In every political campaign there comes a time when the ground game, or the ability to get more of your supporters out pressing your message, plays a decisive role.
In the Air Force tanker contract dispute, now is the time for both the KC-30 team/EADS and Boeing to finalize their ground games. With the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to rule on Boeing's protest by June 19th and the World Trade Organization (WTO) possibly also ruling this month on the US complaint of Airbus subsidies; each side must build their coalition now in order to take advantage of a favorable ruling or withstand a possible setback.
The KC-30 team has a much stronger political right now and has mainly stuck to holding employee rallies, astroturfing in the form of taxpayer groups, and coordinated letters written by military officers who are current/former employees. They also have a fairly decent "war room" that sends out e-mail updates to supporters.
For Boeing though, because it faces a much harder task of possibly getting the decision reversed in Congress if the GAO does not rule favorable, it must build support on the ground in key states and congressional districts beyond tanker employment areas. This article yesterday caught our eye as it shows the efforts being taken in West Virginia who's Senior Senator, Robert Byrd, is President pro tempore of the Senate and Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Since the move to reduce or overturn the tanker contract will probably come from the appropriations bills, having a West Virginia ground game will extremely important for Boeing.
In the Air Force tanker contract dispute, now is the time for both the KC-30 team/EADS and Boeing to finalize their ground games. With the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to rule on Boeing's protest by June 19th and the World Trade Organization (WTO) possibly also ruling this month on the US complaint of Airbus subsidies; each side must build their coalition now in order to take advantage of a favorable ruling or withstand a possible setback.
The KC-30 team has a much stronger political right now and has mainly stuck to holding employee rallies, astroturfing in the form of taxpayer groups, and coordinated letters written by military officers who are current/former employees. They also have a fairly decent "war room" that sends out e-mail updates to supporters.
For Boeing though, because it faces a much harder task of possibly getting the decision reversed in Congress if the GAO does not rule favorable, it must build support on the ground in key states and congressional districts beyond tanker employment areas. This article yesterday caught our eye as it shows the efforts being taken in West Virginia who's Senior Senator, Robert Byrd, is President pro tempore of the Senate and Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Since the move to reduce or overturn the tanker contract will probably come from the appropriations bills, having a West Virginia ground game will extremely important for Boeing.
The article points to a number of veterans who have written in protest to the Air Force or their elected officials including:
West Virginia’s best-known veteran, Hershel “Woody”Williams, sent the Air Force a letter of protest.
“As a Marine who served in Iwo Jima during World War II, it boils my blood every time I see an American flag labeled ‘Made in China,’” the Medal of Honor winner from Ona wrote.
“So I am even more dismayed that the Pentagon has chosen a foreign country to make military planes over a good American company. I hope this decision is reversed and that the Defense Department will put American interests first in equipping our armed forces in the future.”
The Air Force selection of an Airbus based tanker has stirred up some strong feelings in West Virgina and the rest of America. How those feelings are turned into constructive action and political power will play a key role in how the tanker decision plays out in the aftermath of the GAO and WTO rulings.
Stumble It!
12 comments:
The article that "caught your eye" is just another piece of slanted journalism, once again ignoring that a) Northrop-Grumman won the contract, not "French Airbus" or any other title with the word "French" in it, and b) that Boeing products are chock full of foreign parts, as well. I have to give Boeing credit; their "Big Lie" strategy is working well; who knew generals were so gullible? Maybe they need to move the American flag that they are waving out of their line of sight so they can see the truth.
American taxpayers should be riled up. France and germany have done nothing but sit on the sidelines and lob rotten tomatoes at the US and its military over the war in Iraq. Now they want us to give them our tax dollars to build some of our most expensive military hardware under the guise of a joint venture with Northrop Grumman. Almost all of those tax dollars (and associated high-tech jobs), going to Airbus, a mostly French/German creation, which using tens of billions of dollars of these governments' direct subsidies has managed to gain a dominant position in aircraft manufacturing. The direct casualties of these actions have been the aircraft manufacturing divisions of two great American companies, Lockheed and McDonnell Douglas. If you're at all concerned about the future state of the US economy and self-defense capability you should be heapingscorn on all of the (well-paid) turncoat government bureaucrats who concocted and rationalized this absurdity.
