Lagniappe Mobile Blog

It’s a rather bizarre place for local activism, but this morning I got a Facebook invitation to join a group “Support Northrop Grumman.”

The online group, (linked here if you have an account) urges its members to participate in an online survey set up by the House’s Web site.

“As you will notice, the numbers are rather skewed at the moment and if we don’t stand up and shout, we may lose something that is extremely valuable to Mobile, Alabama and the entire Gulf Coast,” the group’s page says.

MySpace has Eliot Spitzer’s call girl. Facebook has Northrop Grumman. How’s that for social networking?

It’s probably not the national spotlight Mobile’s congressman wanted, but Jo Bonner was written about in Bob Novak’s column in The Washington Post on March 11:

“House Republican Leader John Boehner, who, unlike McConnell, does not earmark and criticizes the practice, flinched from making a bold move as this year’s session began. He could have led the House Republican Conference to endorse a yearlong moratorium and name reformer Jeff Flake of Arizona to a vacancy on the Appropriations Committee.

Instead, the Republicans picked Jo Bonner of Alabama, who spent 18 years as a House staffer before his election in 2002. Bonner has voted against Flake in 49 out of 50 attempts to kill earmarks. He has promised his Mobile area constituents that they would get “fair value” for their tax dollar — the justification for bringing home the bacon from Washington. Incredibly, Boehner hailed Bonner’s selection as a step toward earmark reform.”

Novak, whose column is nationally syndicated, doesn’t have a lot of faith in Bonner to be the ultimate fiscal conservative. His criticism is a little unfair. Bonner isn’t likely to be quite as hawkish as Flake, but he won’t line up at the trough like Jack Murtha, the appropriations chair, or even Alabama’s senior senator, Richard Shelby.

Nonetheless, the Novak’s “shout-out” is the latest in national attention Bonner has gotten since getting the assignment on the House Appropriations Committee from conservatives demanding earmark reform.

The mainstream consensus among most in Washington is that Boeing was the victim of some shenanigans by the U.S. Air Force. In fact, it is hard to find anyone beyond the Alabama congressional delegation willing to stand up for the Air Force’s decision.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) even used the tanker award as political ammo against probable Republican nominee Sen. John McCain - who forced the Air Force to bid this enormous contract, instead of the convoluted plan which Boeing would lease the aircraft to the air force, resulting in criminal convictions of a Boeing executive and an Air Force procurement officer.

But for all his faults, Sen. Richard Shelby has been the one on the PR crusade, defending the air force and explaining why this is not a loss for the United States. There seems to be a void in the media of EADS/Northrop Grumman defenders and Shelby has stepped up to the plate.

After making several cable news TV appearances, Shelby had an op/ed published in today’s Financial Times:

“As members of Congress, we are concerned about US jobs. But any assertion that this award “outsources” jobs to France is simply false. With a new assembly site in Mobile, Alabama, this contract will bring tens of thousands of jobs into the US. According to the job-forecasting tool from the department of commerce, Northrop Grumman will employ about the same number of US workers on the tanker contract as Boeing would have. The Northrop Grumman tanker team will employ about 25,000 US workers at more than 230 supplier companies in 49 states,” Shelby wrote.

The Financial Times, a European-based financial publication, has been very friendly to EADS. Although that probably won’t many critics over who have questioned the award to a foreign contractor when the United States has been deemed to be heading toward economic turmoil, it’s a start.

We know Charles Barkley has thought about running for governor of Alabama in 2014, but what about the upcoming election? Since Rep. Jo Bonner landed an assignment on the House Appropriations Committee, some in GOP circles are speculating this will set him up for a run for governor in 2010.

“Look, I love my job,” Bonner said. “I feel like this new committee assignment will give me a chance to – and I don’t mean in terms of bringing more projects back to Alabama – but I think this is a good fit, even though the environment is different and we’re going to have to make some tough decisions.”

With today’s announcement that an air tanker assembly plant will be in Mobile, Bonner could be riding a wave of popularity that would make him a viable candidate. But, Bonner told Lagniappe he wasn’t sure if he wanted to dedicate his focus toward a run at the governor’s mansion in Montgomery.

“I like what I’m doing, and I’m confident we’ve got a good list of qualified men and women that are out there that would be able to focus the time and resources in the tune of $15 million to run for governor.”

Bonner told Lagniappe last month he disliked raising money. He didn’t rule it out completely.

“I’m not going to tell you that I one day won’t consider looking down the road, but right now the road I’m looking down is being the best congressman I can be for southwest Alabama.”

For now, he contended it wasn’t in his plans.

“I don’t see a scenario. I think the person who runs for governor will have an obligation – on our [the Republican] side – to continue build on the foundation that [Gov.] Bob Riley has laid for us and I think there are a lot of people out there that will build on that foundation and keep us moving in the right direction.”

He dismissed speculating on what could happen in 2010 because he is facing a reelection bid for his congressional seat, even though he is heavily favored in the race.

“I just don’t think it just serves any purpose to speculate about an election that’s two years away, when I’ve got one that six month, seven months away.”

The folks in Mobile have plenty to celebrate this evening.

An estimated $40 billion U.S. Air Force contract was awarded to a Northrop Grumman/EADS partnership which includes 179 planes to be delivered over the next 10-15 years, with the manufacturing facilities to be located at Mobile’s Brookley Field.

Most expected the Northrop Grumman/EADS partnership to do no better than splitting a contract with Boeing, the heavy favorite for the bid, but Northrop and EADS won it outright.

“Today marks the dawn of a new era for Mobile, and I couldn’t be more proud of our city and our state than I am right now,” Rep. Jo Bonner said immediately following the announcement. “We are so very excited about having the opportunity to help the Air Force acquire the most modern and capable refueling tanker – a tanker assembled in America – by Americans.”

The project received hefty lobbying efforts from Mobile’s congressional delegation - including Bonner and Sens. Jeff Session and Richard Shelby.

“The decision by Northrop Grumman/EADS to manufacture the KC-30 in Mobile was a clear endorsement of our state’s workforce, and today’s contract award represents a huge investment in our state,” Sessions said. “The assembly of over 170 tankers in Alabama solidifies our state’s growing reputation as a national leader in defense technology. From one end of the state to the other, Alabama workers are proudly providing our men and women in uniform with the best and most advanced defense technology available. “