http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/26/base.closings.ap/index.htmlBut the Ellsworth was a blessing for South Dakotans who feared losing about 4,000 jobs, and a victory for Sen. John Thune and the state's other politicians who lobbied vigorously to save the base.I smell some back room deals going on around this bullshit. Which is all that BRAC is any way, one hand washing the other. But this one really smalls like shit. It would have spelled the end of Thune had Ellsworth been closed. So a state that has a population of 754,844 gets to keep 4000 jobs. Well, that is just great, did these idiots think of how this might affect national security? The Republican power brokers in DC could in no way allow the junior senator to get the ax so quickly in his career, this might have allowed a Democrat to slip into his seat. So the country is stuck with a Air Force base that is entirely redundant. Thanks a lot you Republican idiots. Thanks for endangering my safety for your pork barrel politics.