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6 . FLAGPOLECOM • AUGUST 12,2009
CHAMBLISS. ISAKSON SHOW PRIORITIES
If you are trying to figure out what your
congressmen really believe in, don't focus on
what they say—look closely at what they do
when it comes time to vote. A good example
of that involves Georgia's two senators, Saxby
Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, and their
approach to spending about $2 billion of your
money. The two senators have worked hard
this summer to take nearly $2 billion out of
the defense budget and earmark it for the
building of more F-22 fighter jets at Marietta's
Lockheed Martin plant.
Should we really be spending $2 billion
to build more F-22s, considering their spotty
track record? The F-22 is the most expensive
fighter jet ever commissioned by the Air
Force, at a cost of about $350 million
per aircraft, but it doesn't work very
well. Here are some criticisms of
the F-22 from weapons experts
and Pentagon analysts:
The F-22 requires more than
30 hours of maintenance for
every hour it spends in the skies.
It costs nearly $50,000 an hour to
fly one, which is much higher than
the cost of the jet it is supposed to
replace.
The F-22 is a "stealth" fighter that is sup
posed to be hard for radar to detect. Its radar
absorbing metallic skin is the main cause of
maintenance problems, including problems
flying in rainy weather.
The F-22's radar-absorbing canopy has
been a source of problems, with a stuck hatch
imprisoning a pilot in 2006. The canopy
doesn't last more than 18 months because it
loses its strength. Canopy visibility for the
F-22 also declines quickly, and the canopy has
to be refurbished at a cost of $120,000 after
an average of 331 hours of flying time rather
than the stipulated 800 hours.
Senators like John McCain, an Arizona
Republican, have derided the F-22 as a prime
example of pork barrel spending for unneeded
weapons systems. The F-22 is a jet that the
Defense Department does not want. Defense
Secretary Robert Gates, a Republican originally
appointed by George W. Bush, said the $2
billion that would have been spent for more
F-22s is more urgently needed to support
American troops fighting in Afghanistan.
Chambliss and Isakson pushed ahead
anyway in their attempts to move around $2
billion in the defense spending bill to pay for
even more of these fighter jets. They appear
to have been unsuccessful so far.
Their actions are defensible from the stand
point of taking care of their constituents.
Lockheed Martin is an important employer for
Georgia, and you can understand why the two
senators may want to funnel more money to
it. But Chambliss and Isakson both voted
against another $2 billion in funding
that would have had a much big
ger impact on Georgia businesses
and consumers: the additional
money for the "cash for clunkers"
program approved by the Senate
last week.
. The "cash for clunkers" pro
gram has been very successful in
helping financially distressed auto
dealers bring buyers into their show
rooms. For some dealers, it could be the
difference between shutting down and staying
in business. The $2 billion that Chambliss and
Isakson tried to get for Lockheed Martin would
have paid for seven additional F-22s. The $2
billion in the "cash for clunkers" program that
they voted against could result in the sale of
about 500,000 vehicles nationwide, with thou
sands of those autos sold by Georgia dealers.
It says a lot about the priorities of our sen
ators that they consider it more important to
use taxpayer money for overpriced, unneeded
aircraft than to help out our auto dealers and
car buyers—or our troops fighting a dangerous
war in Afghanistan.
Tom Crawford
Tom Crawford is the editor of Capitol Impact’s Georgia
Report, an Internet news service at www.gareport.com.
TIM HMiH W*tk»
by TOM TOMORROW
I STRANGE PAYS |
THIS IS TRUE: GLENN SEC* RE
CENTLY IMPLORED HlS AUDIENCE
NOT TO GO ON ANY KILLING
SPREES.
"JUST ONE LUNATIC LIKE TIMOTHY
MCVEIGH COULD RUIN EVERYTHING?
TTS MOT A REMINDER KEITH 01SER
MANN OfTEN GIVES' HIS AUDIENCE..
BlRTHERS" CONTINUE TO MAKE
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TANTLY-FORGED KENYAN BlRTH
CERTIFICATE...
AND LET'S NOT FORGET THE LATEST
TEAR AGGER craze--organized
disruptions of CONGRESSIONAL
TOWN HALL MEETINGS...
WE ARE HERE TO DEFEND AMERICA—
from the terrifying specter of
UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE:
OR AT LEAST, MODEST
REFORMS IN THAT
GENERAL DIRECTION 1 .
THE LUNACY'S AT A FEVER PITCH ■ SOME W£lL-M£AN:NG SOULS THINK ■ WE RE NOT SO SURE ABOUT THAT.
THESE DAYS...APPARENTY FOR thE
FAR RIGHT, THE ELECTION OF OUR
FIRS' 1, BLACK PRESIDENT hAS BEEN
AS TRAUMATIC AS A SECOND <?-//...
OUR COUNTRY IS BEING TAKEN
OVER—BY STRANGE OTHER PEOPLE
WHO ARE NOT LIKE US IN THEIR
STRANGE MENACING OTHERNESS!
THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH THE
CRAZIES IS TO IGNORE THEM.
If X STICK MY FINGERS IN A.Y
EARS AND LOOK THE OTHER WAY—
ITS AS If THEY PONY EVEN EXIST!
NOT TO WORR1!
IF WE IGNORE
OUR PROBLEMS—
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LOOK OUT! YOU'RE
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OH—AND WE'RE
BANKRUPT. AND
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OUT X HAVE
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