THE PLANK JULY 21, 2009
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With the Obama administration lobbying furiously, a key Senate vote is scheduled for this afternoon. Quoth Larry Korb:
The Senate needs to heed the advice of our civilian and uniformed
leaders in the Defense Department and end production of the F-22. Since
Gates has drawn a red line on this, if the Senate overrules him, it
will be hard for him to be an effective Secretary of Defense during the
rest of his tenure.
Stay tuned.
Update: Down she goes, 58-40. John Kerry, who had been making pro- F-22 noises last week, wound up siding with Gates and Obama. A call from Joe Biden to Daniel Inouye wasn't enough to sway the Hawaiian, though. Full roll call here.
--Michael Crowley
2 comments
And of course, same political rules for health care apply here. The best possible outcome (unless you actually believe there's a hoard of secret fifth-generation fighters out there just waiting to be manned by America's enemies) is to vote against the bill and have it pass. Of course, it *shouldn't* be politically advantageous to oppose cutting Rolls Royce-level military equipment in favor of, say, Mercedes-level alternatives like the F-35, but there you go.
- primwallflow
July 21, 2009 at 2:38pm
I must ask, who is there left that could take on the aircraft we have now? Taliban with RPGs? These defense system seem like insane spending when the military cries they haven't the funds to fight wars they're actually waging right now. Where's the limit?
- tnmats
July 21, 2009 at 3:22pm