We don’t know much about the F-22 fighter plane except it looks pretty bad ass and could probably blow some raghead terrorist scum off the face of the earth – assuming anybody ever let it, that is.
That’s why we were pretty impressed that U.S. President Barack Obama used the first “veto threat” of his administration to make sure that the planes stayed in production. Except of course that’s the opposite of what actually happened.
What actually happened is that Obama used the first veto threat of his administration to make sure that the U.S. Senate agreed to STOP producing the planes, which it did by a 58-40 vote.
That strips $1.6 billion from America’s $680 billion defense budget – which in case you haven’t heard is the smallest defense budget since before the September 11 terrorist attacks.
You’ll recall, of course, that national defense (unlike picking winners and losers in the marketplace with taxpayer dollars) is actually something that government should do. It may even be in the Constitution somewhere.
Critics of the F-22, including former GOP presidential nominee John McCain, praised Obama for standing firm and declared the cancellation of the planes a “victory for the taxpayer.”
Uh-huh.
In the meantime, just ignore the $14 trillion we’re pouring down the drain on bank and bureaucratic bailouts that aren’t doing a damn thing to stimulating the economy.
America: broke and defenseless.
Now that’s a way to go out …
By liz July 22, 2009 at 7:57 am
which company got hurt with the loss of biz?
how many jobs got cut?
By HammerheadSC July 22, 2009 at 8:22 am
The F22 is an excellent engineering design. It was designed to basically replace many of our existing fighters from all branches. From the Marines Harrier’s that can lift vertically, well the F22 can do that and still be supersonic and stealth. F18 and F15 Navy fighter/bombers that take off and land on short runways, and the f16 as a superior fighter. The F22 can do it all. Yes it is expensive but so is liberty, freedom, and our sense of being protected. The chinese are going to surpass our technology and weaponry soon. Im sure that we could have atleast trimmed from somewhere else to cover this or atleast only cut the 1.6 in half. Boeing is going to collapse if we keep cutting defense spending.
By Rick July 22, 2009 at 8:33 am
Try Boeing and Lockheed and an estimated 24,000 jobs across the nation since most states have at least one manufacturer turning components out for the plane. Yep, we’re just busy as hell creating those well paying jobs so we can pay down the deficit by the end of Obama’s first term.
By confused July 22, 2009 at 9:05 am
24K jobs is nothing compared to private health insurance jobs that go poof if obamacare passes. hell, there’d be almost that many in south carolina alone.
i’m as big an airplane dork as there is on the planet–have loved the things since childhood–but the mission this plane was designed for doesn’t really exist anymore. you can get air superiority over iran or north korea with a f’ing kite. if we can accomplish the same role with unmanned drones (that are cheaper and significantly less likely to result in pilots getting shot down/killed/captured), i’m cool with that.
By CNSYD July 22, 2009 at 10:25 am
Strip away who wins and who loses in the aircraft production arena, how does the F 22 compare with the F 35? Which better fits potential missions? I don’t know. Maybe some of you guys can explain. IRT China, as long as we keep our 14 SLBM submarines in service we need not be scared of saber rattling by anyone. Each Trident sub has 24 missiles and each missile is MIRVed (multiple independent re-entry vehicles) with 8 warheads each a yield of 100kt. You do the math. So the Chinese (and even the Russians) are not dumb enough to provoke a direct confrontation. They will try to chip away using surrogates as they do now.
By lee July 22, 2009 at 10:40 am
At least the Hamas-backed Gaza “government” is gettin’ 600 million dollars from Obama, paid for on the backs of our children and grandchildren!
By dirtbogger July 22, 2009 at 10:50 am
If we were not meteling in every ones buisness around the world we would not be dealing with terrorist. Over 100,000 Iraqies have died since the start of the war, almost every one there has lost a relitive, and we have lost more solders avenging 9-11 than people killed in the attacks. It is time to bring them home, end the war and end the empire. Some how the governments around the world have convinced their people to let them stay in power, so are we really always the good guys when we invade or stage cues or bomb other countries. Meanwhile the attacks to freedom are not comeing from some forgian land but right here in our on government. Every single politician who has done anything to curb the freedom granted by our founding documents should be tried for treason! We gave up our freedom after 9-11 in the name of security and revenge. But here are som Facts Rumsfeld, and Cheney were part of a think tank in the 90′s called PNAC that spoke of invadeing Iraq, Afgainastain, and Iran, but they stated it would take a Pearl Harbor type event to get public suport. On
9-11 we got that event! How does 2 planes hit 3 buildings and they fall at the rate of gravity straight down through the path of greatist resistance? Controlled demolition. More facts around 9-11 Bush was inocently reading to children on 9-11, the only time while president BTW, also odd the impact of the most heavaly armed building in the USA happened in a section being renovated, and where is the wing marks, where is all the vidieo footage, sertenly they have servalence cameras every where recording. Bottem line is the war on terror is a lie!
By madcock July 22, 2009 at 10:59 am
The F-22 hasn’t logged a minute of air time in Iraq or Afghanistan. It takes an incredible 30 hours of maintenance for every ONE hour of flight. Dozens of pilots have been injured because of its faulty design.
Sec. Gates, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and the Sec. of the Air Force have all been trying to get rid of it but lacked a President with the cajones to stand up the military-industrial complex.
Kudos to SC’s two senators, Graham and DeMint for voting with the President, the taxpayers and the pilots and against welfare for big business.
