith down five points. 

Vets for Freedom has also given poor marks to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is in a competitive race against Rep. Tom Allen (D-Maine), though recent polls give Collins a double-digit lead. 

The group gave Smith an “F” and Susan Collins a “C-minus.” Collins is the senior Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. 

The group, which was once linked to McCain’s inner circle, gave a failing grade to every single Senate Democrat, including Obama.

Vets for Freedom began running a 30-second ad last week slamming Obama for his votes on emergency funding for U.S. troops in Iraq and making only two trips to the war zone. 
It gave McCain an “A-minus,” deducting half a percentage point for every missed vote. McCain has missed most Senate business this Congress while on the campaign trail. 

Until May, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), two of McCain’s closest advisers, were members of Vets for Freedom’s policy advisory board. 

Vets for Freedom compiled its scorecard by examining Senate votes on legislation affecting “the missions of Iraq, Afghanistan or [the global war on terror], as well as the men and women who were carrying out that mission in the U.S. Armed Forces during the 110th Congress.”

While both Smith and Collins represent liberal-leaning states that voted for Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) in the 2004 presidential election, the poor grades could still hurt by giving some defense-minded conservatives less motivation to support the GOP candidates. 

Lindsay Gilbride, a spokeswoman for Smith, noted that her boss received an “A” from the group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans for America for his record on veterans’ issues. 

Kevin Kelley, Collins’s campaign spokesman, defended her record and said the low grade reflected her differences with the Bush administration instead of lack of support for U.S. forces.

“Senator Collins has a strong record of support for our troops, has worked hard on the Senate Armed Services Committee to ensure they have the equipment and supplies they need to be as safe as possible,” said Kelley. “In fact, the Military Officers Association has given her a perfect rating and the Veterans of Foreign War has endorsed her re election efforts. This score from this organization is a reflection of the fact that she has differed with the Administration on strategy in Iraq.”

Vets for Freedom based its score on 28 votes, such as that on a defense authorization amendment urging President Bush to begin a phased redeployment of troops from Iraq and declaring the surge in troop levels in Iraq unsustainable.

It included an amendment aiming to restore habeas corpus rights for combatants detained by the United States and an amendment instructing the secretary of Defense to begin reducing forces in Iraq within 90 days. 

Vets for Freedom opposed these amendments. 

The group gave failing grades to two other GOP senators: Sen. Olympia Snowe (Maine) and retiring Sen. Chuck Hagel (Neb.). 

Thirty-six GOP senators, including Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), received A-pluses.