Hey, Senator Nelson, you best forget your nasty pro-life stance and play ball, else Offutt Air Force Base gets it!.
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.
Ya think?
Comment by Joe on 12/15 @ 7:57 pm #
Rahm: All Ben has to do is cooperate.
Comment by happyfeet on 12/15 @ 8:00 pm #
And piece of shit dickhead Warren Buffett endorsed this thug.
Comment by BumperStickerist on 12/15 @ 8:18 pm #
Could Patterico mayhap expound on the topic of “Goodness by Proxy” or explain whether there’s a Commutative Principle at work here:
For example: Is Rahm Emmanuel a Good Man?
.
Comment by Bob Reed on 12/15 @ 8:19 pm #
Rahm “Rahmbo Dead-Fish”: (Looking around casually) You’ve… Got a nice Air Force base here, Senator…
Ben Nelson: Yes..?
Josef GoebblesDavid “Astroturf” Axelrod: We wouldn’t want anything to happen to it…Ben Nelson: What?!?
Rahm “Rahmbo Dead-Fish”: What David means is, it would be a shame if, well, you know…
(knocks something off the mantel)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNj1dXi-z0M
Who knew that the mobbed up, crooked ass, Chicago crew in the White House would bring to life Monty Python’s “Army Protection Racket” skit…
Comment by happyfeet on 12/15 @ 8:24 pm #
Did you know that that Seinfeld chick’s daddy is a billionaire from France? Nobody tells me anything.
Comment by newrouter on 12/15 @ 8:52 pm #
kneecaps for fun and profit
Trackback by On the Other Foot on 12/15 @ 8:54 pm #
Hey, it’s the Chicago way!…
Quit trying to shield babies or unemployment goes up. Babies die or families go under. You choose….
Comment by gregorbo on 12/15 @ 8:58 pm #
http://bennelson.senate.gov/contact-me.cfm
Sent a message of encouragement to Senator Nelson at the above link. Probably hopeless–but here’s what I wrote:
Dear Senator Nelson–
I am not from Nebraska, but wanted to send you my support in your resisting the strong-arm tactics of the White House regarding your vote for or against HealthCare Reform as it now stands.
If it is true that the White House is threatening to put the Offutt Air Force Base on the BRAC list unless you abandon your principled position regarding abortion funding and healthcare, then I want to encourage you to take a truly heroic stand.
Call the White House publically on its stance. Go to the Senate floor and expose this Chicago-style thugocracy for what it is.
Tell the President that he simply cannot bully you or any senator into submission by threatening to withhold vital funding for our national security and your state, as if the only motivation any representative could ever have for a vote would be money.
Rahm Emmanual and President Barack Obama may not understand someone who votes from principle rather than cynical calculation, money, and mere power–but you’d send a strong message to your constituents, active military personnel and their families, and the American people if you would show him on the floor of the Senate just what that looks like.
Do the right thing, here, Senator. Even if it means calling down upon yourself the wrath of the President and your own party–the latter which increasingly looks to lack any principles whatever, except those that will keep it in power.
[name/address redacted]
Comment by newrouter on 12/15 @ 9:18 pm #
i like the sting’s soundtrack
Comment by Barack H Obama on 12/15 @ 9:20 pm #
If I’m not safe how can the nation ever be truly safe?
Bet you state school grads never thought of that.
Comment by newrouter on 12/15 @ 9:22 pm #
the sting here:
link
Comment by geoffb on 12/15 @ 9:54 pm #
Now, now, have no fear. The almighty O! has bought peace and harmony with the magic of his voice (and our money). It’s “The Dawning of the Age of Aquarius”, the whole world is getting “groovy” with that Obama rhythm. You know everyone wants that Obama money.
Comment by gregorbo on 12/15 @ 10:31 pm #
Powerline Blog feels the same way:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/
Comment by greginsewa on 12/16 @ 12:30 am #
Is there a chance we could exchange this wretched crew for, say, a can of smashed assholes or something? I’m beginning to think we got a raw deal in this last election…
Comment by JohnAnnArbor on 12/16 @ 12:30 am #
The whole point of BRAC was to be apolitical, or at least to look apolitical, when doing base closures.
So much for THAT.
Comment by Rusty on 12/16 @ 6:23 am #
Everything is B+ now!
Comment by Mr. W on 12/16 @ 6:57 am #
I bet this does wonders for Barry’s poll numbers in Nebraska. These guys really are political genius’.
Comment by Carin on 12/16 @ 7:19 am #
Hey, BMoe – can you email me? Or anyone else with guitar knowledge?
Carinrose -at-sbcglobal.net
I’ve got a question about distortion pedals.
Comment by Mr. W on 12/16 @ 7:26 am #
From Powerline:
It is rumored that the White House has threatened to place Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska on the BRAC list if Nelson doesn’t fall into line. The base is a massive employer in Southeastern Nebraska, so its closure would be a huge blow to Nelson and his state. However, according to John Noonan, Offut Air Force Base is arguably the most important military installation in the continental United States, and its closure would constitute the single largest shakeup to our nation’s nuclear command and control infrastructure in history.
I still wouldn’t put it past them. These are, after all, the same people who are going to try terrorists in New York.
Comment by BJTex on 12/16 @ 7:59 am #
Does Ben Nelson wake up this morning and find the chopped nose of a Strategic Bomber on his bed, grease and oil puddles everywhere?
Comment by Mr. W on 12/16 @ 8:12 am #
The bomber nose would require a level of competence that the team in the Whitehouse seems to lack.
