Apr 06 2011
Obama Using Troops As Political Pawns In Shutdown Chicken
My Marine son and his brethren are fuming because the Obama administration has decided that paying our troops is something not required under a shutdown:
Programs that are essential for the safety and security of the country are exempted from a shutdown, but the administration still has to figure out where to draw the line between essential and non-essential functions …
In the event of a shutdown, all uniformed military personnel would continue to work but would stop receiving paychecks, an official familiar with the government’s planning told The Cable.
Emphasis is most sincerely mine. Let me just cut to the chase.
If the Obama administration felt our national safety would be maintained by making sure our troops could focus on their jobs instead of the financial risk of themselves or their families, Congress would have no problem exempting the pay of our brave men and women from the shutdown.
Only a liberal ass – operating on full moron – would attempt to use military pay as a way to try and scare or coerce budget discussions. Especially after congressional majorities of liberal asses – on full moron – failed to pass a budget for the year during the last Congressional session.
The President’s little game here is going to backfire big time – and permanently.
I would hope this backfires, however, I tend to think we will see histroy repeat itself:
Republicans will loose the battle of public opinion over the shutdown. They just do not have the megaphone and bully pulpit to swing the PR campaign. The American people want a smaller budget, but not at the cost of discomfort. Despite the tremendous hyper-spending and debt, the majority of Americans still do not understand what it is going to take to turn back from the brink.
Incumbents tend to win, Obama is slated to win in 2012, as the Republicans fail to produce a inspiring candidate. They may in fact win the Senate. Americans still like Obama, dispite his weaknesses and fumbles.
The danger to the future of the nation is tremedous. The Supreme court will go to the leftists.
Of course may none of this be! however, systems tend to perpetuate themselves.
All John Boehner has to do is submit another CR and pass it. Let the Senate Dems vote on it and see what happens.
I find that hard to believe that Obama will do that but then I shouldn’t be surprised. Obama never believed in the military.
boehner will submit one and pass it tomorrow – but the Senate will not pass it and they’ll still find a way to stiff the troops.
This is ground zero – they think they can use this to make the republicans cave.
I think this will backfire big. The military has the highest public approval rating of any organization in American life. Not paying the troops can be turned into big political hay – if the Republicans have the guts to do it.
It also shows how little Obama knows about history. If there is one thing that triggers military coups, it’s failure to pay the troops.
Well, well, nothing out of tonight’s emergency meeting. No deal. No agreement. Boehner is smart to keep repeating “No deal. No agreement.” That should keep Biden’s mouth shut.
The house is ready to pass a 1-week CR with the funds allocated for the Defense for the remainder of this year.
Listened to Greta interviewing Kay Granger and she’s emphasizing that we’re working on last year’s work rather than working on next year’s work. Good for her.
BTW, your son and his friends are not the only ones really pissed.
The morale at work is one of the all time low…for two reasons: 1) Shuttle fleet retirement with the cancellation of the Constellation project leading to massive layoffs at many sites. 2) Potential government shutdown.
Bush made sure that the Constellation project would backfill those jobs lost as a result of the shuttle fleet retirement. Problem is that the Constellation project wasn’t the replacement for the shuttle and there was no plan to replace it.
Now Obama canceled most of the Constellation project. He really doesn’t know how to operate a business.
I’ve been through both 1995 government shutdowns. We were private contractors…we came to work and still got paid on time. This time? Our program manager says that we have enough money to pay all of us for six weeks.
As for the NASA civil servants…I think they actually did not come to work and probably got paid later. But the computers back then were the old IBM mainframes with MVS OS and dumb terminals. Those computers were located in the Mission Control Center and stayed powered up so that we can continue to work.
Anyone been through the 1995 government shutdowns?
This is sad to say, since I have supported NASA since I first watched the Gemini flights on TV when I was small. But, when you step back and look at the big picture, NASA is toast, and so is anybody who works for their suppliers.
There just is no long term model where this agency is viable anymore, not for 10 years at least.
I know, that’s a professional death sentence for anyone who works for them. But it’s true – this shutdown, if it happens, just accelerates what is going to happen over the next 3 to 4 years, which is the gradual termination of all NASA contracts.
As you say, Lurker, there is no plan to replace the shuttle, and now no plan for Constellation. This is what happens when agency leadership thinks that the only goals they have are Muslim Outreach and promoting Climate Change. Thats a harsh assessment, but it’s reality.
And here are the practical effects – as you point out, Obama’s people have no plans for any realistic programs that would replace the Shuttle or Constellation. All they have to work on is political nonsense. Suppose Ryan’s plan is even partially successful – with no big programs anymore, NASA is Numero Uno on the budget chopping block no matter *who* is the next President. No one is going to propose or support big new spending plans in the future. No one. With NASA already falling apart, this is one of the easiest places to pull the budget plug, and Congress will.
So here’s the sad reality – any supplier or contractor that wishes to stay in business needs to find a way to shift their activities away from NASA contracts for the forseeable future. Those who don’t will go bankrupt – guaranteed.
And yes, this is a huge problem for Florida and Houston.
I cannot see any realistic scenario in which NASA circa 2016 exists with anything more than a skeleton crew and a skeleton budget. How can suppliers survive? Private space ventures, possibly. Chinese financed space ventures, certainly. NASA – no way.
[…] As I noted yesterday, the Obama administration could make the determination the administrative services of the DoD were under the “essential” list of activities. Hospitals are also essential services, and so would their administrative functions since you have to buy material and have basic services like trash collection, water, electricity, etc. VA hospitals will be fully operating, so why can’t the DoD payroll? […]
[…] political ploy to use our military as sacrificial lambs in the government shutdown game of chicken (first post and second post). As I noted at the end of the second post, we will have plenty of examples on why […]
[…] AJ Strata calls a moron, well, a moron: Only a liberal ass – operating on full moron – would attempt to use military pay as a way to try and scare or coerce budget discussions. Especially after congressional majorities of liberal asses – on full moron – failed to pass a budget for the year during the last Congressional session. […]