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(Exclusive to The Beacon) After reading this column, many will remark, “Obviously, Andre!” Others will respond, being even more frank, “Really Einstein? Hey, later will you reveal what 2 plus 2 is?” Notwithstanding those Shakespearian retorts, anyone who has invested an hour of their lives in politics will confess that the obvious and the rational are often the elephants in the room. Politics has a mercurial blueprint for cloaking the evident with benign neglect. And sometimes, with wounded pretense. Thus, though it is preaching to the choir for some, all should see behind the veil. 

Patricia McKeon, wife of Congressman “Buck” McKeon, bewildered many with the announcement of her candidacy for the Assembly Seat representing the 38th AD.  Bewildered because Mrs. McKeon has never been known to voice the slightest desire for elected office, in general never publicly championed any of the great causes of our day, nor ever gained a reputation as necessarily engaged in community affairs.  Nevertheless defense and aerospace industry titans like Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Boeing, Raytheon, and lobbyists representing such have taken the seemingly bizarre step of immediately subsidizing this freshman engagement to the tune of $19,200 and counting. 

Why would such globally prestigious and well-heeled firms take note of such a candidacy?  With objectives orbiting the science and technology of our nation’s defense, what benefit awaits Boeing et al. for bankrolling a candidate whose public individual history is bereft of past advocacy or defense of their objectives?   And why – of all sectors – has the defense industry become Mrs. McKeon’s shield and sword?   Bottom line, her husband chairs the House committee to which defense powerbrokers must pay deference too in order to secure favor leading to lucrative government contracts.  Congressman McKeon chairs the House Armed Services Committee.     

Said executives and lobbyists perceive Mrs. McKeon as the conduit to Chairman McKeon’s favor.

Roughly speaking, the House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) jurisdiction encompasses funding and oversight of all Marine Corps and Navy aviation programs, Air Force acquisition programs, military logistics and maintenance regarding equipment and weapons care, intelligence support and information technology against emerging threats, investigations regarding waste and inefficiencies, military personal matters, etc.  That jurisdiction details HASC’s overarching responsibilities for reform and organization of the Depts. of Defense and Energy, for ongoing military operations, and for general defense policy. 

In discharging its responsibilities, HASC routinely secures services and products such as training communications support, logistics expertise, surveillance and information processing, electronic systems, weaponry, aircraft carriers, satellites, etc. from defense contractors.  Such partnerships are secured through either a competitive bidding process or occasional no-bid contracts. 

As chairman of HASC, Congressman McKeon wields authority over such matters as HASC staff hiring, HASC subcommittee membership and leadership appointments, and distribution of committee/subcommittee budgets. While none of this influence obstructs the integrity of the bidding or no-bid processes, defense intimates deduce that contributions to Mrs. McKeon will move Chairman McKeon to pro Lockheed, for example, conversations with and recommendations to fellow HASC committee and McKeon-appointed subcommittee chairs.  And with Chairman McKeon’s notoriety as a confidant of Speaker Boehner’s and as an esteemed fundraiser, a HASC member’s rejection of a McKeon recommendation may be costly. 

Furthermore, reduced Dept. of Defense (DOD) spending now burdens defense contractors with heightened sales pressure.  As the industry’s biggest weapons patron seeks to cut $500 billion over the next decade, reduced acquisition orders have bred lowered earnings and sales forecasts, share buybacks, and reduced net income for defense contractors.  The rational becomes a survival instinct for defense intimates.  Shoring up a freshman candidacy void of any prior public community or statewide engagement becomes perfectly logical; if, that candidate has the affection and ear of he who has chief responsibility for organizing and reform of the DOD. 

This column may make the cold shoulder my constant companion in the 38 AD.  Many will say, with Mrs. McKeon’s spokesperson Joe Justin’s wounded pretense, that defense firms view her as the “best positioned candidate” to effect regulatory reform in California.  And it is “demeaning” to her to assert otherwise.  My reply: Let’s be intellectually honest.  Let’s not check our brains at the door.  The optimism, cultivation, and solutions, which will lead to California’s better tomorrow, cannot be feigned. California’s better tomorrow will be realized through grit and ideas, not through an open palm.            

Andre Hollings- Guest Commentary

Andre Hollings is a former congressional staffer for Congressman McKeon and served as McKeon’s Antelope Valley Field Representative. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon.