Maine Politics

From the Piscataqua to the St. John

Thursday, May 19, 2005

Baldacci Leads Charge to Save Bases

The effort is getting underway to save some of the estimated 12,000 jobs these closings would cost the state. Via the AP:
Preparing for "a major battle," Gov. John Baldacci said he will meet Thursday with members of Maine and New Hampshire congressional delegations to sketch out a coordinated plan to fight the base closure proposals facing three communities [...]

Baldacci said he wants a coordinated campaign with the affected communities unified under the state's umbrella, working closely with the state's four-member congressional delegation to turn around the curtailment plan.

"You don't want divisions, you don't want factions," the governor said, adding that Maine's delegation of U.S. senators and congressmen will lead the effort.

"What I'm trying to do is get Maine organized. This is a major battle," Baldacci said.

From the KJ/MS:
Baldacci continued to insist Tuesday that "we owe it to our country" to fight for the Maine bases in the interest of national security. But he said the economic impact "is also going to be argued almost on the same level" of importance because the job losses that Maine faces are second only to those proposed in Alaska, on a per-capita basis.

The governor said he will travel to Washington, D.C., Thursday to meet with the Maine and New Hampshire congressional delegations to "finalize the plan" for saving the Maine bases.

He said he will use that trip to make courtesy calls on some members of the base-closing commission, which is chaired by Anthony Principi.

Baldacci said Principi has promised to tour the Maine bases with some members of the nine-member closure commission, but details of that visit have not yet been set [...]

"My total focus right now is to make sure that those bases stay open," Baldacci said, noting that roughly 15 percent of the Pentagon's recommendations in previous rounds of closures have been overturned. "We want to make sure we get our fair share of that 15 percent," he said.


Visit the new Maine Politics.

6 Comments:

..and if the bases close, whose fault will it be? Baldacci's or Collins/Snowe?

Any bets on whether his popularity rating will drop lower than 37%?

Word has it that the Republicans will obtain the signatures they need for the People's Veto of the budget, esp. with the base closings hanging over taxpayer's heads. I hear the Dem's, uh, want to be a bit more 'inclusive'...one way to save whatever face they have left.

House 

Posted by HOUSE

5/19/2005 10:18:00 AM

 

"..and if the bases close, whose fault will it be? Baldacci's or Collins/Snowe?  "

How about the Pentagon's fault?

I really don't think any of our politicians, D or R have had much to do with it. They act like they do, but they don't really.

So with the "Politicians' Veto" (not the people's - it is being run by the GOP legislators), what is the alternative plan that is being offered? I seem to recall that there isn't one.  

Posted by Jon at MCLF

5/19/2005 04:11:00 PM

 

So the Democrats think it is "just fine" to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars, repaid with interest over 14 years, to fund the next two years budget deficit? The solution is actually quite simple...don't spend more than we have coming in for revenue.

Borrowing long term to fund short term spending is very irresponsible behavior. It is fiscal malpractice. 

Posted by Bob

5/20/2005 01:08:00 PM

 

Welfare statists are realizing how much they benefit from the military bases and turned up the juice on their squealing to the media.

Maine is a "BLUE" state, sez Christiana Toth in the Brunswick Times Record...and "BLUE" states are welfare states, dependent on the Federal dole. Doesn't matter whether it's keeping open obsolete Navy yards or mothballing NASB, it's all gravy to the 'blues'.

With Baldacci on one side with his begging cup shaking and Rick Tetrev making defense policy and second guessing the Pentagon using his Cold War logic; some of us are looking to a further civilian conversion of these closed and realligned bases that gives market a real market driven economy and opportunities that reach all strata of society.

HOUSE 

Posted by HOUSE

5/21/2005 11:53:00 AM

 

This is ALL politics, with a dash of No-Game-Plan, Politicians, representing Maine, who are asleep at the wheel, again!

On BRAC, the politically game has Bush ahead. Bush is getting closer and closer to the goal line. This is a hard nose running game against a very weak Maine defense that just realized where they are on the field. It’s a minute to go, Maine down by 7 and the Bushees are on the Maine 5 yard line. Coach Bush’s offensive plan is simple; show the Maine Delegation, both the Ds and his own party members; he who oppose him, opposes him, who has all the $$$ for military spending. “Are you with me or against me? “ Sound familiar? Kent Ward said it best today in the 04/21/05 BDN, ".... Might the words "political payback" ring a bell? It is not difficult to suppose…”, I suppose with him!

And in this game the Bush folks know how to control the clock too. The Bush folks fake the BRAC data release here and then promise it over there. Maine’s defense is stymied. In a few weeks Maine will have no more time or time-outs; 5 seconds on the clock, waiting for a Hail Mary play to save the day. Delaying data release for BRAC base closing data will stop Maine from mounting a real defense against the defense folks. The reality too is that it’s most likely already too late. After the game; “I never saw it coming,” says Coach Snowe “I’ve been in Washington most of my adult life and I have never seen anything like. .. It is a travesty and a strategic blunder of epic proportions…..”. “Me too,” says Defensive Coordinator Baldacci, who also has been in the same game most of his adult life well, “There were gross errors in judgment made..… I’m here to tell you that we’re moving forward to fight for Maine….”,

Ah but then in lies the rub, were they awake? This appears to be an easy game day for Coach Bush, against a team who never saw it coming. See, its ALL politics. And by not having a good game plan, Maine not only leaves the Maine economy weaker but it also leaves the Military weaker for it as well. “The results of these political games can be brutal. “ states Asst Coach Collins, at the post game news conference, … and I am in disbelief…it makes no sense….. !” Say it isn’t so, Coach. And now Maine team members seem to think that they too may have been asleep themselves by thinking our Coaching staff were in the game.

And after this BRAC game, Maine will lose more jobs, AGAIN! “The Maine Department of Labor has once again projected job losses in our sector over a 10-year period (1998-2008). They made this same projection several years ago, but so far we have been holding steady.” “Georgia will gain 66,800 jobs in 2004 and Atlanta will end the year up by 49,800 jobs. Growth will be better in 2005, when 98,500 new jobs will be created in Georgia and 64,200 new jobs will be created in Atlanta.” Huh, who is the Coach in Georgia?

Look our current Maine Reps have been in and around Washington or Augusta for a total of 75 years combined. So it’s safe to say that both the Ds and Rs and past Maine Governors have been asleep at the wheel, or have we?

Frankie O Orono, ME
 

Posted by Steve O

5/21/2005 01:07:00 PM

 

Nice piece of fiction writing...you get an 'A' for your essay on how Maine's Congressional Delegation was 'asleep'. Nice writing, only people 'asleep' are those in Orono who think they understand the complex political world of Washington, yet run Maine's "third tier" state university system.

...Unfortunately, in the real world, there are about a dozen members of the combined Congressional staffes who make monitoring what the Pentagon and the White House and other military/foreign policy making bodies are up to. They attend hundreds of briefings over the year; read dozens of daily briefing reports, and both initiate & follow and DOD-related legislation of interest to Maine as it wends it way through Congress.

Add to that the lobbying and military staff of DOD contractors in Maine; and you've got a lot of people who were, in your sophmoric view, "ASLEEP".

Get a real job kid; spend some time in Washington and find out what really goes on in the world....or switch to making 'wake-up' calls for the Chancellor's office...apparently they were 'asleep' during this legislative session as well.

HOUSE  

Posted by HOUSE

5/22/2005 09:50:00 AM

 

:
:
:

<< Return to Home Page