Air Base Andy
| ✈️ | |
| Era | The Fifties |
|---|---|
| Age | 33-39 |
| Home | Omaha, NE (SAC) |
| Demographic | military, white, career officer |
| Lean | cold_war_hawk |
| Race | white |
Andy is a Strategic Air Command major stationed in Omaha, and he represents the defence establishment in the cast. For him, the threat from the Soviet Union justifies almost any level of military spending.
Who they stand for
Andy stands for the career officers and defence workers around air bases such as Offutt in Nebraska, where General Curtis LeMay built up Strategic Air Command starting in 1948. This is a small group with disproportionate political influence, because every Air Force town, aircraft plant and member of Congress with a base in his district has an interest in defence spending. This group generally benefited from the decade's decisions. Truman's 1949 budget cuts and the Navy's public dispute with the Air Force over the B-36 bomber gave way, after the Korean War began and the NSC-68 policy paper was adopted, to a defence budget that roughly tripled. Eisenhower's New Look defence policy then shifted money from the Army toward bombers and nuclear weapons. This group voted for Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956, but its loyalty is to the military mission rather than to either party. Members viewed the stalemate in Korea, the dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur, and the 1955 Geneva summit with the Soviet Union as signs of weakness. Their allies in Congress raised alarms about a bomber gap and a missile gap later in the decade.
Playing to them
Andy responds to a clear demonstration of military strength. He wants a large Air Force budget, new bombers, a reinforced NATO, and a president who answers Moscow with deterrence rather than negotiation. He forgives a great deal from a president who keeps Strategic Air Command well funded, but forgives nothing from one who cuts the defence budget, opens disarmament talks, or agrees to a summit with the Soviets. He views a war fought only to hold a truce line, such as Korea, as a sign of weakness, so a stalemated Korean War damages his opinion of a president either way it is handled. He does not care about Senator Joseph McCarthy personally, and a president need not indulge McCarthy to keep his support, but dismantling the loyalty screening programme costs him some.
The defence budget that wins Andy's support is typically funded through deficits or cuts to domestic programmes, which costs Banker Prescott, Farm Wife Edna and Old Country Olga. The confrontational posture that wins his support loses Garment Row Saul and Faculty Eleanor, and makes GI-Bill Buddy, who wants no third war, uneasy.
Where they live
The five states where Air Base Andy makes up the largest share of the electorate in the fifties:
- Hawaii
- Alaska
- Washington DC
- Maryland
- Virginia