Will the Base Closings be the Final Straw for Bushco?

[bamademo]

They have just handed the Dems a big juicy issue on a platter. I hope they take advantage of it.

I can't believe they are so stupid they would close all those bases when things are going so badly for the administration. Are they that arrogant or desperate?

[firefox]

1. Did you ever think it is the right thing to do?

We do not need as many bases here when we have them all over the world. The devil is always in the details, but on the whole I have to think that some bases must close to limit the huge expenditures we have on defense/offense.

[wicket]

10. look at how they savaged Clinton over base closures in the 90's

Base closures, I might add, that were approved in the late 1980's, long before Clinton took office. Playing nice with these people gets us no where.

[atreides1]

2. No it won't

Why you may ask, because Bush could kill a child with a chain saw and his followers would still support him.

When is it going to dawn on people, that the Repukes have the power, and they love it. That's all that matters to them, they control the White House, the U.S. Congress, and are now working on getting control of the Federal Courts.

And the brain dead, kool-aid drinkers, bask in the light of their God.

[obreaslan]

3. Yes...

How Many of those bases could remain open for the jobs they creat if they stopped giving tax cuts to the rich?????

[mopinko]

7. the military is the wrong way to create jobs

they are highly inefficient at it, and they are parasitic jobs. you want to create wealth, build schools, daycare and hospitals.

[Shipwack]

11. bases do provide jobs...

"the military is the wrong way to create jobs they are highly inefficient at it, and they are parasitic jobs. you want to create wealth, build schools, daycare and hospitals."

Well, actually, when a base goes into an area, that's exactly what they do. Case in point is Southeast Georgia, where they expanded the Kings Bay base 15 years ago or so. They also created the highest paying jobs in the area (even the custodial work was paying more than some paper mill managers), forcing the local mills to improve wages.

When Groton shuts down, all those people will leave. Day care usage will go down, tax base shrivels, school enrollment (and government funds for teaching military kids)drops.

When Orlando NTC shut down, it was a major blow to the retired veteran community, as well as the merchants. The retirees lost a medical facility, as well as some stores. Some developer made out like a bandit though, since he bought the prime real estate at a bargain price and is now building townhouses and such there.

[ltgengr2005]

14. Military jobs work for the economy

We need a military so why not let it help the economy. Alot of families and communities rely on the money spent in the military.

[kentuck]

4. final straw??

Where is the first straw????

[Mistress Quickly]

5. No, some of the bases

needed to be closed, they were a waste of money, and shouldn't be kept open just to supply jobs.

And BRAC happens every few years, regardless of who the President is.

AND if it was out of the blue, apparently nothing seems to put a dent in the bushie armor. Can someone tell me why?

[mopinko]

6. i'm all for less pentagon spending

i don't want to be out there arguing against cutting the war machine.
i'm sure there is nothing about this that will increase the efficiency of the military, tho. i hope at the ground level this is pissing off the grunts. i think our only hope to get our country back ever is if the pentagon implodes like the rotten corpse that it is.

[Chef]

8. Base Closings

I doubt there will be much negative backlash. It will take as much as six years to implement some of these and the few that get reversed will make heroes out of the local congressman. Don't make too much out of this. It will be a problem as jobs are shifted from one locale to another but not nearly a great as the impact of CAFTA will have on workers in the US.

[SF Bay Area Dem]

9. Are you kidding me? Some of you need to wake up!

Some of the comments on here are based on reason. However, dealing with the corrupt conservatives reason means nothing. If this was a Dem president and during a campaign you can bet your ass Rove would run commercials saying the dems are "cutting" the military during a time of war and all of the other sorted bullshit the last campaign was famous for.

I called into Bernie Wards radio show last year and said that Kerry should have went into every red state he could, name every military base within a hundred miles, the jobs they create, the security for the homeland they guard and why in the world would his "opponent" even think about cutting the bases and the military in a time of war? Kerry would have to vow to not accept any final list that came across his desk but a case could be made that the bases could be kept open with additional homeland security missions... It could have been a very lethal campaign issue against all Republicans but as usual the dems chickened out and we allowed ourselves to have our asses handed to us by the swifties...

I am sorry if I sound harsh but to beat these republicans we need to throw their own tactics right back at them BEFORE suffering an election loss. All of us seem to be able to bitch real well afterwards... how about being pro-active?

[obreaslan]

12. I just heard an interesting theory on this....

Some of the states with the largest numbers of closings are in states with a "Moderate" Repug senator. Some are floating the theory that these bases are being used a blackmail to get these Moderates to vote for the Nuclear Option next week. Look at the numbers of closings in states like Ohio, Maine, Arizona, Pennsylvania, etc. Then think Specter, Collins, Snowe, Voinavich(sp?), etc.

Once you start to think like a evil bastard, you can see what they are up to.

Maybe it's tin-foil hat time for me, but I don't necessarily think this is out of their scope of thinking. :tinfoilhat:

[Nimble_Idea]

13. why wouldn't they just make a deal?

Dems tell the moderate pukes that they should be against the option, and dems gurantee that they will stop any base closings with the same members standing together. Both sides win against the antichrist.

[old_democrat]

15. If the Dems did it, the Repukes would crucify us over it.

But I am afraid that they can get away with it.

[leftofthedial]

16. you could hand the demos a big juicy steak on a platter

but, toothless, they could never eat it.