Depending on its successes and failures, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is used by both parties as an example that “their” way is right. When things are going well, Democrats point to it as a successful healthcare program run by the government. When things are going poorly, Republicans claim the VA shows Washington bureaucrats mismanaging taxpayer money. Still, unless embroiled in scandal, the VA is generally not one of those government programs that are in the spotlight of US politics.