Why are we more worried about politics than defense?

Panel deals Pentagon base-closing setbacks - Yahoo! News
POLITICAL VICTORY
The day's biggest reversal was the decision to preserve the Ellsworth base for the Cold War-era B-1 bomber was a victory for Sen. John Thune, a Republican who beat former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle last November by claiming that he would be better placed to save the facility.

The base is the second-largest employer in the largely rural state of 750,000 residents.

'This is a great day for South Dakota, but we think it's a great day for America,' said Thune, adding that he spent more
time lobbying base commissioners in the last three months than he had with his family."

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I'm sorry that your state has been unable to sufficiently diversify its economy that you've become dependent on the federal government, but that's your own damn fault. The Defense Department is not the Department of Federal Job Assistance.
And if you've spent more time with the BRAC folks than your own family, you damn sure haven't spent enough time dealing with legislation - you know, the passage (or better yet, repealing) of laws, for which, get this, legislators are elected. It's not "a great day for America" but rather a great day for South Dakota's open hand, greedily grabbing for slices of a federal pie that were already deemed undeserved.
Sp much for removing politics from the BRAC process...