http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSF...nelson_in_1.asp


If this turns out to be true, Obama should pretty much be relieved of his duties as Commander in Chief.



Source: Dems Threaten Nelson In Pursuit of 60
While the Democrats appease Senator Lieberman, they still have to worry about other recalcitrant Democrats including Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson. Though Lieberman has been out front in the fight against the public option and the Medicare buy-in, Nelson was critical of both. Now that those provisions appear to have been stripped from the bill, Lieberman may get on board, but Nelson's demand that taxpayer money not be used to fund abortion has still not been met. According to a Senate aide, the White House is now threatening to put Nebraska's Offutt Air Force Base on the BRAC list if Nelson doesn't fall into line.

Offutt Air Force Base employs some 10,000 military and federal employees in Southeastern Nebraska. As our source put it, this is a "naked effort by Rahm Emanuel and the White House to extort Nelson's vote." They are "threatening to close a base vital to national security for what?" asked the Senate staffer.

Indeed, Offutt is the headquarters for US Strategic Command, the successor to Strategic Air Command, and not by accident. STRATCOM was located in the middle of the country for strategic reasons. Its closure would be a massive blow to the economy of the state of Nebraska, but it would also be another example of this administration playing politics with our national security.

I am not a big fan of this part of our government but if you think congress-people are not extorted/bribed all the time during all administrations then you are naive. Hell, they built entire episodes of the West Wing around this type of crap. Vote this way.....or we will back someone else in your race's primary next time around. Vote this way.....and you get a cushy spot on the committee you want to be on. Vote this way.....or we will put your state's air force base on the obsolete list. Vote this way....and we will do X,Y and Z that you like. An on and on.

It's not like they cant set up a new STRATCOM in days in Kansas if they had to.

If they relieved a President every time he pressed on a congressman politically, we would be on President #1,047. And I am sure this is true. This stuff happens all the time. That's why I am sure it is true.

Yeah, they do play politics over earmarks, $$$ support, etc., but, when it comes to national security, that is a whole different ballgame.

If this kind of political b.s. doesn't make you sick, there is something wrong with you. Again, I'm not sure that its guarenteed this actually happened, but if it did, it shows Obama and his people's lack of caring for our national security and should frighten every American.

1. So your morals allow you to not be outraged by something as long as there is precident?

2. This isn't exactly "here's a seat on a committee", it's "we're going to put a ton of people out of work in your state for purely vindictive reasons". These are not even remotely similar - DUCY?

I'm sure they could. But, do you think this would be a smart decision just because someone doesn't vote how the "Messiah" wants? Lets stop just a second and think about how many of the taxpayer's $$$'s this would cost as well.

Remember when Clinton was trying to get his first budget passed and he literally had to go around like Santa Clause and give everyone 'bribes' to vote for it in his own party ( and a few republicans) and the press lauded him for his deep political savvy and ability to get things done?

Nothing like a willing press to let the democrats break every ethics rule there should be...but aren't.



The argument here is:

1. Is this base necessary? Because if it is, then it will just be relocated, and different people from a different state will get the jobs/revenue

2. If it's not, then why is it there in the first place?

3. If it is going to cost booku bucks to move it, then I'm sure Obama will find places to cut the health-care plan to pay for it. After all, now that the health-care thing is mostly dead, those 600 billion doll hairs that he was going to save by slashing the waste in Medicare etc will be freed up to pay for this move.

Well, the first two affect the politician only.

The third one affects 10,000 people.

I'm going to need better examples to compare this to.

Besides, the Chair Force needs to get smacked down a little more. I mean so far all we've done lately is cut out the COOLEST FIGHTER JET EVER!

1. No, I am just fighting the selective outrage I have seen on this forum spanning the Bush and Obama years.

2. I was describing many of the permutations. This particular example happens all the time. One state gets a pork project because their congressperson played ball. Another did not play ball and got nothing. One state loses 10,000 jobs and one gains it. You act like this is the first time this example has happened. If you want to draw degrees between them, that is fine. Threatening someone's job is usually pretty coercive too.

My morals say I dont like this. My head says our entire political system has been set up this way for a long time. Pretending like this is some new thing or some innovative outrage is complete horseshit. So is implying that a President should be canned for doing so. This is how things get done in our system. I think the two party system has been broken for a long time. I just vote whichever party pisses me off the least.

I think we can all agree that this is wrong. I was more commenting on the "OMG can you believe this" tone of the OP.

Vote this way.....or we toughen regulations on milk which will harm your dairy farmers.

Vote this way.....or we raise grazing fees hurting all your cattle ranchers.

Those are just two I picked up from a rerun of the West Wing that was on earlier this week.

This is how our government works right now.....the president has an agenda and he has two options to get votes: the carrot or the stick. People stopped voting their conscience a long time ago and just vote their party unless the issue is uncontroversial.

