Mike the Mad Biologist

It’s About Time Somebody Played Hardball with Ben Nelson

Posted by Mike on December 16, 2009
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Recently, I argued that the Democrats need to start really going after the Blue Dogs by cutting funding to their states, including Nebraska’s USSTRATCOM. According to the Weekly Standard (take it for what it’s worth), this is finally happening:

According to a Senate aide, the White House is now threatening to put Nebraska’s Offutt Air Force Base on the BRAC list if Nelson doesn’t fall into line.

Offutt Air Force Base employs some 10,000 military and federal employees in Southeastern Nebraska. As our source put it, this is a “naked effort by Rahm Emanuel and the White House to extort Nelson’s vote.”

Of course, it being the Weekly Standard, assholery is never far behind:

Its closure would be a massive blow to the economy of the state of Nebraska, but it would also be another example of this administration playing politics with our national security.

Because playing politics with sick people is ethical. Or something.

And if Rahm Emanuel is such a fucking genius, he would have done this months ago.

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Comments

  1. #1 andythebrit
    December 16, 2009

    Playing politics with national security? Wouldn’t catch the GOP doing that. Nossir no way.

  2. #2 DaleP
    December 16, 2009

    As Media Matters points out, there are reasons to think this story is false

    http://mediamatters.org/blog/200912160014

    “Goldfarb’s far-fetched BRAC claim”

    it is likely from a Republican and BRAC is a very difficult and risky way to put pressure on someone, when ohter ways are available. It’s possible, but it goes into my unproven file till there is more info, considering how unreliable Politico is on such reports.

  3. #3 katydid13
    December 16, 2009

    I’m all for playing hardball on this issue, but BRAC isn’t the tool to do it with. I say this because otherwise we will never ever close a single military case anywhere ever. BRAC was created to avoid this kind of stuff so that Members of Congress (almost of all of whom think we need to close bases, just not their bases)could say it was an apolitical process.

    However, there is lots of other federal money to play ball with.

    As for the strategic reasons for being in Nebreska, this is a big country. There is lots of middle.

  4. #4 Ace
    December 16, 2009

    Why yea just strong arm people into doing things they do not believe in. You morons believed George Bush was sooo wrong you will let the Obama admin rob you in the dark. Everything left is right because everything right is wrong. Makes sense to me, take it up the rear from Obama because Bush was giving it to you up the rear. You are all stupid lemmings bringing this country to total corruption from all sides. You are going to cause this country to go into a civil war with your partisanship. You better cut ties with the Change WE Can Believe In lie because there is no change. As well as cut ties with the republicans. The Constitution is 17 pages long the Healthcare bill is 2000, anyone else see a problem with that. No of course not you probably see the Constitution has a hindrance, something that is in the way of progress. You assholes better strap on your Independent hats and stick to the purity of the Constitution or we are all in for a world of hurt that will turn to a terrible violence in the years to come.

  5. #5 pzisdumb
    December 17, 2009

    you really need to keep comment moderation on your blasphemy…

    http://atheiskeptihumanist.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=90

    GOATS ON FIRE!

  6. #6 JohnV
    December 17, 2009

    The instruction manual for epicentre’s mRNA only kit is 4 pages long, the constitution is 17 pages long, my PhD dissertation is 250 pages long, the phone book for DC metro area is 1000 pages long, the healthcare bill is 2000 pages long.

  7. #7 Ace
    December 17, 2009

    A list of things that are out of context to the health care bill. Tell me how many tissues are in a Kleenex box or how many toes does my best friend have on his left foot. Wanted to throw that PhD thing out there, you sure did. By the way Doctor what did you do your dissertation on and what is your PhD in? Let me guess you are going to say Political Science right?

  8. #8 JohnV
    December 18, 2009

    I have a PhD in microbiology. My dissertation is entitled “THE ROLE OF CCPA IN REGULATING THE CARBON-STARVIATION RESPONSE OF CLOSTRIDIUM PERFRINGENS”.

    I used my dissertation as an example as I don’t know the page count of any others off the top of my head. I suppose a more humorous item would have been the unibomber’s manifesto. Call that a learning experience.

    The items I listed are no more out of context than comparing the constitution to the health care bill. All are documents dealing with issues of varying complexity that is not correlated to length.