Why is it that RepublicanPres. get Aircraft carriers named after them, but

[sleipnir]

Dems get smaller ships?

Case in point, the upcoming George Herbert Walker Bush Carrier (in 2008) compared with the brand new Jimmy Carter Sub? Not to mention the Raygun ship..

The new Jimmy Carter


The Raygun Ship (will also be the same class as the new GHW Bush)



Adding insult to injury, the Carter specialty mission is to wiretap fiber-optic lines, essentially a spyship not a warship. Odd indeed if you ask me. I wonder if Clinton will ever get a ship named after him and what will it be?

[Darkhawk32]

1. Simple. Penis envy. n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

3. Great minds travel on the same track hahahahahahaha

[Darkhawk32]

7. Well, I was born in Brooklyn... that might explain some of it. ;) n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Because Repukes need phallic compensation and Dems don't

[Columbia]

9. Subs are more phallic than carriers tho...

[Darkhawk32]

18. Apparently, Repugs like to RECEIVE the phallic symbol. n/t

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

4. Because Carter was a nuclear engineer on subs during his Navy time.

JFK had an aircraft carrier named after him.

[Catch22Dem]

5. That's what I was gonna say

Not that Reagan had anything to do with Carriers, but it makes sense for Carter to get a sub. Now, why the FUCK GHWB get's a carrier is a mystery to me. Didn't he bail out on his own crew. Nice job there NAVY.

[WLKjr]

19. He flew a plane in WWII, I think it was a carrier based plane

He flew for the navy I think. Am I wrong here?


But I still say it's penis envy with republicans. :D

[Catch22Dem]

20. No, you're correct, but...

Apparently when he got shot down and bailed out, he left his crew behind.

[WLKjr]

21. I am not going to argue that one

All I know was that he was shot down. That is the end of my knowledge on the subject.

[boneygrey]

6. USS Truman

is a carrier

[charlie]

8. This business of naming ships after living people is bullshit

And WTF were they doing plastering Bob Hope's name on a ship? How can anyone get into the fighting spirit when they've got to sail on the USS Bob Hope?

[NorthSideCubsFan]

14. No more naming ships after politicians period n/t

[Stop_the_War]

10. USS JFK is a carrier, isn't it?

[sleipnir]

13. It's scheduled to be decommissioned, to make room for the GHW Bush

JFK's ship will be no more in 3 years....

[zbdent]

15. The "reasoning" behind that is this:

"It's one of only three oil-burning carriers"

PLUS

"It's the second oldest oil-burners"

Hmm, I wonder what the other two oil-burners are named - and which of them is the oldest? The oldest is probably another "Repuglycan" saint . . .

Again, removing any memories of Dems . . .

[RiDuvessa]

17. USS Kitty Hawk is the oldest carrier

It's the only other diesel aircraft carrier in the fleet. It's forward-deployed in Japan. It has had better upkeep then the JFK, because of its mission.

[Ezlivin]

11. Because aircraft carriers are TARGETS

At least that's what us submariners called them.

And ten submarines, properly equipped, could take out the entire world.

I'd rather have my name on a sub anytime!

[Stirk]

12. Because carriers stay in a safe spot and send other little units off

to fight. Har. Har.

[Strelnikov_]

16. The Winner!!!

[indepat]

22. It's the right thing to do

[Charon]

23. Carrier Names

What about Frankin D. Roosevelt, or Harry S. Truman Think those gents are normally classed as Democrats, also the name of US.Carriers.

[B Calm]

24. I liked it better when they named ships after cities and states.

[Blue Wally]

25. Ship naming customs

Traditionally:

Battleships were named after states. The one exception was the Kearsarge which was named after a famous and favorite ship which was lost just as the Kearsarge and kentucky were being approved by Congress. Congress legislated the name change.

Cruisers were named after cities.

Destroyers were named after naval heroes or former Secretaries of the Navy.

Carriers were named after famous ships (Ranger, Enterprise, Hornet, Wasp) or famous battles (Saratoga, Yorktown, Lexington, Bunker Hill). The first experimental carrier, CV-1 Langley was named after an aviation pioneer. Naming after famous battles came about when the unfinished battlecruisers Lexington and Saratoga were converted to CV-2 and CV-3 retaining their names. After the loss of the CV-1 langley, CV-27 recieved the name Langley. CVL-49 was named the Wright after the Wright brothers. CVB-42 was renamed during construction to the Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Ships constructed since WWII include the CVA-59 Forrestal (a SecNav who committed suicide just before her naming) and the CVA-67 John F. Kennedy shortly after his assasination.

That opened the door for Congress naming ships after people:

CVAN-68 Nimitz
CVN-69 Dwight D. Eisenhower
CVN-70 Carl Vinson (a politician big on naval appropriations)
CVN-71 Theodore Roosevelt
CVN-72 Abraham Lincoln
CNN-73 George Washington
CVN-74 John C. Stennis (a politician big on naval appropriations)
CVN-75 Harry S.Truman
CVN-76 Ronald Reagan
CVN-77 George H. W. Bush

I think the Navy pushed for a sub to be named the Jimmy Carter, since Carter was a part of the submarine force during his naval career.



Carriers changed near the end of WWII, when FDR dies and one of the Midway-class carriers was named after him.

[CatholicEdHead]

26. What will Clinton and GWB get named after them?

I am guessing GWB will get a carrier due to his flying hours (the AWOL stuff will get ignored).

Will Clinton even get a ship? He technically did not serve and the current GOP Congress hates to even mention his name without frothing at the mouth.