Lobbyist overdose

I think this has about more ill-informed opinion by a very powerful person per paragraph that I have read in a long time.

“Shipbuilding, shipbuilding. Getting the numbers of the fleet up,” said Gene Taylor, the Democratic representative who counts among his constituents Northrop Grumman’s sprawling Ingalls shipyard here on the Gulf of Mexico. “Numbers do matter.”

Taylor, ranking member of the House Armed Services projection forces subcommittee...

Yes, numbers are important. With even a steady-state ship building budget, to have more hulls you have to control costs. Can we agree?

Taylor noted that the DDG 1000 is too far along to effect changes in its power source — construction of the first two ships will be ordered in 2007 — but he is looking squarely at the follow-on design planned by the Navy, the CG(X) cruiser variant of the DDG design. The service plans to order its first CG(X) in 2011.

“That’s still in the mix,” Taylor said of the CG(X).

“So one of my challenges — and I feel pretty confident that I’ll have the assistance of Congressman Bartlett on the Republican side — is to see that that generation of ships and all subsequent generations of ships are nuclear-powered.”

I am not a nuke, but still. There are HUGE costs involved with a nuclear powered ship. HUGE. How are you going to get your numbers if you want the next cruiser to be a nuke? The math simply isn't there.

Then again, you have this - speaking of DDG-1000.

Taylor emphasized he too would focus on building up the Navy’s fleet. Asked if he supported the Navy’s planned seven-ship buy for DDG 1000, Taylor said “I think we can do better.”

“As the ships perform — they’re magnificently made, they perform magnificently — as the Navy sees these assets my hunch is they’re going to ask for more and I plan on being in position to help them get more,” he said.

I want you to read that again.

How can you say that something is "magnificently made" or that "they perform magnificiently" when one hasn't even been built yet?

Rep. Taylor is one of the better Democrats. Heck, I would probably vote for him if given the chance. What happened? He should know this cold. Someone give this good man a proper brief!!! Sigh.

Hat tip YN3.