Tea partiers say defense in mix for budget cuts

[Xipe Totec]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Back home, tea partiers clamoring for the debt-ridden government to slash spending say nothing should be off limits. Tea party-backed lawmakers echo that argument, and they're not exempting the military's multibillion-dollar budget in a time of war.

That demand is creating hard choices for the newest members of Congress, especially Republicans who owe their elections and solid House majority to the influential grass-roots movement. Cutting defense and canceling weapons could mean deep spending reductions and high marks from tea partiers as the nation wrestles with a $1.3 trillion deficit. Yet it also could jeopardize thousands of jobs when unemployment is running high.

...

House Republican leaders specifically exempted defense, homeland security and veterans' programs from spending cuts in their party's "Pledge to America" campaign manifesto last fall. But the House's new majority leader, Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., has said defense programs could join others on the cutting board.

...

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in a recent pre-emptive move, proposed $78 billion in spending cuts and an additional $100 billion in cost-saving moves. While that amounts to $13 billion less than the Pentagon wanted to spend in the coming year, it still stands as 3 percent growth after inflation is taken into account.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110123/ap_on_bi_ge/us_tea_party_defense_cuts

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Apparently the Tea Party wants to form the Zell Miller Spit Wad brigade...

:rofl:

[grahamhgreen]

1. That's something the majority agrees on - let's cut that first in a single bill.

[Xipe Totec]

2. Agreed!

Let's see how the Republican rank-and-foul attacks the left without pissing off the right this time.

[johnroshan]

15. Finally some sense from the right.

Take down the MIC. This phenomenal theft of our resources was predicted a long time back.

Eisenhower's Speech.

"This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."

Its so sad that despite the warning signs along the way, we still have fallen flat on our faces.

John.

[SheilaT]

3. As well it should be.

We really don't need to spend as much as the entire rest of the world combined on our military.

In fact, it's the bloated military and all the black-budget spending associated with it that's bankrupting our country, NOT Medicare or Social Security. Or National Parks, or maintaining bridges and roads. Or anything else.

[Warren Stupidity]

7. SS subsidizes the deficit, it doesn't add to it, it subtracts from it.

For example, in 2010 FICA pulled in around 70B more than it paid out, even though 2008-10 were not exactly boom years for workers.

At some point in the future boomers will be demanding more than FICA brings in and the flow will flip from surplus to deficit, and then that 2.x trillion in t-bills will have to be paid back, slowly, over decades. There is no SS crisis.

[grahamhgreen]

8. This is the most important point left absent from the entire debate in our media. Repeat often.

[SheilaT]

10. Yep. There is no SS crisis.

Unfortunately, ever since at least the early or mid 70's various people have been trying to claim that there is. As long ago as then, when co-workers would say things like, "Social Security won't be there when I retire" I'd tell them they were wrong. It will be there. Maybe we'll need to finance it slightly differently (and in reality just raising the cap would do the trick), but it will be there. Worse yet, too many who are my age (62, not collecting yet) STILL believe that SS is in trouble.

[cstanleytech]

4. 78 billion ? What a joke, it needs to really be

more like atleast 500 billion because right now we spend between 800 - 900 billion the last time I checked where as china and russia combined spend like 130 - 160 billion.

[AlbertCat]

5. The Pentagon is a welfare program for Government contractors

B-but what about all the jobs that will be lost? Those factories and plants can't make or do anything else more useful to the everyday guy? It's not like there isn't a lot of things to do right here.

[ThoughtCriminal]

6. This is where teabaggers get an education

about who is really running things.

[customerserviceguy]

9. And those who are running things

own congresscritters on both sides of the aisle, who have been bought and paid for by the military-industrial complex. It's tempting to think that the tea partiers and the Democratic Representatives can combine to eliminate wasteful military spending, but the latter surely have some sacred cows in their backyards that they're not willing to sacrifice.

Maybe we can simply agree to cut overseas military spending in places like Europe (outside the Yugoslavian peace treaty responisibilities), Japan, and South Korea.

[mommalegga]

12. No reason we need to defend the rest of the world.

Part of the reason Europe has such a better social safety net is becasue they dont spend so much on their military becasue we are there. Time for them to carry their own defense burdens.
We need to take care of our own people first.

[customerserviceguy]

16. I agree, with the exception of the Bosnian situation

We brokered a peace deal that stopped a lot of people from being killed, and since it's working, it's worth keeping our commitment to the people of that region, until they learn to get along with each other the way the rest of Europe did.

[SemperEadem]

11. who gives a fuck what they think?

it's time for the adults to take charge.

[and-justice-for-all]

13. I sure as hell don't....nt

[NeoConsSuck]

14. The entire Tea Party platform

can be summed up in one sentence: I Want a Bigger Piece of the Pie

So it is only natural that they want to see cuts everywhere. Cuts to right wing favorites, left wing cuts, it doesn't matter where it is being spent. If it comes out of their tax dollars, they want it cut so their taxes decrease and their slice of the pie increases.

I'll sit back and watch this with amusement. The tea party is going to learn the pukes don't give a rat's ass about their ideas. Thanks for the votes, now sit down and shut up. Sort of like we were told to do from the Obama administration members.

[Skittles]

18. worthy of its own thread

you are correct - in the grand scheme of things, none of the powers-that-be give a fuck what WE THE PEOPLE think, whether we be informed Democrats or ignorant teabaggers

[boppers]

17. Oh, this will be amusing.

When the left and right agree against the establishment, things become interesting.

[Xipe Totec]

19. Very! nt