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Jewish World Review May 27, 2005 / 18 Iyar, 5765 Base-closings show apolitical decisions being made about what's best for country By Froma Harrop
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Most South Dakotans are shocked that the Pentagon plans to close
Ellsworth Air Force Base. Voters in the last election had dutifully replaced
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle with Republican John Thune.
And look at the thanks they got from the Republican administration: nearly
4,000 federal jobs out the window.
South Dakotans have every reason to feel dismay at the prospect
of losing their second-biggest employer. But they have no right to be
shocked. The base-closing process was created precisely to keep political
favors out of the calculations. And in case people need reminding, the
military's mission is to defend America, not secure full employment in
southwestern South Dakota.
Here's how it works: The Base Realignment and Closure Commission
looks at the big picture and decides which installations to close. The
nonpartisan panel of mostly military people focuses on America's defense
needs, and not the political leanings of this senator or that
representative.
The recent recommendations spread the pain and pleasure rather
evenly. No apparent favoritism was shown states that vote Republican.
Bush-voting Mississippi, for example, loses the Naval Station Pascagoula.
But Maryland, Kerry territory, gains 10,000 jobs — more than any other
state. The process seems pretty clean.
So South Dakota's Thune had no business telling voters last fall
that he was in a better position than Daschle to save Ellsworth. And Senate
Majority Leader Bill Frist misled voters when he swept through the state at
Thune's side, asking, "Who is the president going to listen to more?"
Had Daschle been re-elected, many Republicans would be loudly
blaming him. They'd say he lacked the clout to stop Ellsworth's closing, or
worse, attracted a lightning bolt of presidential displeasure. Actually,
some Thune allies are indeed trying to pin it on Daschle. They say he was in
office while the commission was hatching its nasty plot.
Both sides, of course, play the game. Daschle in years past
claimed to have kept Ellsworth off the hit list.
Every politician comes up with reasons why his or her base
should be kept open. The most interesting ones, though, involve appeals to
history.
It's been noted that the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, in Maine,
has been building ships for 205 years. Also, the Navy's submarine base in
Groton, Conn., is 137 years old. Keeping massive military facilities open
for nostalgia's sake is a wild idea. Aren't museums better for preserving
memories?
The Portsmouth and Groton bases happen to sit on some very
desirable waterfront. The job losses will hurt, but these communities can
pick up and find other things for their workers to do.
Remaking an economy is admittedly a harder task in a very rural
corner of South Dakota. It's beautiful country, but there's not enough of an
industrial base there to easily replace the lost jobs.
Given the economic realities, many pundits have long wondered
why states like South Dakota are becoming more Republican. On the surface,
it doesn't make sense. The Republican platform centers on cutting taxes and
federal spending. (Let's set aside the social issues.)
The full consequences of the tax cuts probably haven't sunk in
yet. Up until now, Washington's willingness to run up deficits, rather than
cut programs, has masked the effects of the tax cuts. (That cannot go on
forever. Barring big tax hikes, federal programs will eventually suffer.)
The local reaction to the Ellsworth closing plans offers another
answer. There's the belief that electing politicians congenial with the
powers in Washington will secure their programs. It's the idea that a
Republican Sen. Thune could go hat-in-hand to the Godfather in the White
House, and get taken care of.
That's not the way base-closing decisions work, and everyone
should have known it. The process for closing military bases is fair and
mostly cleansed of politics. Sad to say, that's what makes people angry.
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© 2005 Creators Syndicate |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
