Word: mx
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Indeed, his critics dub him a master of the flip-flop, accusing him of committing the deadliest sin of American politics. As a House member he supported an array of measures that he now repudiates: the 1981 Reagan tax cut, the MX missile, an antiabortion amendment and a freeze in Social Security benefits. But Gephardt is unruffled by the charges of hypocrisy: "All great political leaders have changed their minds in response to changing circumstances. It's silly to be rigid on things when circumstances change...
Some observers think the line-item veto would actually lead to an increase in Government spending. Norman Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, points out that in 1985 Reagan asked for 100 MX missiles, but Congress gave him only 50. If Reagan had had the line-item veto, says Ornstein, he could have used it to squeeze lawmakers, threatening to eradicate programs in their districts if they did not support the vastly more expensive MX. In Ornstein's opinion, Presidents, not legislators, are traditionally inclined to budgetary extravagance. "They have to make their mark in a relatively...
...rocket had failed during a test firing at a Morton Thiokol plant near Brigham City, Utah, causing an undetermined delay in the faltering effort to resume U.S. manned space missions. At the same plant, five workers were killed when nearly 100,000 lbs. of solid rocket propellant for an MX missile section accidentally ignited. Since a similar fueling procedure is used for the shuttle boosters, that problem must also be solved before the next U.S. manned space flight is launched...
...MX fire was seen as more of an avoidable accident than a fundamental problem with the long-range nuclear missile or with standard fueling procedures, which had been performed safely thousands of times. Actually, the MX has had far more serious problems with its faulty guidance system. The propellant ignited as workers were removing a device used in the fueling process. Flames shot 50 ft. into the air, and the remote building was reduced to twisted pieces of metal. The five workers in the building had no chance to flee the inferno...
...weapons systems. A raft of new, expensive hardware is coming out of research, ready to go into production. One package of eight strategic systems (total cost: at least $250 billion) includes the Stealth bomber and three missile systems: the submarine-launched D-5, the Midgetman and the Peacekeeper (formerly MX). Congress should seriously reconsider whether all these different weapons are necessary...