If National Guard recruiters want to keep sponsoring Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s racing team, the U.S. House is willing to keep providing millions of dollars for the right to back No. 88.

An effort to ban the military from spending $72.3 million on sponsorships was defeated on a bipartisan vote of 216-202 — a victory for Nascar, the National Football League and the National Basketball Association, which lobbied against the proposal.

“I say let the military run the recruiting as they have done successfully for all these years,” said Representative Bill Young of Florida, chairman of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee…

It would be “irresponsible and outrageous” for Congress to continue allowing the Pentagon to sponsor sports while cutting funding for services that aid struggling families and communities, said Minnesota Democrat Betty McCollum.

“We can spend this money a lot better than we are today,” said Georgia Republican Jack Kingston, who offered the defeated amendment.

The Army has said that it doesn’t intend to sponsor a NASCAR team after this year, saying the spending can’t be justified.

Just like planes not worth flying, personnel carriers more dangerous than walking through a minefield – and toilet seats fit for a general’s soft tush – Congress is perfectly willing to throw good money after bad to stay in the good graces of their favorite fundraising pimps.



  1. sargasso_c says:

    Personel carrier racing! Putting that idea atcha.

  2. McCullough says:

    Well, where else will they get their cannon fodder? Better this than funding the VA, right?

  3. LibertyLover says:

    If we weren’t trying to police the world, we wouldn’t need such an aggressive recruitment program.

  4. dusanmal says:

    It is still order of magnitude less than pure loss of Solyndra and it certainly have recruited some for the job Government is actually Constitutionally responsible for.

  5. sheila says:

    where else can they find people dumb enough to join the army!!!

    survivingsurvivalism.com

  6. orchidcup says:

    I think I will be a NASCAR driver. Sweet gig.

  7. j c qwerty says:

    Why are they now numbering stock cars in hexadecimal??!?

    6E What’s up with that?

  8. sparky says:

    No you idiot. GE is the sponsor.

  9. NewformatSux says:

    Still less than Obama spent of taxpayer dollars to sell ObamaCare. Then there is the billions to hide the cuts to Medicare Advantage for a year.

    But hey, we hate the military.

    • I'm ugly and my mother dresses me funny says:

      Nobody hates the military, ‘tard.

      We just loves our sick folk, we does.

  10. The0ne says:

    I don’t get it. NASCAR, a sport? Here at DU? This is about a guy or chick guy turning this round thing left and right. Is this a white redneck fascination? Oh..no wonder the gov wants to throw money at it. Man, wish I was white sometimes….just sometimes.

    • orchidcup says:

      No you don’t. White rednecks are a minority.

    • The Monster's Lawyer says:

      That’s ther round thing should only be turned left.

      As far as being a white guy.
      Pros:
      * Can have all the white chicks you want
      * Can eat fried chicken and watermelon without being dis’d
      * Can buy a house wherever you can afford
      * Enjoy respect as president just because your president
      * Understand country music
      Cons:
      * Can’t say the ‘n’ word.
      * Undersize body part.
      * Can’t jump
      * Don’t understand Rap or Hippity Hop muzic
      * Can’t dance
      * No respect for keepin it real. (whatever that means)

  11. Guyver says:

    Congress is perfectly willing to throw good money after bad to stay in the good graces of their favorite fundraising pimps.

    It could be worse. The government could have billed taxpayers $178k for every job the government claims to have created / saved to curb rising unemployment.

  12. George says:

    I do not like the idea of my tax money going towards the recruitment of children. Sure, put an office in the strip mall; that’s fine with me, but I I don’t appreciate their enticing kids at sports venues.

    I took my kids to an Indycar race and right there is a US Army pavilion giving out Hot Wheels type cars and computer racing experiences to near-recruitment aged kids.

    They wouldn’t let the two 8 year olds I had with me race the simulator as I suppose they aren’t close to cannon-fodder age. You had to be like 16 or older. Nissan was nicer and let the kids do their driving simulators.

    • So what says:

      Start em young start with americas army.

      americasarmy.com

      • John S says:

        What other choice do they have? Pretty soon we will be fighting Iran and will need some more suckers willing to die. Im sure they are going to NASCAR races and not getting a education that would bring them something better then carrying a gun and get shot at in a foreign Country.

  13. NewformatSux says:

    It makes sense, since Nascar didn’t build the road, the government did.

  14. John S says:

    When Congress gives they can never take it away. This is why we are in the shape we are in.

  15. Glenn E. says:

    Some time ago, when the Supreme Court ruled that those pretending to be highly decorated war veterans, were protected by the right of “freedom of speech”. I realized it was really all about protecting the war hero images, real or fake. And the US military valued the phonys and frauds for their recruitment value. More than they valued the truth and sacrifice of real soldiers. And this plastering of military services names and logos, on anything that thrill the young. Is obviously just more of their recruitment poison, they like to inject into their brains, at the youngest age possible. What’s next, Saturday morning cartoons sponsored directly by the US Amry, US Navy, US Marines? Instead of hiding behind GI Joe, and other para-military cartoon action series? Apparently the Pentagon believes that 1 in 200 (or so) of every young car race viewer, will think favorably about joining the military.

    And regardless of how you feel about that career decision. It’s rather sad that these are the only jobs, in the US, that spends the taxpayers money to influence young minds to sign up for. And the only one that rarely ever turns down, anyone who does, regardless or education, criminal records, or dodgy immigration records. While all the non-military jobs keep getting out-sourced to those the US might end up going to war with, someday.


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