Campaigning for Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina at a rally with San Diego area veterans at the Veterans Memorial and Museum in Balboa Park, Senator John McCain Arizonan called Barbara Boxer the “most bitterly partisan, most anti-defense senator in the United States Senate today.” McCain bases his assessment of Boxer on his “unpleasant experience of having served with her.”

“When you hear her say that she supports the men and women in the military, my friends, she does not…because she has never supported the mission; she has never supported victory whether it be in Iraq, or Afghanistan, or anywhere else in the world. Barbara Boxer wants to wave the white flag of surrender and endanger this nation’s national security. It’s time she went back to San Francisco with [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi.”

Watch the video:

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I have had my quibbles with Senator McCain, but I have none on this issue.

In addition to upbraiding a general during a committee hearing last year, Barbara Boxer has voted against funding for such things as body armor, mine-resistant vehicles and communications equipment for troops in times of war. She has also voted against veterans funding for medical facilities, additional funds to treat veterans of the global war on terror and support for the Veterans Administration health care system. Since beginning her service in the Senate, Boxer has voted at least seven times against higher pay for the military, and she was one of only 25 senators who voted against condemning a defamatory ad MoveOn.org ran against General David Petraeus.

Senator McCain also gave Fiorina a strong endorsement:

“As both a veteran and as a senator, I have seen Barbara Boxer put politics ahead of our men and women who have served in uniform.Carly Fiorina, on the other hand, has been outspoken in her support of our military, and I know she will be a vocal advocate for our troops as a member of the U.S. Senate.

Carly will work tirelessly for our veterans and our armed forces, and I know she is the person I want fighting with me in Washington to help support those who have fought for our country.”