Democrats Want Pentagon out of NASCAR

[WestVirginiaRebel]

National Journal:

The Pentagon has had a decade-long business partnership with the NASCAR stock-car racing circuit that has been a boon to the sport. But amid the House's Republican-led frenzy to cut federal spending, some Democrats have made it a target, backing an amendment to the fiscal 2011 continuing resolution that would prohibit any of its funds going toward military sponsorships of stock cars.

Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., wants to pull funding for the Defense Department’s motorsports marketing enterprise, despite longstanding NASCAR ties with the U.S. military and the large overlap between states where the sport is popular and those that have high populations of service personnel.

It is also a clear indication that Democrats think that the NASCAR voting bloc is not voting with them now or anytime in the future.

“It’s just a waste of money,” McCollum chief of staff Bill Harper told National Journal on Tuesday. “A complete waste of taxpayer money. The military shouldn’t be in the business of sponsoring race cars, they should be in the business of fighting wars.”

Harper said the Army spent $7 million on NASCAR endorsements, down from $11.6 million in 2009, and another $5 million on drag racing, which would not be affected by the amendment. He said the Marine Corps, Navy, and Coast Guard all dropped their sponsorships of NASCAR in 2006.

Pentagon officials did not respond to requests for comment.

NASCAR came to occupy a niche in the country’s political discourse during the 2004 presidential election, when “NASCAR dads” became the new “soccer moms.” The term arose from microtargeting research that identified a swath of largely Southern white males who could be expected to back President George W. Bush’s campaign, provoking another round of hand-wringing from Democrats that the demographic might be out of reach.

NASCAR has seized the link between the sport and service members. Ramsey Poston, NASCAR’s managing director for corporate communications, pointed to 2009 statistics from Experian Consumer Research showing that 1 in 5 NASCAR fans has logged military service, and are more than 150 percent more likely to have served than nonfans. One in three service members are NASCAR fans, according to those figures, he said, and service personnel are more than 150 percent more likely to be NASCAR fans than civilians are.

“NASCAR fans are the kind of people who fight America’s wars, which would put into question the wisdom of banning the military’s ability to reach out to them,” Poston said.

McCollum’s chief of staff, however, isn't convinced of such a direct link or that sponsorship is a fiscal priority.

“Who is in Iraq or Afghanistan because they saw an Army car go around the track?” Harper asked. “We’re in a fiscal crisis. There’s an amendment on the floor to eliminate all funding for homeless veterans. How is it more important to fund race cars than to help the men and women who served our country?”

Late Tuesday, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste -- not a traditional ally of McCollum, who is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party -- announced its support for the proposal. Aides said the amendment’s outlook was unclear. But as fiscal 2011 spending undergoes its most intense scrutiny yet, Democrats said programs like the military’s marketing outreach should be ripe for trimming.
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Once again, Democrats know what the real isssues are...

[Valin]

Just in case people have forgotten who Rep. Betty McCollum, Dufus-Minn is.

 

 

Wat to go Betty! Let's tick off NASCAR fans...that'll work.

[Saltbag]

That will be the crucial $7 million that saves our country.

 

She's an idiot, but the bottom line is that no matter how inconsequential, she's cutting something that's absurd for the government to be funding with tax dollars. Anyone that supports her could have no comprehension of the consequence of the debt. I'd see them more easily impressed by the quantity bullet points of "what she did" over how much they mattered. That's all this is. Another speaking point and bullet point.

 

So to WVR's point, yes, they absolutely know the real issues. Keeping themselves in office.

[Valin]

Anyone that supports her could have no comprehension of the consequence of the debt.

 

 

You have just provided a very good thumbnail description of Democrat politicians.

[Pepper]

Valin

Saltbag

 

Forget the fact that lots of military love NASCAR, or that NASCAR fans have family serving overseas, what that dim bulb also fails to recognize that it is about recruitment, too.

 

Let me see, I read this somewhere recently:

 

February 16 2011. Representative Betty McCollum Democrat, Minnesota, in light of the budget crisis and calling for no Pentagon ads on NASCAR is reportedly sponsoring a bill calling for a reinstatement of the draft. McCollum has reportedly stated that American's youth in colleges all over this fair land will support her in this new initiative.... Anonymous sources at the White House indicated that President Obama has reportedly expressed extreme strong endorsement for the military draft as well saying, "I want to be clear"....

 

(developing.)^sarcasm

[pollyannaish]

I'm ok with this. Let's pull the funding for the arts/PBS/NPR and the rest of that debacle. They can pull the funding for NASCAR. Keep the feds out of all entertainment. And lets wait awhile and see if both entities survive the cuts.

 

My bet...both will do just fine, although will NASCAR pull much bigger profits and military recruitment levels will remain just about the same.

 

Edited to add: This is the kind of #$%^&*( that really gets my knickers in a twist. All of it should be cut.