Buy American? Help the economy? No Way! Not our Dictator!

[pocketfullofshells]

PFOS, turn down the Battle of Los Angeles a little and realize everyone is playing nice in this thread. No reason for escalation here.

Lets remain respectful and on topic...imagine that.
(I give this little bit of advice about 3 posts before it is utterly ignored.)

I was, I was pointing out that I did not attack noObama...I simply stated that if I did, you would know.

 

[Bunz]

Bunz,

I saw obama on the news talking bout how he thought he would cancel them because the helecopter he has now is as good as any.

Well I think he might be mistaken in this regard. The Presidential helicopter has been the same model since 1961. While it is kept up to date through maintenance and the best technology available, and there has never been an operation issue for the VH-3, the standard fleet use of the same helicopter in the navy has been retired.
So it makes it problematic to keep spare parts in inventory, and also the personnel to maintain the helo, and with its age, the maintenance costs and needs are much higher than the latest helos.

Plus, in my personal opinion, despite what one thinks about whichever individual is holding the position of President, I am one who vouches for having the privledge of modern transportation equipment for our VIPs.

are these for the military or for the president? Maybe I am thinking of the wrong copters?

Well the military operates(specifically Marines) any of the VIP transports. Including the VCA-25, a 747 derivative commonly known as Air Force 1. But it is reserved for the use of the President and other high level cabinet officials and diplomats.

 

[Andy]

It's amazing how quickly we can be manipulated. Here Obama has blown a full $1 Trillion plus, in money we don't have, and now we're talking about how he is frugal by not purchasing a new helicopter.... huh? <twilight zone theme here>

 

[Bunz]

It's amazing how quickly we can be manipulated. Here Obama has blown a full $1 Trillion plus, in money we don't have, and now we're talking about how he is frugal by not purchasing a new helicopter.... huh? <twilight zone theme here>

Well he is purchasing a new helicopter, 28 of them I believe. But the important thing to note here is that the RFP for a new Marine 1 came back in 2003 and than decision as on 101 came in 2006.

 

[Mr. Shaman]

So good ole' Barak Sadama decides he doesn't want to buy American. What kind of patriotism does this crap show?

President Barack Obama’s entreaties to “buy American” to improve the economy apparently doesn’t include the fleet of new Marine One helicopters he’ll soon be shuttled around in.

http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/president_helicopters_usa/2009/03/02/187321.html

"....soon.....", huh?

​

"The fleet of 28 new helicopters - $400 million apiece - are the most advanced ever designed and are capable of providing a secure environment even in the event of a nuclear attack. The contract between the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin has nearly doubled from the original price tag of $6 billion a few years ago.

"It is an example of the procurement process gone amok," Obama said. "And we're going to have to fix it."

Obama knocked down the chopper plan at a time when the White House has been pressuring companies that take taxpayer bailout money to get rid of their expensive luxury jets.

Obama revealed he has instructed Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to look into the matter of the exploding helicopter overruns. Dismissing the need for a new helicopter came on the heels of a daylong summit on the economic crisis."

One more example of BUSHCO's efforts to Allow The Marketplace To Regulate Itself.

No prob.

This is (just) one more thing a Dem needs to clean-up, after another Bush Admin.

Try, again, Archie.

​

 

[Pandora]

If I were President, there is no question I would probably immediatly ditch whatever helicopter was in use and have one of these for my personal transport.

Well if they painted it purple id like it better

If obama buys them or doesn’t buy them I don’t care, we are already so in debt there is no possible way out so why not add on some of these


I don’t know why McCain is attacking him either; he did the same thing to Bush after Bush beat him. Maybe he is just bitter?

 

[pocketfullofshells]

hard to say without looking at specs, but I dont think that one would be armored enough...maybe hard to hit, but if you hit it, it goes down...

 

[HankHill]

I don't believe we need to be including "buy American" clauses in much of anything. Protectionist policies do not work in an age of globalization.

At this point and time "buy American" is what we need. Spending money outside of our country is not helping Americans get jobs.

Maybe we don't need a clause, but at the very least, our government should inherently buy American, don'tcha think?

And Bunz, yes I am bringing this up, and no I'm not joking as this is just one more "item" on the Messiah's agenda that pisses me off.

 

[chestnut]

Here is a great site for those who want to buy american only products


http://www.americansworking.com/

Better hurry, though, because the policies of Obama may cause these guys to close down. You never know.

