SENATOR RICHARD SHELBY HOLDING HANDS WITH SADDAM HUSSEIN [circa 1990] 

Dear Senator Shelby:

As noted in this author’s previous post, you were playing politics with the lives of young American soldiers in order to get your way over the issue of awarding Northrop Grumman a contract to build a refueling tanker plane in your home state of Allah Bama.

Now Northrop Grumman has withdrawn it’s bid to build the planes, and will not file a formal protest because, in the words of Northrop’s chief executive, Wesley G. Bush, “service men and women have been forced to wait too long for new tankers.”

Senator Shelby:  Service men and women have also been forced to wait too long for Senate confirmation of Obama’s appointee who is designated to become top Department of Defense point-man for readiness and managing deployments to Afghanistan, all because of you. 

They are still waiting . . .

P.S.  The picture in the caption was taken in 1990 during a Congressional junket to Iraq by Senator Shelby and Senator Arlen Spector.  The authenticity of this trip can be confirmed right here on Senator Spector’s website.

Allah Bama’s Monument to Pork Barrel Spending

Are Republicans really serious about pork-barrel spending?  What about national security?  How about the War in Afghanistan that they have been paying so much lip service to since 9/11 – as in 2001? 

One has to wonder as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and the rest of the party stands silent, and defenseless (or so they act), as fellow Republican Senator Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) just hung a whole side of pork around the necks of his own party members.  Believe it or not, Shelby contends it’s all done in the name of critical national security, when it’s really for the sake his home state – Allah Bama. 

Since when did building tanker refueling planes constitute a critical national security issue when compared to personally holding up the appointment of seventy – count them, 70 – presidential nominees to various government positions.  What is most glaring is that one of these appointees is designated to become the top Department of Defense point-man for managing deployments to Afghanistan. 

Is Senator Shelby providing comfort and support to the terrorists?  After all, isn’t that the standard moniker Republicans try to hang around the Democrats’ necks everytime they delay anything regarding national security?

Let’s see?  Building refueling tankers in the next five years or ensuring proper deployment of soldiers to Afghanistan in the next five months?  The choice is not exactly rocket science.  Anyone want to argue this one with young American soldiers’ lives on the line? 

Go ahead . . . make my day.

Even Conservative writers and bloggers have weighed-in against Shelby’s political grandstanding, pointing out that there is no legitimate basis for holding up the business of the whole Senate confirmation process over pork-barrel spending.  Daniel Larison of The American Conservative magazine said it best:

“What I find most irritating about Shelby’s tactic is that he pretends that his home-state projects are vital to national security . . . [and is] compelled to pretend that this is some high-minded fight over principle and national security. This is cynical nonsense.”

With this kind of irrational thinking, Shelby could probably even make a case for the critical national security aspect of his $819,000 Catfish Genome Project down there in the bayou that was awarded in 2009.  You know, they have to serve those tanker refueling plane pilots something while they are up in the air for those long overseas flights to Afghanistan.

Wunder if dat der Vulcan feller is feedin’ dem catfish  pork rinds?