It would be more likely that Ben Nelson would find a couple of befuddled tourists in his bed, who would then explain that they were, “Just here for the tour…”
Comment by Joe on 12/16 @ 8:16 am #
Bravo at #21.
Does anyone know what this bill even is at this point? Howard Dean says it will do more harm than good (granted he wants a public option, but he says it will only disrupt the status quo).
Comment by BJTex on 12/16 @ 8:29 am #
Heh, Mr. W. Well done!
Comment by Roland THTG on 12/16 @ 8:41 am #
B+
Comment by Roland THTG on 12/16 @ 8:42 am #
B+-16.Comment by Joe on 12/16 @ 9:05 am #
Barry is a strategic genius. Win Win. Either leverage health care or punish a wayward democrat and make him an example for the future. Pluse think of all the political favors Obama can gain by moving the airforce base to a more friendly state? He can let Nebraska fall, since hell, it is only Nebraska. It is not an important midwest state like Iowa, or Illinois, or maybe even a swing state like Indiana.
As far as President Obama and Rahm Emanuel are concerned, what other purpose does that airbase have?
Comment by Timmer on 12/16 @ 9:19 am #
I grew up in Chicago so I just kind of shrug and go, “Yeah, you voted in a Chicago Democrat, you expected…what? Hope and Change? Really?!!! So you were like, IN Lincoln Park in ‘68 weren’t you?”
Even if it’s not true, the fact that it’s so believable by so many tells you everything you need to know.
Comment by Jeff Carlson on 12/16 @ 11:09 am #
Its not even a bluff … its so beyond the realm of possibility of being closed that its actually a sign of Obama’s ignorance that they would try and use the base as a lever against Nelson … It is one big tell and Nelson, if he’s a betting man should go all in for his abortion amendment …
Comment by Jim in KC on 12/16 @ 1:13 pm #
We live in a post-national-security society now.
Comment by JD on 12/16 @ 1:34 pm #
Why did Landrieu get paid, but Nelson gets threatened?
Comment by sdferr on 12/16 @ 1:36 pm #
Something to do with the cultural differences between Louisiana and Nebraska, mayhap JD?
Comment by Pablo on 12/16 @ 1:40 pm #
Nelson’s operating from a moral position. Landrieu…ain’t.
Comment by JD on 12/16 @ 1:44 pm #
I figured it had something to do with her willingness to bend over and reluctantly take one for the team for a mere $100,000,000, which makes her an even more high-priced version of Elin.
Comment by sdferr on 12/16 @ 1:46 pm #
I thought she specifically derided that $100,000,000 claim, saying it wasn’t $100,000,000 but $300,000,000? Which made it all better.
Comment by JD on 12/16 @ 1:50 pm #
After having established her willingness, haggling over the price was but a formality.
Comment by JD on 12/16 @ 1:53 pm #
I am not a hoo-er, I am a very very very expensive hoo-er.
Comment by Mikey NTH on 12/16 @ 4:16 pm #
So the Obama Administration is that desperate that they do this? The senator still lives, and his price just went up. As did the price of every other senator and representative.
An observation: If the senator says ‘no’ and the administration has BRAC pull the base, BRAC just got destroyed. The whole idea behind BRAC was to remove base closings from the political process. Using a base closing as a club means all base base closings now become all-politics again. And those senators and representatives that went along with previous BRAC will be questioning their prior agreement.
And note poll numbers – all of Congress watches that. The administration’s pile of chips is getting smaller and smaller.
Comment by Benjamin in Virginia on 12/16 @ 5:06 pm #
Well….I guess his (Obama’s) grade is A+ now… A+ for EXTORTION !!!
The Chicago Mobsters that run the White House now are becoming a criminal enterprise, threatening Senators and the national defense posture of the country to make political points. I HOPE and PRAY Ben Nelson sticks it to Obama and Co. and tell them that he will cross the aisle and caucus with Republicans if they go through with this threat or if the dare try such a cheap tactic again…
Obama now has a NEW title….”The Extortioner and Chief”…
Comment by McGehee on 12/16 @ 5:10 pm #
“becoming”…?
Comment by Joe on 12/16 @ 5:23 pm #
Hey how about a little courtesy over at Ace of Spades?
Comment by Joe on 12/16 @ 5:38 pm #
A canon shot across the bow?
Comment by Merovign on 12/16 @ 10:27 pm #
Is extortion a high crime or misdemeanor?
Comment by Merovign on 12/16 @ 10:29 pm #
Oh, and Joe? EVERYBODY thought of that quote when they saw this item.
EVERYBODY.
There were tribesmen in South America who have never heard of an internet OR seen Monty Python or old gangster movies who suddenly thought of that line, and don’t even know why.
Comment by happyfeet on 12/16 @ 10:32 pm #
Merovign! Howdy.
Comment by wingnuts on 12/17 @ 2:10 pm #
you do know that this wingnut rumor has been shot down, numerous times, right? this is the kind of stuff wingnuts spread and FREAK OUT about before its finally discredited…. too bad the last part means nothing to you mouth breathing nuts.. good day
Comment by DarthRove on 12/17 @ 2:16 pm #
wingnuts, how’s that One! Day! Story! about ACORN treating you?
Comment by AJB on 12/17 @ 3:35 pm #
lol
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/12/16/beck-goldfarb-treason/
Glad to see the American Right care so much about factual accuracy.
IF MICHAEL GOLDFARB SAYS IT THEN IT MUST BE TRUE
Comment by JD on 12/17 @ 3:42 pm #
Thinkregress is a beacon of honesty in an otherwise flawed and broken world.
Comment by Merovign on 12/17 @ 10:56 pm #
Prolly missed ya, but HEY HAPPY!