There’s an interesting passage in a Florida Today article today about comments by Rep. Suzanne Kosmas (D-FL) during a speech Monday in Titusville:
Kosmas is awaiting the release of a draft budget proposal for NASA from U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who chairs the House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee.
Kosmas is a member of that subcommittee, but has not heard when the proposal might be released or what it might contain.
Ignoring for a moment that the “draft budget proposal” would be an authorization bill, not an appropriations bill, it’s interesting that a subcommittee member whose district certainly has a stake in such legislation apparently isn’t involved in its drafting. Later, talking about pushing for a shuttle extension, Kosmas said, “I want to have my cake and eat it, too.” That’s tough to do when you can’t even get into the kitchen to see if they are, in fact, baking a cake.
Update 2pm: I spoke late this morning with a spokesman for Rep. Kosmas, who said she was misquoted in the article. She in fact is involved with the development of the authorization bill, but could not discuss specifics of the bill, nor when it will be formally taken up by the subcommittee, since those details haven’t been worked out yet. (The article has been updated to reflect this.)
I am not sure that anyone has ever accused Kosmas of having anything other than a tenuous grip on reality when it comes to space. She still thinks it’s all about saving jobs to get re-elected. A most unimpressive representative.
At least Kosmas has finally got the message — thanks to $40 million from the Obama administration — and is trying to help diversify our local economy. Still not a peep from Posey on bringing jobs to Space Coast.
As I have said for so long…”the fix is in”. Obama will get his space program.
It is discouraging how badly the pro Constellation people understand politics.
Robert G. Oler
Robert G. Oler wrote:
“As I have said for so long…â€the fix is inâ€. Obama will get his space program.”
I am not so sure. Florida is crucial to Obama’s future and I don’t see anyone of his supporters from there willing to take a bullet for him, especially after what happens in November. I think he’s got problems if he has Commanders Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan standing in direct opposition.
Rep. Giffords is seeking a Compromise NASA budget. http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/pages/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=884:giffords-seeking-compromise-on-human-space-flight-plan&catid=67:news&Itemid=27 The Compromise will most likely include a SD-HLV(Direct Launcher)! http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2010/05/ambitious-ares-test-flight-plan-hlv-demonstrations/
It’s pretty common for a chairman to “write” the first draft of a bill, by which I mean staff and the Office of Legislative Council, and then circulate it among members. Whether it circulates before it’s introduced or after depends on the chairman. The Subcommittee and Committee members will have multiple opportunities to change the bill, either in pre-introduction interaction with the chairman, or during the amendment process when the subcommittee and committee consider the bill officially. You have to start somewhere, and that’s usually the chairman’s draft, which he/she probably wrote with a copy of the administration’s proposed legislation in hand. Bottom line: I don’t find Kosmas’ comments at all out of the norm. Undoubtedly, she will participate in the process. (My understanding is that Gordon and Gifford already asked members for input into the bill.)
Florida is crucial to Obama’s future
but the counties in which space dollars maintain the government dole are not.
Robert G. Oler
Rick Sterling wrote @ May 11th, 2010 at 11:19 am
nope. the stuff at NASAspaceflight.com is just hyperventalating by the save Ares or lets do DIRECT group. Its not very well informed
Robert G. Oler
@Robert
Why not? Population is population. Counties don’t vote like the electoral college. If in 2000 Bush had paid a visit to the space coast, he might have been able to rack up higher margins in the Orlando-Melbourne corridor, offsetting the vote tallies in Miami Beach. Space matters on the margins in most states, but in close state, the margins matter.
FWIW
Eric Sterner wrote @ May 11th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Obama wont be on the margins in 12 anymore then he was in 08. FL is a purple state going blue…there is a certain population and population density where a state no longer is competitive to this GOP (ie the GOP has to have a certain rural mix to be competitive).
An analysis of how the vote went in during the 00,04 and 08 election…and Obama’s totals etc more or less means that even if he lost the entire counties of the space groupies it would not have changed his 08 victory.
And it is very unlikely we are going to see Bush margin elections in the future…the tides are going to swing massively one way or the other (and I dont think it is far right)
Robert G. Oler
The last opinion poll (April 19) in Florida showed Obama’s rating was up. 50% approved of the job he was doing, 45% disapproved.
Click here for the poll.
