The Erratic Joe Wilson's Shameful Record on Troops and Veterans

Joe Wilson's Dirty Health-Care Secret

All in the Family: Rep. Joe Wilson (left) and his son, Alan Wilson, who is running for attorney general in South Carolina. Both men, and three of Rep. Wilson’s other sons, get free military medical coverage.

The only thing more "out there" than Joe Wilson's disrespectful display during the president's speech to Congress on health care is Representative Wilson's all over the place take on two of the largest government-run health systems there are -- the ones that benefit our troops and veterans.
Wilson has railed against health care reform, warning that offering more choice to people amounts to a government takeover of health insurance. To him, it's an evil that has to be defeated.
Yet, at the same time, Wilson hasn't said whether he's opted into TRICARE for Life. The completely government-run health insurance system for certain military retirees is available to Wilson, as he's a 31-year Guard and Reserve veteran (though he joined after getting out of Vietnam). If he's not, of course, then he's taking insurance from the government-run pool offered to Congressmen. Then, there's all of our active duty service members who are on TRICARE -- stuck in an evil government system that must have turned them into Communists by now.
Wilson has saved them and gotten them out of TRICARE, right?
Right?
"TRICARE provides world class health care," said Wilson in a press release. "I believe TRICARE is one part of our health care system that's working."
What?! Joe Wilson is all for this horrible fascist system of government care?
Well, maybe not. Despite being against government health care, and then paying lip service about the awesomeness of government-run TRICARE, Wilson's voted to underfund it. LinkHere