10.09.12
Mitt Romney’s WWI Battleship Navy
Yesterday, the serial liar known as Mitt Romney went back to his astonishing nitwit’s claim about the current US Navy, in relation to the battleship navy of WWI.
I dealt with it a couple weeks ago here and at GlobalSecurity.Org.
Today, the mainstream media stopped overlooking this idiocy from the Republican Party’s intelligence-insulting candidate for President. Only because Romney used it in his much-publicized speech on foreign policy and alleged US military weakness.
At the Washington Post, Glenn Kessler wrote:
Still, we were interested in his assertion about the size of the Navy. Is the Navy really in the worst shape it has been in 96 years?
The Facts
The historical records of the Navy show that in 1916, the Navy had 245 ships. This was also the year that President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Naval Act of 1916, which put the United States on a crash course to build a world-class Navy.
But take a look at the types of ships on the list. Yes, there are cruisers and destroyers but also:
Gunboats
Steel Gunboats
Torpedo Boats
Monitors (that’s kind of a small warship)
In Romney’s Battleships, I wrote:
In 1917, there were obviously no nuclear-powered carrier strike groups, no nuclear attack or ballistic missile submarines, no cruise missiles, no nothing associated with the modern US Navy. (Number of capital units in the modern USN: 11 supercarriers, 18 ballistic missile subs, nuclear attack submatines — lots, etc. Number of “capital,” ahem, ships in 1917 USN: 16 battleships and another 23 pre-bb antiques.)
Further:
To go further into destroying Mitt Romney’s weird comparison would be the same as wasting one’s time chatting with a cinder block. It’s as dumbfounding as everything else in the secret video. And while Romney’s vignette may have been effective with hedge fund wealth at the secret dinner, it leaves one wondering just how he came up with it.
Kessler:
This is an apples-and-oranges comparison. Romney’s line reminds us of a similar strained comparison he made last year … But in this case he goes even deeper back into history. After all, 1916 is not only before computers, it is before television — even before regular radio broadcasts.
Kessler adds the Romney campaign informed that the candidate got his argument from “now-retired Adm. Gary Roughead” from a 2010 speech.
Whatever. Stupidity is hardly rare and acquisition of it from someone else does not magically transmute the lead into gold.
Kessler consults John Pike of GlobalSecurity, yes — the same place I write and do media for:
John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, notes that it is difficult to make comparisons between ships that are even much more recent. “Today’s aircraft carrier has about 10 times the lethality of an aircraft carrier of 20 years ago …
“The current level of ships, 285 in fiscal 2011, is actually not even the lowest since 1916,” informs the Post’s fact-checker. “The historical list shows that the lowest ship force was reached during the Bush administration …”
And he, and I, have already spent way too much time on Romney’s ridiculous, and — as usual — factually challenged and inept, claims.
Is there anyone, at this point, who doesn’t understand why Mitt Romney needs to be treated with total contempt?
Pay attention to the lyrics, they scroll: “He’s big and rich and always lyin’/And if it don’t stop we’ll all be dyin.'”
Mike Ozanne said,
October 12, 2012 at 3:46 am
It really is beyond stupid…
Firstly it isn’t the absolute number of vessels,or their combat potential that matters, its how that total capability compares to what the potential enemy can bring to the party.
Secondly the combat capability comparison is ludicrous, the grand fleet that our RN took to Jutland(37 post dreadnought capital ships) had to use lines of ships firing volleys to get maybe 10% of the shells to hit, that whole armada would fit into the lethal radius of 1 tactical tipped tomahawk.
Just 1 carrier battle group could overwhelm the defences of most medium sized and some large countries, there are 11 of these suckers available. And unlike 1916, other service arms can now lend assistance with long range airlift, intelligence gathering and bomber aircraft.
I think that the magic underwear must have the ability to inhibit acetylcholine….
George Smith said,
October 12, 2012 at 10:31 am
No kidding. Yet, Ryan trotted it out against Biden last night. It’s going to come up again. It’s a zombie and there’s no practical way to put a final spike through it.