Quit Worshiping Politicians With Ship Names

The naming of the entire Nimitz class has become a fiasco because it led to naming 11 aircraft carriers in a row after politicians. The naming of the Ford class is looking to repeat the mistake.

Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) and four other House Republicans have introduced a resolution calling on the U.S. Navy to name a future aircraft carrier after the late Sen. Barry M. Goldwater (R-Ariz.).

Tancredo, joined by GOP Reps. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Connie Mack (R-Fla.), John Shaddeg (R-Ariz.) and Lee Terry (R-Neb.), introduced the non-binding resolution on Tuesday. It calls for the Navy to name an as-yet-unbuilt nuclear carrier (CVN-79 or 80) after Goldwater.

Goldwater, a big defense hawk, served 30 years in the Senate, and he led the GOP to a disastrous showing in the 1964 presidential race as their nominee against the late President Lyndon Baines Johnson.

Tancredo called Goldwater a "really significant figure in American history," adding that without Goldwater "there would have been no Ronald Reagan." Reagan first rose to national political prominence as a Goldwater surrogate in the '64 campaign.

Perhaps someone should ask Rep. Tom Tancredo to show us a copy of Barry M. Goldwater's resume in the Navy? Oh that's right, he was in the Army Air Force, not the Navy.

I think Congress should pass a law that says only certain types of ships can only be named after politicians, you know, like tugboats and ferry's. Seriously though, people who have a naval ship named after them should at minimum have some significant impact to the Navy before having a ship named for them, and aircraft carriers should never be named after people again.

I would like to see the names of aircraft carriers (including LHA(R)) be picked only among the following 14 names:

Enterprise
Yorktown
Midway
Coral Sea
Ranger
Independence
Constallation
Saratoga
Hornet
Intrepid
Essex
Shangra-la
America
Langley

I actually think that in a way, the LCS naming system is a good idea. Cities, or more specifically places, are a much more appropriate way for a democracy to name ships than people. I also appreciate the way the Navy has been naming destroyers.

Want to name a ship after a politician? Name a major cruiser or a submarine, as both are becoming so unaffordable that without the politics of naming we will never build to the quality the Navy demands (and won't settle without). If the only way the Navy can get a specific ship is to name it after a certain politician, then perhaps the Navy really doesn't need that ship. Just saying, we can make a better case for our naval vessels than the name it will have, so it shouldn't be a major issue to name ships after places instead of people.