'Nauseating': Rick Wilson shreds GOP senators over veteran care — says they have 'taken a shot at our troops'

On Friday's edition of MSNBC's "The ReidOut," former Republican strategist Rick Wilson tore into his longtime party for blocking a bipartisan bill to secure health care and survivor benefits for veterans poisoned by exposure to burn pits on U.S. military installations — which Democrats have claimed is retaliation for the work they are doing on an unrelated reconciliation bill on climate and health care.

"You know, Rick, there is little that is more repugnant than sending a young man off to war and then refusing to help him or help her when they come home sick because they went to war," said anchor Joy Reid. "I can't imagine anything sicker than that."

"It was nauseating," said Wilson. "These people, they — you know, my old party loved to say, oh, we back the blue, we support our troops. You know, we saw how much they backed the blue on 1/6. We saw how much they support the troops in this heinous vote. This is repulsive at every level. Their excuses for it ring completely hollow. They have no reason to do this. They have taken a shot at our troops as effectively as an armed enemy. They want these young men and young women who were exposed to chemicals in the war zones of many, many different engagements overseas — they just don't give a damn."

"I find myself angry and disappointed and disgusted in equal measures, but there is nothing that these families can do except stand up this November and eliminate this Republican majority, send Mitch McConnell packing and bring this bill back, because these folks deserve this, and a few months ago the Senate voted for it and now they decided to politicize it and use it as a ping-pong ball, and especially Susan Collins, who is ever-so-upset about it. She voted against it because of another bill that made her angry. These people should never claim the patriotic imprimatur of supporting these people."

Wilson then turned specifically to the Republican senators who were high-fiving and celebrating after the bill was blocked, including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Josh Hawley (R-MO).

"I'm totally unsurprised to see Ted Cruz and Josh "Sprinter" Hawley in that crowd," said Wilson. "These people are — and, again, what do they have to celebrate? Do they have to celebrate some 30-year-old former, you know, soldier, some former enlisted man or woman dying of exotic lung cancers or exotic respiratory diseases? Is that what they are celebrating? Are they celebrating the fact that they owned the libs in some way? Are they celebrating the fact that they will show Joe Manchin a thing or two about how power works? There's something broken and sick and wrong with these people. And, again, Joy, the only solution for this is to raise the political cost of doing this kind of cruel and horrible thing and vote these sons of a bitches out."

Watch below or at this link.

Rick Wilson on Republican senators blocking health care for poisoned vetswww.youtube.com