As many feared, Boeing announced today that it is closing its Wichita facility. So much for its many promises that the Air Force tanker contract would support jobs in Wichita. The move will affect 2,100 workers in Wichita and will mean a loss of an estimated $1.5 billion in wages over 10 years.
Six weeks ago, no one would have predicted that Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum (in photo) would virtually tie in the Iowa caucuses. Romney was barely campaigning in Iowa, focusing mostly on New Hampshire. And Santorum was rarely even mentioned in campaign coverage (this is the same guy, after all, who lost his Senate re-election race in 2006 by a whopping 18 percent). Though Romney wasn’t able to increase the percentage of support he received in the 2008 caucuses, he has a strong organization and the discipline for a national campaign. Santorum’s appeal is nearly exclusively with conservative Christians, which could be hard to carry forward. As the Wall Street Journal editorial noted, “Santorum can sometimes sound like a charter member of the cast-the-first-stone coalition, when most voters prefer a more tolerant traditionalism.”
Members of the Kansas delegation have the right attitude about last week’s confirmation that the Defense Department, having inexplicably dismissed Hawker Beechcraft’s AT-6 bid, awarded the $355 million light air support contract to Brazilian planemaker Embraer and U.S. contractor Sierra Nevada. Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Wichita, called it “troubling that the United States Air Force would rather have these fighter aircraft built in another country, when jobs are needed so badly here at home. I will continue to fight for answers on this matter and remain committed to the men and women at Hawker Beechcraft who build world-class aircraft.” Before the announcement late last week, Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler, was similarly defiant: “It is simply wrong for the Obama administration to hire a Brazilian company to handle national security when we have a qualified and competent American company that can do the job.” Hawker filed suit last week over the “pre-award exclusion” of its bid, which the Air Force has not explained.
