From the moment they came in to office, a number of the “Tea Party” darlings in Congress were talking openly about cutting Defense Department spending, something which earned them scorn from the military and condemnation from many of the establishment Republicans, for whom military spending can only go in one direction – up.
Those calls quieted down considerably at a particularly inopportune time, when the massive budget deficit debate began. But now, some of the grassroots groups that command the loyalty of the key voting bloc are remembering what they were saying in January, and are renewing calls for military spending cuts.
Is it a serious push this time? It isn’t clear but Republican leadership seems to be taking it as one, and has avoided putting its most pro-war, pro-spending Congressmen on the new “supercommittee.” This conspicuous absence was quickly lashed by one such Congressman, Rep. Buck McKeon (R – CA), who termed the lack of hawks on the supercommittee a “national security crisis.”
Still, Rep. Pelosi (D – CA) hasn’t announced the Democrats from the House, and Sen. Harry Reid (D – NV) put defense industry darling Patty Murray (D – WA) on the Senate version, so it seems that even if the military hardware enthusiasts on the Republican side of the aisle are absent, the Pentagon and its associated weapons dealers will likely be well represented.
Congress actually CUT defense spending? Yeah sure, about the time that pigs sprout wings and take to flying holding patterns over downtown Jerusalem.
You see, pigs are already flying over downtown Babylon-On-The-Potomac. Which explains why there is so much pig crap washing around Washington, D.C..
You don't seriously think that this “supercommittee” is actually going to reach any kind of COMPROMISE!!!??? And if, by some fault in the space/time continuum there is a COMPROMISE!!!??? you don't think that it'll actually be good for America? Well, do ya? The Pentagon was justified for being concerned about the "automatic cuts" agreed to last week. They were wrong but justified because those automatic cuts are most likely going to kick in – unless the Congress, behind closed doors, agrees to overlook or even rewrite the agreement so those defense dept cuts never happen.
So, in the long run it makes no difference who they put on this “supercommittee.”
Besides, I didn't read anything anywhere that indicated that what these fools come up with is guaranteed to survive a House or Senate vote. Remember Boles /Simpson?
"Is it a serious push this time"?
Dear friend Jason Ditz.., everyone is “serious” about cutting the US military spending and ending the wars.., that is to say.., before election not after election.., and without a doubt when this war ends the troops will becoming home and US will close its militarism bases all over the world.., it will happen but after this war.., if not.., then next war.., in between someone will come along with a Nobel Peace Price in one hand and a million dollar check in other hand and will assure the world that after this war is all going to be about peace and harmony among people.., but after this war and when everyone is divided and when US and EU controlling the every corner of this world militarily.
Every last tea party critter voted for the most recent record Pentagon budget but now we are to believe they want to cut back? LOL!
There are a billion Muslims that we have to make happy and we can't. Our lifespans will get shorter and birthrate decline due to financial hardship. The country will balkanize. The rich will flee the taxation. Companies will move offshore.
Don't expect any cuts in military spending. Congress and the president both answer to an alien tribe from east Europe that, long ago, took over control of the Pentagon as well as the entire US government. There might be a couple of tea party members holding out for a more substantial AIPAC bribe, but they'll soon learn the ropes and join the crowd.
It's about time. And the American people supporter of Tea Partiers needs to remind these folks what they are supposed to be about.
Although I think we all know where this is going. They are not going to let this "crisis" go to waste, they'll use it to wipe out those "expensive" social services- as that idiot from S&P argued- if the US wants to regain its phoney AAA status.
The best we can hope for is a fake cut- a reduction in the rate of expansion. Although as always, there are a million ways around that, too. But seriously, how difficult can it be to cut all these private mercenaries, all our offensive commitments that have absolutely nothing to do with defense, all our military presence and bases on every country on earth, etc., etc. The easiest job, these incompetents have ever had, if they only had the gonads to tell their lobbyist buddies to go to hell. And while we're at it, lets slash foreign aid, especially to israel.
I'm a Tea Party member. We support large reductions in defense spending. The Pentagon is a bloated mess. We support withdrawing troops from places where they are not needed, like Europe and Korea. We even support eliminating corporate tax loopholes and indutry subsidies.
Stop forming your opinions of who we are and what we stand for by listening to the biased press. We didn't stop supporting these things, the media just stopped reporting on it. Our principles are immutable.
What tea party are we talking about, the one with Ron Paul ideals or the one hijacked be the neocons? If michelle bachman is what passes as tea party, I wouldn't be calling myself a member.