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Conflict of interest? Congresswoman staunchly backs Constellation -- and is wed to astronaut , Orlando Sentinel
"We know it's personal to her," said Dean Acosta, a spokesman for the Boeing Co. and for the Coalition for Space Exploration, which represents all the big Constellation contractors. "She knows the importance of [Constellation] because of conversations with her husband. She has been one of the key drivers and one of the key voices ... [and] one of the biggest vocal supporters of Constellation and Ares." ...
"If she were out there asking tough questions about Constellation at the same time she was out there roasting alternatives, people would have a lot less problems with her," said one senior White House official not authorized to speak for the administration. But it was her treatment of Augustine, a highly respected aerospace leader, that most angered White House officials, and even upset the former Lockheed Martin CEO himself."
Ouch.
You know, I never thought that I'd ever feel sorry for Rep. Giffords, but this piece has made it happen. I'll admit that I'm not a fan of hers. Her uncritical parroting of every NASA 'talking point' rubbishing the alternatives to the failed Ares-I experiment is part of what is bogging NASA down at a time when bold action is required to save the HSF program from its own mistakes. Indeed, her enthusiasm for Ares-I (and really only Ares-I, as if it is the thing that would return the US to the Moon) borders on that of a fanatic.
However, that said, I refuse to accept that she has done anything improper. I am satisified that, if she has stated an opinion or asserted that something is a fact, she has done so in the genuine understanding that what she is saying in true. If she has been influenced in her opinions by what her husband has told her, I am confident that Mr. Kelly has never knowingly told her a lie on this matter. CxP's senior management's ability to hide unwelcome facts from even its own teams is, of course, long since become legendary.
For me, the quote from an unnamed and allegedly-'unauthorised' White House source is a good clue that major changes are on the way and that Ares-I will not be part of what emerges from these. The Administration clearly has little patience for the political backers of Ares-I who are thus impediments in the way of the President's new vision for NASA. As one of orthodox CxP's most vocal proponents, Ms. Giffords is being warned to either support the President's new program or remain silent. The Orlando Sentinel article is a warning shot to remind her that, if she does not co-operate, her political integrity will be publically impuned and her personal life paraded in front of the press and presented in the worst possible light. Her fate will, of course, be a warning to others.
In some ways this whole affair is bitterly disappointing to me. Arguments about the future of HSF should be resolved by debate, data and facts. It shouldn't be resolved by shouting slogans as loudly as possible and by the dark political arts of slander and character assassination.