Lawmakers Grandstand Over Boeing Snub

J.J. Jackson* | March 7, 2008

Filed Under General Goofiness, General Politics

Why is it that whenever the government does anything there is a line of people looking to grandstand whatever they have done? Lots of times the complaints are valid, but many other times they are just ridiculously political. Boeing didn’t get a contract for tanker aircraft for in flight refueling. Instead the contract went to Airbus. Which of course has brought out the typical protectionist rhetoric:

US lawmakers have reacted angrily after the US military awarded a 35-billion-dollar aircraft deal to Europe’s Northrop Grumman/EADS group, in a major blow to US manufacturers Boeing.”It’s stunning to me that we would outsource the production of these airplanes to Europe instead of building them in America,” said Republican Senator Sam Brownback about the Pentagon’s decision.

“I’ll be calling upon the Secretary of Defense for a full debriefing and expect there will be a protest of the award by Boeing.”

…

“Once we have reviewed the details behind the award, we will make a decision concerning our possible options,” said Boeing spokesman William Barksdale, hinting at a possible protest.

While European political and industry leaders have hailed the decision, many Republicans have been left seething.

“We should have an American tanker built by an American company with American workers,” said Republican Representative Todd Tiahrt.

Yeah, after all we have to pay those pensions and bloated union salaries! Heck, if Boeing builds planes like, oh American auto manufactures do, you can count on technical problems within a few hours of service and an inflated price to pay all sorts of perks.

Ok, maybe there was something nefarious here. Maybe Boeing was wrongly snubbed. But like Boeing said, they haven’t even reviewed the reasons why they lost yet so they don’t even know if the award was valid or not.

But these retards in Washington don’t wait to find out. They rush to the microphones and cry foul just like their liberal counterparts do. Photo-ops don’t come around every day ya know!

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3 Responses to “Lawmakers Grandstand Over Boeing Snub”

GM Cassel AMH1(AW) USN RET on March 8th, 2008 10:03 am

I will try and keep the politics out.
Boeing builds very good tankers. The KC-135 has been in service for almost as long as I have been around. The McDonnell-Douglas(Boeing) KC-10 is a good solid tanker/transport.
I served 20 years in Naval Aviation Maintenance on the T-2,A-6 and A-7 aircraft plus I was a hydraulic component repair specialist/test stand operator. So I will try and look at this from the maintainers point f view.
The Airbus Industrie product does have faults. The most critical among them is materials used. Airbus does not use clad aluminum in manufacture where a metal structure/sking is required. Cladding is vital in corrosion control. Paint and Primer are just part of the process. Cladding is the last line of defense against corrosion. After accumulating hours and cycles(1 take off and 1 landing), there will be a noticable impact due to excessive maintenance for corrosion control. In Navy Squadrons, we have corrosion control work centers and all hands are trained in corrosion prevention. It’s figured into the operational world we lived in. Does the Air Force have this in the planning?
Just so you know, I do not fly aboard commercial airbuses for this reason.
I live in Wichita, Kansas and I don’t work for Boeing or Spirit Aerosystems. I have nothing to gain.
Yes there is service rivalry in this. I can’t help it.
After watching Assistant Secretary Peyton doing the announcement on the Pentagon Channel, I notified both of my Senators that the only outcome for her that I would accept is being relieved of her post. No MSM for me on this.
As for the Air Force kids that will have to maintain this airframe, My deepest sympathies.
Collene Hamilton on March 8th, 2008 4:16 pm

I think when even Boeing said that they haven’t reviewed the reasons yet that it shows certain politicians are just rushing to the mic.

It’s not like Boeing planes are flawless either I’m sure.
RonniesRayGun (moderator) on March 11th, 2008 6:55 pm

Let’s remember that Boeing got itself in trouble over military contracts the last time around on this deal because they were going to lease the government planes for more than they would have been worth to buy. Also, several people went to jail over this.

So any belly-aching and moaning on Boeing’s behalf will likely fall on deaf ears to those that are informed. The deal also means several new plants and 1,000s of job in the United States and anyone trying to make this a political issue is going to get bit in the ass.