He knows he won’t carry Space Coast as it’s one of the more right-wing counties in the state, but he keeps trying to help these people anyway no matter how unlikely it is they’ll vote for him.
Stephen C. Smith wrote @ May 11th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
Obama’s future is much like Ronaldus the Great’s was in 81/82 and then 84…completely dependent on the national economy and the forces that he has set in work to “fix” it.
At this point in 82 even folks in the GOP were predicting that Reagan was a one termer and the Dems were salivating about running one of their liberal spear chuckers against him in the great victory of 84. Funny thing is that the economy recovered and for better or worse (some of both) the changes Reagan put in managed the course of The Republic until Bush the last came along and just ran them into the ditch.
I dont know how this show is going to play out, but the resemblance are somewhat scary (if one loves history). The economy is starting to sputter back to life…it might be temporary and it might be not all that deep, but even the airline industry is now talking about hiring and so is the rest of The Republic.
The trick is going to be how deep it is…and then how The Republic is changed by the Obama years. The deficit is a problem and how that is fixed is going to be important (although with the tax information out today you can sort of see how that debate plays out)
What one sees so far on the politics of it is that the GOP/tea party folks is making the same noises that the Dems did with Mondale etc. ie they are swinging harder and harder to the fences.
What is going to be interesting to watch is the Senate Race in FL. It is one of the three interesting races (and if Specter loses the primary one of the four interesting races) in 2010. It will take a lot of talent but if Crist wins then watch 12 simply be carnage for the GOP.
Obama will never carry the Space Coast (as you mention)…it is to right wing and irrational. The space people ahve become almost like the birthers
Robert G. Oler
Well Robert Oler and others. Kosmas’ district includes a lot of people in Orange, Volusia and Seminole counties as well as Brevard. Probably the bulk of the population in the 24th. District in fact. It’s a reasonably moderate district and I do not hear much argument about space here in the western end of the district.
A lot of people here generally support Obama’s plan for NASA but they are probably more interested in the larger issues of American politics.
Robert, as an aside … My wife’s sister and her family are visiting with us for a few days. We took them on the KSC tour yesterday.
As we pulled up to the LC 39 observation gantry, the bus driver pointed out that Pad 39B had been modified for Constellation, but “that program has been cancelled.”
(Note … not officially cancelled, but that’s what he said.)
I proceeded to explain to the relatives the reason for the cancellation, the history and politics behind it, etc.
Her brother-in-law instantly sputtered a knee-jerk Fox News parrot condemnation of Obama, and started ranting about fifteen political appointments that Obama supposedly made without Senate approval.
I calmly explained to him what a recess appointment is and that every President has done it, but he wouldn’t listen so we changed the subject.
Today I printed out a couple articles showing (1) Dubya had 110 recess appointments in his first term, (2) every President going back to Washington has done recess appointments, (3) it’s in the Constitution, and (4) an article showing quotes from the GOP Senators condemning Obama now who defended Bush when he did the same thing.
He read through it, said it was “interesting” and moved on.
To his credit, he actually read it. I had a nice warm glow from having debunked another Fixed News prevarication.
Oh, a postscript on the KSC tour … On the final leg of the tour, the video playing in the bus was about Constellation. (The tape is about five years old.) It said NASA was going back to the Moon and we’d be there by 2018.
I said aloud, “Fat chance of that,” but didn’t seem to get a reaction from anyone.
In any case, it shows how they’ve been shovelling propaganda at people all these years without actually moving forward by significant measure.
To his credit, he actually read it. I had a nice warm glow from having debunked another Fixed News prevarication.
Stephen, you seem to be a smart guy. Can you explain this Fox News derangement? Do you really want to be in the same narrow box as the illiterate and illogical Oler? When has Fox News (as news) complained about recess appointments by Obama? And if so, how is MSNBC (as an example) any better?
Hey, great to hear about your KSC tour. But Constellation has every intention of coming back from the dead with plans five (5) “test flights” including a manned flight to ISS! And in just a month of two Constellation supporters plan to demolish LC-39B in hopes of putting a stake through the heart of the Shuttle. This makes no sense. Constellation is spending billions to build a tiny capsule barely larger than Apollo, almost useless for ISS logistics. It will cost more per launch than Shuttle.
