National defense vs. what’ s good for my state

One of the fundamental problems with Congress is that legislators perpetually place the interests of their own constituents above the interests of the nation as a whole.  This is quite transparent in defense procurement (and one of the reasons a major weapons system may have components assembled in literally dozens of states and Congressional districts).  Kevin Drum has a great take-down of our oh-so-principled member of Congress regarding a recent Air Force decision:

Northrop Grumman and EADS, the parent company of Airbus, have beaten
out Boeing for a huge contract to provide aerial tankers to the Air
Force. McClatchy reports the reaction:

“I
am extremely disappointed in the Air Force's decision to choose
Northrup Grumman/EADS over Boeing to make the critical new
aerial-refueling tanker. From the beginning, the Air Force vowed to
have an open competition process,” said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. “I
look forward to seeing their justification for this unfortunate
outcome. If this decision holds, it will be at the cost of American
jobs and American dollars, if not our national security.”

Huh. I wonder why Roberts is so bent out of shape. Let's see if the LA Times has anything to say about this:

Boeing,
which was considered the odds-on favorite because it built the tankers
that are flying today, had planned to assemble its planes, based on its
767 passenger jet, in Everett, Wash., then ship them to Wichita, Kan.,
to modify them into tankers.

Ah. That explains it. Any other reaction?

In
Paris, at the annual air shows, Airbus officials and Southern
politicians proudly displayed the proposed European tanker offering and
made the argument that if the United States wants to sell its weapons
to European countries, it should also open its doors to foreign
suppliers.

That's mighty open-minded of those Southern politicians, isn't it? Back to the LA Times:

In recent months, Northrop tried to burnish its bid by proposing to assemble the plane in Alabama [and Mississippi! Don't forget Mississippi! ?ed.].
Its initial plans called for the planes to be assembled in France
before being shipped to Alabama to undergo tanker modifications.

Gotcha.
Nothing new here, of course. Just thought it was worth pointing out
that all huffery and puffery from congress critters about this deal
should be taken even less seriously than usual. When it comes to
military bidding wars, national security is about the last thing on
their minds.

Does it matter if the Air Force gets the best deal or best equipment?  Of course not.  All that matters is that the deal happen in the Senator's state.