You are a typical Republican, hate welfare for poor people, care nothing about the good of the troops, but use fear as a straw man for welfare for the wealthy.
As far as a job loss, read your posts on the stimulus. You adamantly state that government spending doesn’t create jobs, so by YOUR logic, cutting government spending can’t possibly eliminate a job that can’t be created now can it????
AND THAT’S THE WAY IT IS
By confused July 22, 2009 at 1:41 pm
i’m beginning to think there’s a correlation between sanity and spelling.
By zorro July 22, 2009 at 1:44 pm
mad hen
the f22 is for fighting 1st world countries– not insurgencies in 3rd world nations– hence it has not been employed in Iraq or Afgan theaters
if you are worried about air accidents and casualities, then read up on the v-22 osprey
full deployment of the f-22 would keep a lot of americans employed and keep us safe as 600 f22 would deter any country from attack
sigh–instead obama gives our wealth to acorn and hams militants in gaza…
By zorro July 22, 2009 at 1:45 pm
dirtbogger
please take some haldol–you are talking to the wall again
By dirtbogger July 22, 2009 at 2:06 pm
What part is not true, I would have thought it was crazy talk a few years ago myself till I tried to debunk a truther, and when I did I was converted to a truther, go watch the film Zero or loose change with an open mind. There are 723 Architects & Engineers that are brave enough to put their name on a list and agree with what I am saying.
Here is the link____________ http://www.ae911truth.org/
By Snead July 22, 2009 at 2:14 pm
I love when you write about Defense issues. Your ignorance really shines through.
This amendment was about buying 7 more aircraft. Seven in addition to the 187 already in the USAF fleet or on order. An aircraft that can’t fly in the rain. An aircraft the DoD doesn’t want to buy anymore of because we have plenty, they are overpriced and incredibly expensive to maintain. The Defense budget isn’t being cut, it’s growing. But for once someone is trying to grow it in a healthy manner. SecDef Gates is trying to reform procurement but those efforts get labeled by jackoffs like you as cuts and cancellations. That money goes back into DoD O&M accounts. More money is being put into the F-35, made by the same company, in some of the same factories, by the way.
Please tell us more, Col. Folks. I can’t wait to hear what ignorant, baseless, unattributed claims you’ll make next.
For someone who spends so much time writing about challenging the status quo, you sure picked a funny side on this issue.
By Scott July 22, 2009 at 2:32 pm
From The Economist: “The secretary of defence did not want to add to the programme. Nor did the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Nor did the Air Force’s two senior leaders. Yet 40 senators still thought they knew better.”
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2009/07/quote_of_the_day_63.cfm
Personally, I’m willing to defer to our military leaders when it comes to knowing what they need to do the tasks they are given. That’s just my $.02
By RedBank Bar July 22, 2009 at 2:55 pm
It took the last post by Snead to state the obvious. The original article was typical FITZ, ignorance personified.
The F-22 bill was pure pork and had nothing to do with defense issues.
Go back to asking Mr. Rich what you should write about, FITZ, you’re lost without his direction.
By Rick July 22, 2009 at 2:56 pm
How far out is full rate production on the F-35? What new weapons system didn’t have maintenance issues when first deployed? You are however correct on your statement that the services didn’t need more and were willing to cut production.
By The Conservativist July 22, 2009 at 3:05 pm
HammerheadSC, the F-35 Lightning II is the joint strike fighter that is designed to be the aircraft used across all branches.
By Billy Bob July 22, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Of course, you failed to mention the Pentagon didn’t want it and would rather spend $$ on stuff they really need.
By Look out, I'm next July 22, 2009 at 6:21 pm
The defense secretary ( a GOP hold over mind you) didn’t want these planes either because they don’t fit they way they did years ago. Don’t worry, as I am sure another one is in the works or will be ordered. This is the type of partisan crap that gets people stirred w/o the all facts.
By justsaynotojoe July 23, 2009 at 9:25 am
Here y’all go.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-35_Lightning_II
By Rick July 23, 2009 at 11:20 am
Full rate production? 2011,2012,2013? F-35 still in development. Worn out main structure on F-15, 16 18′s in inventory. 2000+….how long and is there a gap in our air superiority umbrella? Shut down of a line, not to be reopened? Lots of questions not being addressed.
By CNSYD July 23, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Rick, who or what are you concerned with? All you will get from big nations is saber rattling. They know the US Navy can wipe them off the earth with our SLBMs. The battles we are currently in are not per se air battles.
By Tom Davis July 23, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Voting to halt production of the F-22 stealth fighter plane was the right call. Of course, it is hard to not take delight in seeing defense contractors beaten back, but my reasoning goes beyond that.
First, as Sec. Gates noted and documented, the F-22 is a Cold War relic and hasn’t been used in any of the wars we’ve fought lately.
Second, it’s nice to see the Air Force’s shameful pork-strategy fall flat (it had spread the plane’s contracts to firms in 46 states in a cynical effort to “buy” Senators and Representatives).
Third, the leading voices for the F-22 were Chris Dodd, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein; hard not to root for them to fail.
Fourth, the next advanced fighter jet, the F-35, is in production next year; the money has already been appropriated.
Fourth, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including the Air Force chief of staff and the secretary of the Air Force, all supported the Senate’s decision.
Fifth, our nation’s defense budget is a zero-sum game, and every defense dollar spent on something not needed is a dollar unspent on what we need; no one made a case on why the F-22 is needed.
Sorry for being so didactic, but we take our fighter planes seriously in Beaufort.