 

[BigRob]

At this point and time "buy American" is what we need. Spending money outside of our country is not helping Americans get jobs.

Maybe we don't need a clause, but at the very least, our government should inherently buy American, don'tcha think?

And Bunz, yes I am bringing this up, and no I'm not joking as this is just one more "item" on the Messiah's agenda that pisses me off.

I do not really agree. Spending money abroad helps the economy in the long run. When money arrives overseas (in the form of dollars) the person who got it can only do so many things with it.

1) Take it out of circulation. But this only makes the dollars left in circulation more valuable.
2) Exchange it. This brings the money back to the US.
3) Spend it in a place that takes the dollar. Most of these places are American. And even if they are not, the new person is presented with the same options.

While I can buy that the government should buy American, I think the whole idea of protectionism should never take hold again. Of course then the issue becomes what is American. Is buying American buying an American name name overseas, or could it be buying a foreign name made in the US?

 

[Bunz]

Well if they painted it purple id like it better

If obama buys them or doesn’t buy them I don’t care, we are already so in debt there is no possible way out so why not add on some of these

For the record, the helo I posted is the RAH-66 Comanche. It was seen as a replacement for the AH-64 Apache that is currently in service. It is an incredible machine, but never went into production because it was considered to expensive. Think of an attack helo, but with stealth technology. Of course it wouldnt work realistically as an executive transport, but it is one bad helo.

I don’t know why McCain is attacking him either; he did the same thing to Bush after Bush beat him. Maybe he is just bitter?

I dont what McCains motivation for his rant was. Certainly political grandstanding when the opportunity arises, but the right wing making issue of this is frankly laughable to me.

 

[Bunz]

At this point and time "buy American" is what we need. Spending money outside of our country is not helping Americans get jobs.

Maybe we don't need a clause, but at the very least, our government should inherently buy American, don'tcha think?

Well the airframe is made with American materials, and all of the electronics are American, and its final assembly is in America. I find it slightly ironic that you dont mind the few hundred billion spent on a couple of wars, and the cost is only going to increase, even after hostilities are finally over.

And Bunz, yes I am bringing this up, and no I'm not joking as this is just one more "item" on the Messiah's agenda that pisses me off.

Well I am not even going to try and cure your overt zealotry, but do you realize that the same helicopters have been used since 1961? Just upgraded a few times? We are talking nearly 50 years. The maintenance costs are ever increasing, and now considering the standard H-3 is no longer in regular fleet service, we are going to run out of parts and qualified crew to work on the helos.

Then of course you are completely ignoring the FACT that the RFP for the Marine 1 family of helos was issued in 2003. And the decision for the Westland was finalized in 2006. Obama had nothing to do with any of these decisions. So I am trying to understand here why you are taking Obama to task over this, when it was a Bush/Rumsfeld decision.

 

[HankHill]

I find it slightly ironic that you dont mind the few hundred billion spent on a couple of wars, and the cost is only going to increase, even after hostilities are finally over.

I'm not sure where you got the idea that I don't mind the billions spent on the war. In fact I mind very much. I thought it was a huge mistake for Bush to go into Iraq. We had much more control over Iraq when Saddam was in power. Now it is just another breeding ground for Al-Qaeda.

Then of course you are completely ignoring the FACT that the RFP for the Marine 1 family of helos was issued in 2003. And the decision for the Westland was finalized in 2006. Obama had nothing to do with any of these decisions. So I am trying to understand here why you are taking Obama to task over this, when it was a Bush/Rumsfeld decision.

Obumbler could still say no, I'll buy American only.

 

[Bunz]

Obumbler could still say no, I'll buy American only.

Sure, lets cancel the helo deal. Just throw away the probably 100million already spent on testing and everything else involved in the procurement process to date.
You still are failing to understand a few things...firstly the AugustaWestland is a superior helicopter to anything that Boeing or Sikorsky could offer for the mission parameters. Secondly probably half of the compenents involved are American anyways. And that the upgrade it entirely necessary regardless of whoever is POTUS.

 

[HankHill]

Sure, lets cancel the helo deal. Just throw away the probably 100million already spent on testing and everything else involved in the procurement process to date.
You still are failing to understand a few things...firstly the AugustaWestland is a superior helicopter to anything that Boeing or Sikorsky could offer for the mission parameters. Secondly probably half of the compenents involved are American anyways. And that the upgrade it entirely necessary regardless of whoever is POTUS.

Ok, point taken.