Elections Have Consequences

There are hundreds of small businesses and dozens of large businesses affected by President Obama’s cancellation of the Constellation program this week. (Constellation is the next human spaceflight program under development while Shuttle is flown out.) At one particular small business, the CEO, the manager, and half the staff all voted for Obama in the election for President in November 2008. Now within weeks or months 80% of the employees may not have a contract to charge to. It is highly unlikely that without a revenue stream, these employees will be kept on the payroll. So a dozen engineers will be out of work, and it’s all because elections have consequences. When the People of the Many States elected Barack Obama, who warned us during the primary campaign with Hillary Clinton that he was going to delay Constellation to fund education priorities, the consequence is executive prerogative whether to continue programs or not (subject to Congressional approval). I would love to ask the CEO and the manager if they are happy with their vote. Or if they wish now that McCain was elected. I would love to ask them what they have done or are doing to continue the Constellation program. Have they called or sent letters asking to keep it? Or do they believe so blindly in Obama, that they’ve decided it’s better to lay off all the engineers and close up the business since obviously he knows what is best for us?

Elections have consequences. So we need to pay really close attention before we vote and then monitor actions of elected leaders once we’ve voted them in. We should not just nod in agreement to our elected leaders as they dig the hole into which they bury our existence.