the nation<u+2019>s largest veterans group hit back at president obama on thursday and urged him not to <u+201c>denigrate<u+201d> their intelligence after the president suggested their members were easily swayed by cable news and <u+201c>right-wing radio.<u+201d>









the veterans of foreign wars called out the president after obama referenced the political opinions at <u+201c>vfw halls<u+201d> in an indiana speech wednesday that toggled between campaign politics and the economy.









<u+201c>i don<u+2019>t know how many vfw posts the president has ever visited, but our near 1.7 million members are a direct reflection of america,<u+201d> vfw national commander john a. biedrzycki jr. said in a statement. <u+201c>we don<u+2019>t have confused politics, we don<u+2019>t need left or rightwing media filters telling us how to think or vote, and we don<u+2019>t need any president of the united states lecturing us about how we are individually [affected] by the economy.<u+201d>









obama, speaking in elkhart, ind., had lamented the <u+201c>primary story<u+201d> he claimed republicans are telling about the economy <u+2013> one that focuses on how <u+201c>moochers at the bottom of the income ladder<u+201d> are squeezing middle-class families.









<u+201c>we have been hearing this story for decades,<u+201d> obama said. <u+201c>tales about welfare queens, talking about takers, talking about the <u+2018>47percent.<u+2019> it's the story that is broadcast every day on some cable news stations, on right-wing radio, it's pumped into cars, and bars, and vfw halls all across america, and right here in elkhart.<u+201d>









obama continued: <u+201c>and if you're hearing that story all the time, you start believing it. it's no wonder people think big government is the problem.<u+201d>









biedrzycki suggested veterans are not so easily swayed.









<u+201c>our nation was created and continues to exist solely because of the men and women who wear the uniform,<u+201d> he said. <u+201c>let<u+2019>s not denigrate their service, their sacrifice or their intelligence.<u+201d>









obama is no stranger to the vfw, having addressed the group<u+2019>s national convention several times dating back to his first presidential campaign.









he last spoke to the vfw convention last july in pittsburgh, calling the occasion a <u+201c>great honor.<u+201d> he used the speech to address ongoing efforts to help america<u+2019>s veterans, especially in the area of health care, in the wake of the veterans affairs wait-times scandal.









<u+201c>as president, i consider it my obligation to help make sure that, even though less than 1 percent of americans wear the uniform, that 100 percent of americans honor your sacrifices and your service,<u+201d> he said.
vfw fires back at obama: politics not 'confused'
noauthor