Nice Base Ya Got There
Be a shame if anything happened to it.
Patrick already weighed in on the story of how the White House is using the threat of closing a military base to twist the arm of Senator Ben Nelson on the health care bill, but there are a few more layers to this onion which need to be peeled away. First of all, bare knuckle, hard ball politics is nothing new in Congress, and both parties resort to these tactics from time to time. Newt Gingrich was famous for it back in the day and was the poster child for the old maxim of how it’s better to be feared than respected when in a congressional leadership position. To a certain extent I can agree that there is a national security issue here, a case which was made both forcefully and persuasively by Ed Morrissey yesterday. But this is also a bit of an oversimplification. As commenter Wargamer pointed out in the previous thread, “bases can be moved.” Our military can set up the Strategic Command anywhere in the midwest they like. It would just take time and money.
The real problem with this particular weapon as it is being employed by Rahm Emanuel is the critical national and international importance of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. This is a painful issue across the board which makes almost nobody happy, but it’s one which must be pursued. If we are to be truly serious about fiscal responsibility and cost cutting in the federal government, all slices of the pie must be on the table and, unfortunately, that includes our military budget. The good news is that modern technology has brought us the ability to deploy forces around the globe far more rapidly and efficiently than we could in the early parts of the 20th century. This same technology also allows us to conduct military exercises with less people and equipment than we could in the past. We can, and in fact must, shrink the military footprint around the globe, as well as at home, and operate a leaner, more efficient military.
But every step brings pain with it. Each base, at home and abroad, supports and employs a vast network of people, both military and civilian. When we close one, everyone howls because of the lost jobs and jarring impact on the local economy. When Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, New York got hit with the realignment orders in 1995, and then again in 2005, it was devastating to the local economy. General Electric had already shut down two of the three plants they formally operated in the area and the loss of Griffiss effectively turned the once booming region into a ghost town which is still rotting away with high unemployment and abandoned commercial properties to this day. Similarly, the threat of closing bases in other countries usually brings about an international diplomatic crisis.
So while it is a necessary evil, base closures are a deadly serious issue with far reaching implications not only to security, but the economy. It’s one thing to threaten a troublesome member of your caucus with a loss of cherished pork items or committee seats, but messing around with the BRAC process to force an unrelated domestic agenda item is really beyond the pale. The particular case of Ben Nelson also points out the inherent hypocrisy in this process. Have you ever noticed how, when somebody from the other party bucks their own leadership and “goes rogue” they are praised for their independent thinking and courage? But when it’s somebody in your own party, they are an obstructionist who needs to be punished? Welcome to Washington, D.C. I’ve seen smaller freak shows at Ringling Brothers.
8 Responses to “Nice Base Ya Got There”
From what I've heard BRAC is one of the few functional and wise places left in the government. If it were used as a political tool….
What happened to the old fashioned bribe technique. Added ornaments to a bill, added subsidies to the state's Medicaid fund, “stimulus” funds, etc. Much harder to trace.
LOL As I noted in another post, the base closing story only exists in Malkin's fantasies. These local stories from Omaha tell a different story than the ODS of Malkin, PowerLine and WeaklyStandurd.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20091216/NEWS01/71…
http://www.omaha.com/article/20091215/NEWS/7121…
Malkin isn't known for making factual claims.
Jazz,
It would appear an update to this post (and Patrick's) is due.
Why don't we let Malkin handle the spread distortion duties. And how many times will you let her burn you anyway?
jazz
I know your point in this story was the possible strong arm tactics employed in our fine capital, but base closings certainly should be looked at closely.
The marine base in okinawa hits the news about every couple months when marines are arrested for rape or local residents protest US incursion into their lives. Seems to me a great deal of money could be saved with the reduction or closure of foreign bases throughout the world. With S Korea only a couple hundred miles away, do we really need to feed the local economies of countries actually doing better than we are?
How many foreign bases do we need to feel safe in Asia? or Europe for that matter.
They can't get anything done. Nobody in congress can agree on anything. It's an inept form of government. Far to many side interests influence decision making, even political philosophy. To many irons in the fire, cooks in the kitchen and fingers in the pot.
I mean really, why should local economics have anything more than 2% influence on whether a military base should remain open or closed? Especially within a foreign country. Military bases are defense decisions not economy decisions and the military's recommendations should overwhelmingly outweigh “economy” business crybabies ten thousand times over. When it comes to “business” around bases, when you move or close a base you just replace one “business” for another anyway.
I'm sick of hearing these crybaby business jerks influencing government. They are NEVER satisfied.
Nine hours later….
Perhaps spreading disinformation isn't just for the cheerleader.
Good to know Jazz. Script Monkey will save me time in the future.