Look, I don't like the facts any more than you do, dear readers.
I want to believe the antiwar, liberal lion myth -- but it just ain't so!
I know he thundered against the Iraq War, but what did that amount to other than bellowed fart mist?
Believe me, readers, as an indoctrinated believer in the Kennedy name for so long here in Massachusetts, this carries no pleasure at all.
"Group checking on ethics of former
WASHINGTON - A watchdog group is seeking all contacts between the Pentagon’s second-ranking official and Raytheon, his former employer, in an effort to determine whether special conflict-of-interest guidelines have been followed.
President Obama’s choice last year of William J. Lynn, a former executive and lobbyist for the Waltham-based defense giant, as deputy secretary of defense had been controversial, and Lynn needed a waiver from administration rules barring ex-lobbyists from working in government agencies with jurisdiction over their former industry for at least two years....
As Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates’s top deputy, Lynn is the Pentagon’s day-to-day manager, with responsibility for hundreds of billions of dollars in defense contracts.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he had served on the staff of Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts.
--more--"
Related: Ted Kennedy's Legacy
"Brown may win seat on key panel; Senator looks to deliver defense funds for Mass." by Bryan Bender, Globe Staff | February 12, 2010
WASHINGTON - Republican Senator Scott P. Brown tries to fill the late Edward M. Kennedy’s role as leading procurer of federal contracts for Massachusetts’ defense industry....
Brown, a lieutenant colonel in the Massachusetts National Guard, is pushing hard to be seated on the Armed Services Committee, a perch Kennedy used to funnel billions of defense dollars to the Bay State....
Related: Selecting a Senator: Brown on the Waterboard
Shouldn't he know better?
Or does he not mind a six-second spin himself?
Massachusetts’ other senator, John F. Kerry, does not sit on committees with similar powers of the purse. Kerry is chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, a top-rated panel for its role in shaping US foreign policy but which primarily controls foreign aid. He is also a member of the Finance Committee, which oversees policy, and the Commerce, Science, and Transportation panel, which has far less budget power than the committees to which Brown is seeking appointment....
Oh, Kerry doesn't bring home the bacon like Ted, huh?
Sits on the wrong committees, does he?
Outside observers said that, no matter where he winds up, it will be nearly impossible for Brown to have the kind of influence of Kennedy, who could single-handedly deliver lucrative defense projects important to Massachusetts.
Related: Meet Your Antiwar New England Liberals
The luster is fading fast, isn't it, readers?
“Kennedy had a lot of clout within the military,’’ said Cort Boulanger of the Defense Technology Initiative, a trade association that represents the New England defense industry and works closely with members of Congress. “He was able to deliver for Massachusetts. That was true no matter who was in the White House or running the Pentagon. They are very big shoes to fill.’’
When it came to a next-generation destroyer designed by
Isn't that EXTORTION that threatened NATIONAL SECURITY over some PORK JOBS for a BLOATED MILITARY MACHINE?
He was also crucial in funding the alternate engine program for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a project designed by
Related: MSM Xmas Gifts: War Profiteers
Again, pork projects not even the ravenous Pentagon wants!
Also see: Why Ted Kennedy Lived So Long
