Comments on: Election day preview

By: Donald F. Robertson

Donald F. Robertson — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 19:45:53 +0000

Oops, slip of the memory there: Dr. Griffin has done the masterful job of distributing the pork.

— Donald

By: Donald F. Robertson

Donald F. Robertson — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 19:44:44 +0000

Michael, I may be over-optimistic, here, but I think it very unlikely a Democratic Congress would actively fight the VSE. First, it will be at or near the bottom of their list of priorities. Second, NASA under Dr. Golden has done a masterful job of spreading the contractor wealth — being against the VSE is likely to mean being against jobs in your state. Third, as recent votes in Congress have demonstrated (somewhat to my surprise, it must be said), support for something like the VSE (if not the VSE itself) is bi-partisan: many younger Democratic politicians are not ideologically opposed to human spaceflight. Fourth, as Republican advertisements have been pointing out, any Democratic Congressional leadership is likely to be largely from the San Francisco area, and it is often forgotten that we do have a major presence in the space industry — NASA Ames, Loral Space, and Lockheed Martin are all headquartered here, as are more than our share of second and third tier subcontractors. Two of the nation’s remaining commercial satellite factories are here. San Francisco area politicians are aware of and often supportive of spaceflight issues.

I do expect a different tone, and automated space science may fare better under a Democratic Congress. But no Democratic Congress is likely to retreat entirely from human spaceflight, and, given that, there are not a lot of clear — and politically and financially acceptable — alternatives to something like the VSE. By the time they actually get around to addressing the issue, its likely to be pretty firmly entrenched. Viewed as a jobs program, it may even get more positive attention than it does under Mr. Bush.

— Donald

By: Mark R. Whittington

Mark R. Whittington — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 19:39:04 +0000

Michael, my guess is that if the Dems take the House, we might see not so much a serious attempt to cancel VSE and one to transfer money from it to aeronautics, space science, etc.

By: Michael Mealling

Michael Mealling — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 19:08:51 +0000

Lampson may be for the VSE but can he buck his entire party if it has the majority in the House and it is hell bent on obliterating/blocking anything ever supported by Bush? And can Lampson or any of the other Democrats who are predisposed to space keep Oberstar from trying to gut the CSLAA?

By: Donald F. Robertson

Donald F. Robertson — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 18:07:37 +0000

Jeff: Sherwood Boehlert, chair of the House Science Committee, is retiring.

Even though I often disagreed with him, and I’m in the other major political party, I consider this way too bad. As far as I could tell out here on the other coast, Representative Boehlert was always a thoughtful and careful voice of reason. He was not afraid to go against the majority opinion of his party to argue for what he thought was right. At least by me, he will be missed.

— Donald

By: Mark R. Whittington

Mark R. Whittington — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 17:39:17 +0000

“Republicans here detest Lampson more than they do Hillary Clinton.”

That’s certainly not true. No one is detested more than Hillary Clinton. In any case, anyone elected to Texas 22nd, no matter of which party, will be a reliable vote for VSE.

By: Anaxagoras

Anaxagoras — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 15:20:47 +0000

I live in Texas and work in state politics. The rumor has been floating around but has absolutely no basis in fact. Republicans here detest Lampson more than they do Hillary Clinton.

By: Rand Simberg

Rand Simberg — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 13:04:55 +0000

Actually, it’s rumored that if it’s close in the House, Lampson is a good candidate for a party switch.

By: Anaxagoras

Anaxagoras — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 12:37:26 +0000

A win for Lampson is a win for NASA. In addition to being a solid vote for NASA in the House, Lampson could achieve a great deal in solidifying support for the VSE among his fellow Democrats. And because the Democrats will be thinking ahead to 2008 and will obviously need to work hard to keep District 22, his holding that seat will give the Democrats a solid political reason for supporting NASA.