Sunday, December 03, 2006
Sending A Message
I read in the San Diego Union-Tribune this morning that the Navy is scrapping plans to hold the commissioning ceremony for the USS Makin Island in San Francisco. According to the article,
The chickens, as they say, are coming home to roost.
"Navy leaders were concerned about San Francisco's refusal to offer a homeport for the retired battleship Iowa, which would be turned into a museum, as well as the school board's decision to abolish junior ROTC training in city high schools, Myatt said.Some city politicians also have publicly criticized the Pentagon. In one instance, Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval said national defense should be left to “the cops and the Coast Guard.”
I can't think of a more appropriate response by the military than to choose to hold important ceremonial events like commissionings in places where the military is more respected. As Michelle Malkin observes, maybe Fleet Week is next.
The retired Marine general who headed the citizens committee in support of having SF host the ceremony doesn't think the high-profile anti-military comments by local politicians accurately reflect the sentiments held by the majority of the public.
Well, even if that's true, I tend to agree with the adage that people get the government they deserve. A majority (or at least a plurality) of San Francisco voters elected the people making those comments, and it is well known that San Francisco is one of the bluest, if not the bluest, city in America. (E.g., San Francisco County, which is coterminous with the city, is the only county in California that did not vote in favor of the state's version of Jessica's law in last month's election.) I strongly suspect that the voters of San Francisco knew exactly who they were electing, and what their positions were.The chickens, as they say, are coming home to roost.
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