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Leave it to Governor Ed Rendell to make history! Big Ed has gotten all crafty to fight the closure of a Philadelphia-area naval base.
Specifically, Rendell (who is being joined by Pennsylvania Senators Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum) is suing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, citing the "militia clause" of the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit is said to be the first of its kind.
Oh Ed, you give us the vapors!
Willow Grove Naval Air Station was chosen for closure by the Pentagon in May. The closure of the base could mean a loss of more than 1,600 jobs. Rendell's cunning lawsuit revolves around the 111th Fighter Wing at the Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base. The base closure would cause the reserve unit to be de-activated, a maneuver that can only be completed with the consent of the state's governor.
"Rendell said at a Center City news conference that the suit is based on federal statutes stemming from the Constitutional provision permitting states to maintain militias. U.S. Sens. Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum, on speaker phone hookups, supported Rendell's action.All that tough talk is making us swoon. And suing Donald Rumsfeld in the bargain? It's like Christmas in July! Good luck to you, Governor Rendell!Rendell cited a clause in the federal code that says "a unit of the Army National Guard of the United States or the Air National Guard of the United States may not be relocated or withdrawn under this chapter without the consent of the governor of the State... ."
When the Department of Defense drew up its closing list, now being reviewed by the Base Closure and Realignment Commission, Rendell said: "I was never consulted and never consented. I didn't then and I don't now."
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