Just Another Facet of Obama’s Anti-Capitalist Agenda
By What with all the claiming of credit for killing bin Laden and what not, has Obama forgotten the people who truly matter?
Shed a tear for the executives at Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and the rest of the sprawling defense industry. Yes, they benefit from billions in taxpayer dollars while millions of Americans struggle to make ends meet. But they’re not getting the praise they deserve for killing Osama bin Laden. Wait, what?
That is an actual argument made by Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute, a Beltway research group that reliably represents the interests of defense contractors. Thompson wants President Obama to tip his cap to the defense companies whose hardware and software SEAL Team Six and the CIA used to kill Osama bin Laden. “[I]s it really asking too much for some sort of official acknowledgement of the role that private enterprise played in the Bin Laden raid?” Thompson asks in a Monday op-ed.
Given the Obama administration’s radical anti-capitalist agenda, it’s not wholly unreasonable to note the wide variety of equipment that helped make the raid a reality. Spencer’s response is well phrased:
Yes, the SEALs had impressive gear for the raid, from stealth helicopters to powerful satellites. But if you gave, say, me every piece of equipment that the SEALs had, I regret to inform you that bin Laden would still be alive. Louisville Slugger did not win last year’s World Series. Mario Manningham’s cleats did not keep him in bounds for one of the greatest receptions in Super Bowl history. Even the haters must recognize that LeBron James’ NBA Finals performance is not attributable to Nike or Gatorade.