Apollo was canceled because human spaceflight with expendable launch vehicles was, and is, much to expensive too have any practical value. SpaceX has no possibility of accomplishing anything other than sending a tiny handful of astros on a one-off unsustainable mission, whether to the moon, Mars or an asteroid. Constellation is being sold now mainly as a jobs program for a few of the people getting fired because we are canceling Shuttle.
Shuttle, meanwhile, can carry seven crew and 11 tons of payload on every mission, together with the RMS and EVA capability to get the job done. Shuttle is running on rails, ripping of almost a mission a month without major problems. What does it cost to put the Shuttle in orbit? LOX is 60 cents a gallon, LH2 about 98 cents. Shuttle fuel is cheaper than gasoline! All the energy that puts the Shuttle in orbit costs about $850K, and most of that is for ammonium perchlorate for the SRBs. Essentially the entire cost is for maintenance, and fabrication of expendable parts, and overhead for the huge Apollo-era facilities like the VAB, MLPs, Crawlers and LC-39.
But we are canceling Shuttle, which is finally fulfilling its promise, when we could easily afford to keep it operating, while at the same time restarting orderly development of a fully reusable successor which was already underway int he 90’s with the X-33, X-34, X-37, and DC-X.
We are about to disperse forever the only workforce in the world that knows how to maintain reusable spacecraft. These are the very people we need to build a successor, because they know how to do the job better. This is most tragic error NASA has ever committed, because it will delay the achievement of practical human spaceflight by generations.
so we must keep the shuttle because we have the only workforce in the world that knows how to operate the shuttle?
and the fuel might cost $850 k but that massive standing army required to support the rube goldberg-ian monster that is the shuttlein runs up the tab by several orders of magnitude per launch.
We are about to disperse forever the only workforce in the world that knows how to maintain reusable spacecraft.
first off the workforce doesnt have a clue how to maintain a reusable spacecraft. a Salvagable one maybe …a 737 or F 22 is reusable. The shuttle is not reusable.
Second. the workforce is to expensive. We dont need them.
Robert G. Oler
Stephen C. Smith wrote @ May 11th, 2010 at 9:22 p
Fox News sort of lost it for me during the time after 9/11. They were interesting until then but after 9/11 the “Terror” infatuation was absurd…of course there was always the video of Laurie Dhue either pole dancing or being paraded around in manacles.
The most depressing thing the other day I saw was someone forwarded me a clip of John bolton of all people beating up on Obama (on Fox) for recess appointments. “Gretchen” just nodded her head. (Bolton was a recess appointment).
what will be interesting in the politics of all this is to see how many of the tea party people make it to office and then how many are willing to grind up more spending for the space program…
I dont think it will be that many.
(actually it is clear that with tax rates lower then at anytime since the 50’s…we are not over taxed)
Robert G. Oler
Fox News is destroying its competitors in lame stream (funny Sarah!) cable news. They are succeeding by serving the news entertainment needs of a grossly under served center right America. Gretchen Carlson grew up in the town in which I now live. Rep. Michelle Bachmann was her nanny! They are both foxy.
The Gubment is now spending 5% more as a percentage of GDP than any time since WWII. The electorate (and markets) will demand that that decrease precipitously. We tea partiers will support HSF in the coming new order because it is tantamount to supporting the military.
They are both foxy…
yeap thats the level of discourse of the tea bag people.
Robert G. Oler
“yeap thats the level of discourse of the tea bag people.”
Are you suggesting that teabaggers think with their teabags?
I’m more concerned about the level of discourse by people who call people concerned about federal spending and the Constitution “teabaggers.” I have a word for such, too, but I’m polite enough not to use it in public.
I applaud the use of the term because it is so revealing of those who fancy themselves moderates. I creates disproportionate polarization in favor of the conservative cause. So spew away, and on election day you will be gang tea bagged.
The sad truth is that amightywind is the smartest self-proclaimed “tea partier” out there. I know this is hard to fathom, but it’s true.
The sad truth is that amightywind is the smartest self-proclaimed “tea partier†out there. I know this is hard to fathom, but it’s true.
I think that’s unlikely, because I know a lot of Tea Partiers, and none of them are as moronic and ignorant (and cowardly — they use their own names) as “abreakingwind.” Actually, if you care about such things, the Tea Partiers seem to be better educated than the general population.
And for those deranged by Fox News, that source is the New York Times.