Connecticut's leading candidates for U.S. Senate are sparring over who is best-positioned to protect the Groton submarine base, a huge employer that is vulnerable to Pentagon spending cuts.
U.S. Rep Chris Murphy and former U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays are touting their Washington experience as they target former wrestling executive Linda McMahon, who says politicians like them carry some of the blame for the government being in such financial straits.
None of the candidates argues for anything less than an all-out effort to protect Naval Submarine Base New London. But the posturing over the last week highlights how candidates on both sides are trying to use a theme of government insider versus outsider to their advantage ahead of the November election.
Since the administration of President Barack Obama raised the possibility of base closings in January, Connecticut officials have been rallying to stress the importance of the sub base and the investments made by the state to increase its military value. The base was nearly closed in 2005 by a Base Closure and Realignment Commission, called BRAC, and many fear it soon will be targeted again.
On a visit Monday to Groton, Shays criticized McMahon, his rival for the Republican nomination, for telling a reporter from The Day on a stop there last week that her support for a BRAC round would depend on the proposed cuts. He noted Congress would have to authorize the process before the Pentagon announces the proposed cuts.
"She just really is frankly pretty clueless about this," said Shays, who served in Congress from 1987 until 2009.
Murphy, a Democrat, also said McMahon's initial comments suggest a lack of familiarity with the law surrounding BRAC. He said in an interview that discussion of a new round of base closings is premature because the government has not achieved the savings that the last round was designed to generate.
McMahon, who has the GOP endorsement in the Aug. 14 primary, has benefited from a political climate that does not necessarily favor experience in Washington. Her campaign lumped McMahon's rivals in with other elected officials in criticizing Congress for not doing more to avoid the need for cuts.
"Congress' failure to act is what has led us to this point of even having a discussion of a possible BRAC," said McMahon spokeswoman Erin Isaac, who added that Congress has not made any "meaningful" attempt to cut spending.
Isaac said McMahon would protect the base through a jobs plan that prioritizes defense spending.
Asked about criticism that her comment showed a lack of understanding, McMahon told reporters Monday that she is worried about fighting for the sub base, not the process.
"What I am stressing is that I will fight, tooth and nail, to keep our sub base open here in Connecticut because it is not only central to our national defense, but also to the economy of Connecticut. So, that's exactly where I'm going to be," she said after delivering a speech at the Connecticut AFL-CIO political convention.
The Groton base pumps $4.5 billion a year into Connecticut's economy and supports at least 15,000 jobs around the southeastern section of the state. Since escaping the last round of base closings, the state of Connecticut has committed $50 million for improvements to help increase the value of the base, which is the home port for about 16 nuclear-powered attack submarines.
Former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, a Shays supporter who led the charge to keep the base open in 2005, said he believes Shays is the only candidate with the political connections needed to help the base survive another potential BRAC.
"We're very vulnerable politically. We need a U.S. senator who knows the players and knows the game," Simmons said. "The consequences are potentially disastrous."
Robert Ross, the director of the state's Office of Military Affairs, said whoever wins the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Joseph Lieberman will have a significant responsibility to help keep the base open. But he said he expects whoever wins will be a quick study.
"They'll come up to speed very quickly, just like Senator Blumenthal did," Ross said.
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