Senator John Thune, R-SD, has introduced a bill that would delay any base closings until the return of substantially all U.S. forces from Iraq.

Thune’s real concern is South Dakota’s Ellsworth Air Force Base. The Los Angeles Times reported “The state’s second-largest employer probably will close within six years, its 29 bombers sent to join the rest of the nation’s B-1 fleet at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas.”

That’s a move of about 1,000 miles almost due south (Mapquest driving directions here). It’s no farther from trouble spots in the Middle East. At speed, the supersonic B-1B can cover that distance in about an hour. Splitting the fleet in two is a waste of money.

In his search for nonsensical hoops that base closing must jump through, Thune has also said that “We should not close a single base here in America before the Pentagon decides which overseas bases to close.”

We understand the theater that politicians must engage in when home state projects are threatened. But at least the claims should be based on some kind of merit. For his willingness to sacrifice the base closing plan’s projected $50b savings over 20 years, Thune was named Citizens Against Government Waste’s “Porker of the Month” in June 2005, only his sixth month in office.

Did porkmaster general Robert Byrd get off to such a fast start?

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 16th, 2005 at 11:00 am by A Senior Administration Official and is filed under Your Tax Dollars In Action. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.