Anonymous, I suspect that most of the decision makers that played a deciding role in this tanker farce will be gone by January 2009. In the meantime, we will likely have to deal with this issue in the forthcoming political campaigns--unless the GAO spares us the agony and rules for Boeing. I am not optimistic that the GAO will sustain Boeing's protest.
If McCain wins, I see this thing going to the French. If Obama prevails, then I suspect the Dems will have the votes to give it to Boeing, probably as a Congress directed sole source.
Iraq, Iraq, Iraq,
Libya, Libya, Libya,...
I never read about Afghanistan, the Falklands, Somalia, ...
"France and germany have done nothing but sit on the sidelines and lob rotten tomatoes at the US and its military over the war in Iraq."
Is there any legal cause why they should have invade Iraq, too?
Friends? A good friend must accept and hear what you say to him even if he dislike it.
Should Germany refrain from buying Global Hawks?
They buy, we buy - no not this time - national security. For security you can sacrifice everything even a constitution.
I agree, And on the other foot it looks like Lockeed is joining ranks with Northrop I wonder how much it took them to be bought off and we all know eads is good for that. There are alot of people out there i can see that do not give a crap about the taxpayer only there wallets. one thing i would like to know if they were to build the tanker here why is it that the # 3 tanker has allready come off the assy line at airbus? according to them. I bet boeing will lose this protest. all the others call protectionism. when people start loosing there jobs here and we become third world yahoo has an article saying just that. i just hope and pray there job is also one that goes away!!!!!!
3 major airplane programs back to back how is this possible without major subsidies?
northrop won the contract ha ha Denial of the real truth. if northrop was the one really building the plane from parts and some pieces from outsourcing but the biggest percentage was from home base i do not think there would be this big stink but it is NOT PERIOD. i wonder how much airbus has boeing build for them? I know for a fact eads builds things for boeing. Outsourcing is also good in many ways They just went to far with this PERIOD.
Lockheed bought off not hardly! Northrop lost the NASA CEV contract to Lockheed and Boeing was Northrop's sub contractor. Northrop builds the fuselage for Boeings F18 and Lockheeds F35. The DoD picks the best products and the defense industry works together to to get the job done. Boeing lost and GAO will let us all know in a few weeks. It's all competition!
I totally agree that the defence picks the best Products, and we do have the best in the nation all built by AMERICAN WORKERS and if this tanker that was awarded to northrop was done the same way as what others are there would be no crying or whinning as some would say but we all know the truth about eads (AIRBUS) and there practices. The Captains journal has a few facts that cannot be denied unless someone want"s to put there own spin to it. we have outsourced enough of our industrial base period. This plane will NEVER EVER be an American Icon Like your F-35 F-22 and so on. Northrop was Just Eads salesman And shurely no Money ever ever exchanged hands here. wow if i believe what i just wrote about money and exchanges i must pull my head out of my $%#$
Spoken like a True American Aerospace Worker!!!!!
TWB, One can only wonder that if N.G. came in with the Lowest bid on an airframe that is produced in france never assembled here in the U.S. but a plant will be built here to bulid them, how did they come up with cost analysis to back this up along with figures to sustain employment unless the Airbus airframe is heavily subsidised or the new plant they will build in Alabama will be subsidised like they all say Boeing is getting from Washington State. This airframe is so much bigger, no plant here yet to build it, Need to train a new work force to build a whole airframe as they say they will build the whole thing here How is this all Possible?? Is there Goverment going to fund part of this? so they can make a bigger footprint in the U.S Soil? or Just cost overruns and so on to make it Justifiable? As a Taxpayer and Aerospace Worker one only wonders how Bigger is Cheaper, without a plant here to build it,and the biggest, an all new workforce to put it all togeather, Do not get me wrong The People of Alabama can do this, But lets be real, it takes years to train a workforce to assemble an airframe that no AMERICAN has ever Built especially an airframe that we have never Built before In a state that Has no Factory yet!! We all want a good job. I Kinda think we all sell ourselfs off for a piece of the Action How Sad !!!!!!
You all should visit the Northrop Grumman Website for facts and truth. You might have a different perspective once you review it.
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