Jon Soltz cofounder of VoteVets.org is a tireless advocate for our men and women in harm's way. He knows they are not threatened by a lack of Top Gun style air to air jet fighters. Soltz a vet himself says, "we didn't have enough body armor, we didn't have enough armored trucks." Today on MSNBC News Live with David Shuster Jon Soltz debated Georgia Congressman Phil Gingrey on more F22 spending.
Phil Gingrey fearmongers about the Russians and the Chinese in order to push his pro F22 agenda. Not to mention he brings up the inevitable loss of jobs as an excuse to not cut military spending. You can use that excuse for every necessary reform we have to push through, and Republicans have and will. Conveniently when it's not about military spending they don't worry about the jobs. Soltz doesn't let the jobs argument go though, he says F35s are made in the same building, and the jobs will remain if we buy the appropriate (and much cheaper) planes.
Soltz had a fantastic article with more info about F22s last week called Will Congress Put Useless Jets Over America?
For those not familiar with the F-22 and why it's a waste, let me explain. It's one of the most - if not the most advanced air-to-air fighters in the world.... To fight the Soviet Union's next generation fighters. That's right, that's why it was developed. The fighter has limited air-to-ground capabilities, which renders it pretty much useless in the wars we're fighting right now, and might be fighting well into the future. President Obama and Secretary Gates have rightly decided to shift our procurement to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, which we could actually use, because of its air-to-ground and stealth capabilities.
F22s Pricetag $137,500,000 each times 141 currently built = $19,387,500,000 for something we don't use, and yet there's no money for healthcare which would save folks money?
Crossposted to the Progressive Electorate, pop in for some Southern regional politics mixed with national Progressive agenda items. User diaries and comments allowed and much appreciated!