Truck bid loss shows Texas may be losing leverage

[douglas9]

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon's decision to shift the production of Army trucks from Texas to Wisconsin after 17 years caught Texas' elected officials by surprise, raising questions about overconfidence, a loss of political clout and the impact of economic incentives provided to the winning company by Wisconsin's Democratic governor.

Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry and the 34-member Senate-House delegation are rallying to salvage a deal for BAE Systems that could be worth $2.6 billion and sustain 10,000 direct and indirect jobs around the sprawling truck manufacturing plant in Sealy.

But as one Democratic operative puts it: “That's like having a party in the corral after all the horses have run out.”

The 92-year-old Oshkosh Corp. undercut BAE Systems' bid by roughly 10 percent. The Wisconsin company had support by a predominantly Democratic congressional delegation that helped Barack Obama carry the state last November. And the truck builder reaped the benefits of state assistance crafted by Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle.

Elected officials in Texas assumed the contract would remain in their state, relied on networks of support built up during Republican control of the White House and Congress and did not provide BAE Systems any state assistance.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6741012.html

[PDittie]

1. Devastating.

Ten thousands jobs in the region between San Antonio in Austin lost. Rick Perry and Michael McCaul and Cornyn and even Hutchison will feel the political recriminations, but Perry, who constantly touts his economic influence, fell down on the job here by failing to make sure the BAH plant had financial incentives to keep this contract.

The comments form the usual TeaBagger crowd at the Chron.com are vicious: ' "Maybe he can manufacture his "Republic of Texas" trucks' reads one.

This is a huge blow to both the state's economy and to Rick Perry's political aspirations.

[SteveM]

4. Has Perry decided he is a governor or a caudillo in a breakaway republic? (nt)

[PDittie]

6. El Pendejo Padron

[wicked stepsister]

2. heartbreaking for the people counting on those jobs

but Perry won't likely feel a thing from it. Sleep tight, Governor - a few thousand more of your constituents won't be thanks to you.

[Historic NY]

3. Elections have consequences. Oshkosh is an old time military truck builder.

[Sailing]

5. Sometimes I wish I was a cartoonist.

This post coupled with the "Vegas bachelor party" post is just BEGGING for a cartoon.

[mbperrin]

7. Why would anyone be surprised that to the victors go the spoils?

Texas has a minority government coupled to a breathtakingly narrow view of the role of state government.

Those in power with vision shouldn't find it difficult to defeat that, and they didn't.

More to come, without doubt.

[sonias]

8. Perry's office "It's BAE's fault"

Perry never admits doing anything wrong. Expect his office will soon blame Obama for some kind of payback. Just wait for it.

Katherine Cesinger, Perry's deputy press secretary, said BAE Systems “did not ask our office for any assistance prior to the recent decision.”

“It sounds to me like complacency may be the biggest for in Texas losing this contract,” says political scientist Paul Light of New York University. “The Army made a decision to give the contract to the lowest bidder. If I were an elected official from Texas, I'd stop whining and start asking questions about why Texas didn't put up the dollars to help the company keep that contract.”

Sonia

[MrsBrady]

9. and those people will go to Dallas or Houston for work.

and job prospects aren't good here, either.