This is why the house of Representatives is like two gangs, if you don't join you are alone and will get picked on by everyone.

I guess the Republican's will be the Bloods and the Democrats the Crips since the color thing works best that way.

and it's the way it will continue to work as long as people are complacent about massive cases of bribery an and extortion as long as "their guy" is the one that is doing it.

Or we get a line Item veto ammendment that is only in force when the commander in chief is a Blood

Well, we have been for a long time now.

If you run Mitt Romney next time, he (Obama) won't be my guy. But I am already preparing for a Palin/Bachman presidential ticket endorsed by Glenn Beck sponsored by Gold Line blessed by Little Baby Jesus.

I'm not complacent. I am without good options. And complacent. Do you think Sing-Off is going to watch itself?

You know I don't like Obama and would love to see him disgraced but...


I'll bet this happened and somebody should be fired over it but I seriously doubt Obama would have approved of this if he was told about it. He can't be that dumb. I bet someone like Rahm cooked this up on the spur of the moment and tried it out. That's the Chicago way.

BTW the White House couldn't do that even if they wanted to. That's not how the base closings work.

Haha, 'unnamed sources' on a blog posting. Elsewhere, Nelson has also denied that this happened.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/16...-+Politics%2529

White House Rebuts 'False' Report It Threatened Senator to Vote for Health Care
FOXNews.com
The White House knocked down a report Wednesday that it threatened to close an Air Force base in Nebraska if that state's senator didn't cast what could be the crucial 60th vote needed to pass a health care bill in the Senate.


The White House knocked down a report Wednesday that it had threatened to close an Air Force base in Nebraska if that state's senior U.S. senator didn't cast what could be the crucial 60th vote needed to pass a health care bill in the Senate.

The Weekly Standard, citing an unnamed source, reported in a blog posting Tuesday that the White House threatened to place Nebraska's Offutt Air Force Base on the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) list if Sen. Ben Nelson, a moderate Democrat who is seeking to insert tougher restrictions on abortion coverage in the bill, didn't cooperate.

But the White House dismissed the report Wednesday as nothing more than a partisan "rumor."

"This rumor is absolutely false, as the people spreading it well know," White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said in a written statement to Fox News. "This is nothing but a cynical, crass political game that is designed to maintain the status quo."

Senate Democratic leaders appear close to having the required 60 votes needed for passage after dropping a government-run insurance plan and a proposed Medicare buy-in from the bill to appease moderates like Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a Democrat-turned-independent from Connecticut.

Here is Nelson on the issue. As is often the case with these kinds of accusations, it is the accusers themselves with the moral transgression on their hands.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20091216/NEWS01/712169963

Nelson: Offutt claims false

Nelson said no one has ever brought up Offutt's future in connection with negotiations over health care or any other piece of legislation. He also denied any suggestion that he might receive a “blank check” to write provisions into the legislation, and said his vote is not for sale.

Ya because Nelson wouldn't lie to save the Whitehouse's ass would he?

When I posted this, I said it was not completely verified being true yet. As a matter of fact, I hope to God its not true. Even though they denied it, do you really think they would admit to it if it was true? I mean, it's not like folks such as Raum Emanuel (Sp?) have ever been caught lying before...LOL. If it would turn out to be true, it would make the whitehouse, Nelson, and Dems look pretty bad. So, I guess what I'm saying is, even if it were true, I'm guessing they wouldn't come out and admit it. But again, lets hope to God that its not true for the country's sake.

Too outrageous to be true. Why would the intelligent people of this administration ever do that? Especially right after increasing troops in Afghanistan. It doesn't make any sense.

People should be held accountable for posting false stories without any suggestion that they could be false, by the way.

missing s/w?

I completely agree if this is false, whoever started it should be out'd. But, to respond to your first part, the extreme liberals aren't exactly the most military-friendly folks to start out with.

Wait, I thought this sort of thing happened everyday?

Really, did you really type this...had to be a mistake

YOU WILL HAVE OUR VERSION OF HEALTH CARE BY GOD, AND LIKE IT!!!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO70ZjZ0wrw

There are underhanded deals all the time, but things like soldiers and bases are more or less untouchable.

I remember a few years ago there was a ton of ado about base closings, and it became somewhat politicized:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/05/13/bas...ings/index.html

But that wasn't behind closed doors. It was about money.

well hopefully they go after this leak until they get someone high up in the WH administration regardless of who actually leaked this story like they did with Valerie Plamegate and Scooter.

Are you saying that we should have prosecuted Robert Novak as well as Scooter? Because I wholeheartedly agree!

edit: I forgot that Novak recently passed away. Maybe I shouldn't make fun of him.

Take that Mr. Smug Smugerton


All I am saying is that even when the prosecutor finds out who is the person who committed the 'crime' he is charged to look for, he should in no way use that as an indication that his job is done until he also finds out something that can make a name for himself.