To steal one from Spiro Agnew (by way of William Safire), the "nattering nabobs of negativity" are at it again - stirring the pot with half-truths and around the recent award of the $40-billion KC-X contract to - zoinks, Scooby! - a group that includes a foreign company (EADS).
Protectionist politicians from both parties in the U.S. are screaming bloody murder over Boeing (an U-mer-uh-cun company!) losing out to the "fer-ners." Their arguments and posturing are unproductive. And insincere. And it makes us look, at best, naïve.
Now, "they" are busting the chops of likely Republican prez nominee John McCain over his alleged support of EADS during the competition with rival Boeing (see this article from the Seattle Pilot).
But as it is in most cases, chest beating bull corn is rolled out for political reasons, with little balance.
This well-written, measured piece (CQ Weekly) on the award points out some excellent facts that you likely won't hear from Nancy Pelosi or Duncan Hunter:
- Boeing isn't solely a defense contractor, and not even the largest in the U.S.
- EADS us a long-time supplier to the U.S. government and Pentagon. (As are other foreign companies, BTW.)
- This deal, while substantial, represents a "drop in the bucket" for both companies since it will account for approximately a dozen or so planes per year.
If there's one issue that should be paramount in this debate, it's this:
Giving our troops the best equipment and support is all that matters. If the process says the best planes will be built by a group that includes foreign companies - and security isn't compromised - then that's it.Everything else is just window dressing.
