Neil Abercrombie has gotten a lot of financial backing from the defense industry, especially since his rise to Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces. This has required him to modify the radical anti-war positions he espoused during his happy, hippie days on the U.H. campus. However, his wife, Nancie Caraway has undergone no such metamorphosis. She has remained as firmly anti-military as in her 60’s activist days. This has led to some awkward moments for Neil as he tries to harvest his defense contractor bounty and deal with his attentive military brass entourage. We offer a brief sampling of the couple’s diametrically opposed viewpoints in “Dinner At The Abercrombies.”
Stryker Brigade
Neil For: Abercrombie told the newspaper he didn’t see anything in the environmental impact statement indicating why the Stryker brigade shouldn’t stay in Hawaii. (Ch4/Denver, July 27, 2007)
Nancie Against: “Talk of a “balance” between Hawai’i’s natural resources and the military’s training needs is a clever rhetorical device — but it’s a lie. Despite The Advertiser’s huckstering for the ‘aina-destroying invasion of Strykers planned to be deployed on the Big Island and Central O’ahu …a destructive project that will bring only more degradation to Hawai’i’s fragile ecosystems.” (Hon. Adv., Aug. 3, 2004)
Pacific Military Deployment
Neil For: “Relocating thousands of military personnel and their families is a massive undertaking, and will dramatically alter Guam’s future. The project will offer thousands of local jobs, thousands more from outside, create opportunities for local small businesses and transform the economy of the island. It is also a singular opportunity to put Americans to work, in an American territory, building America’s future in the Pacific region.” (Guam News Factor, July 11, 2009)
Nancie Against: “It’s enraging to be asked once again to submit to more military colonization.” (Hon. Adv., Aug. 3, 2004)
Jet Fighter Planes
Neil For: House Armed Services Air and Land Forces Subcommittee Chairman Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, said Thursday that he supports buying 20 more F-22 Raptor fighters, even though he voted against an amendment to the fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill that would keep the program alive. The additional Lockheed Martin fighters, he said during a breakfast with reporters, would give the Pentagon “breathing room” as it considers its long-term plans and strategy. (Gov. Exec., June 18, 2009)
Nancie Against: “Michael Tsai’s front-page narrative of the Thunderbirds’ “thrilling” and “patriotic” Hickam performance is no doubt an accurate reporting of the crowd’s response. (Advertiser, Sept. 20) With all the shock-and-awe daredevil feats of a digital video game, the skills of the pilots must have been impressive. That the U.S. Air Force has the budget and financial resources to produce such an “open house” is somewhat surprising given the current economic situation.” (Hon. Adv.,Sept. 24, 2009)
(it should be noted that Lockheed Martin, one of Abercrombie’s largest contributors, forked over $12,200 in 2007-2008, and $13,260 in 2005-2006 to Neil’s war chest)
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Original poster from Abercrombie’s first US Senate campaign, 1970: The Incrdible [sic] Story of Neil Abercrombie
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