McCain's 'War on Pork' May Smoke Him

McCain’s ‘War on Pork’ May Smoke Him

Skeeter Sanders, Opednews [Excerpt]

Bipartisan Blasts at McCain for Killing Boeing Deal

The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) and its U.S. partner, Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman, won a competition with Boeing on February 29 to build the refueling planes in one of the biggest Pentagon contracts in decades. The unexpected decision has sparked outrage from union halls to the halls of Congress over the impact on U.S. jobs, prestige and national security.

EADS and Northrop insist, however, that about 60 percent of their tankers will be built in the U.S.

An unusual bipartisan coalition of Boeing supporters in Congress are directing their wrath at McCain for scuttling an earlier deal in 2004 that would have let Boeing build the next generation of Air Force refueling tankers. Boeing now will miss out on a deal that it says would have supported 44,000 new and existing jobs at the company and suppliers in 40 states.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California), echoing the thoughts of many congressional Democrats, said the earlier tanker deal was "on course for Boeing" before McCain started railing against it. "I mean, the thought was that it would be a domestic supplier for it," Pelosi told reporters. "Senator McCain intervened, and now we have a situation where the contract . . .may be outsourced."