Nope. Cut it all, or you're not serious about fiscal responsibility. Right now, a large extravagant military is simply a useless bauble that's sucking away taxpayer monies with little to no return on the "investment."
And, last I checked, there’s a war going on.
Irrelevant. Congress is only authorised to raise and support armies by specific appropriation for two year periods. This means that the whole "standing army" expenditure is pretty much unconstitutional on its face. Since we've had no actual budget for several years now, but have been shoestringing it along, this also means that, while we're shoestringing appropriations for the wars, there hasn't been any actual *legitimate* appropriation for it taking place. Again, either you're for budgeting or you're not for budgeting. The former indicates fiscal responsibility, the latter indicates a lack of it.
And while we're on the war - it's time to end it. Occupying Afghanistan serves absolutely no US security interest. It's simply as rathole that we're pouring money down so that the US government can justify inflating expenditures.
hat do you think George Washignton’s response would have been to 9-11? Oh, wait, we already have that response - “shores of Tripoli”.
I think you mean Thomas Jefferson, not George Washington. However, Jefferson also sent the Navy (and the Marines, which are a Department of the Navy, and were originally shipboard pretty much entirely, except for brief landward excursions), not a standing army, so your analogy is useless on its face.
Do you think they would have put up with this half-assed no-effort war? No. They would have fought and fought to win.
Yeah - they would have fought it to win, and then come home once it was done, and demobilised any armies temporarily raised. Like we should have done in 2002.
If conservatives want to be constitutionalists, then by all means, let’s be consistent about
Whenever you'd like to start, please feel free to.
“Nope. Cut it all, or you’re not serious about fiscal responsibility.”
Again, cutting the 81 percent of non-military spending is fiscal responsibility directed with proper priorities. Priorities of spending is the most important thing of all.
“Right now, a large extravagant military”
The military is neither large, nor extravagant. We are at wartime at present, ergo cutting the military is not appropriate at this point in time.
“Irrelevant.”
Not at all. Wars are wars. Wars must be fought to win. Peacetime military is very different from the wartime military.
“Congress is only authorised to raise and support armies by specific appropriation for two year periods.”
Not since the Bill of Rights.
“This means that the whole “standing army” expenditure is pretty much unconstitutional on its face.”
One of the reasons the bill of rights was passed was to deal with this part of the Articles.
“Since we’ve had no actual budget for several years now, but have been shoestringing it along, this also means that, while we’re shoestringing appropriations for the wars, there hasn’t been any actual *legitimate* appropriation for it taking place.”
This is the big problem. The problem isn’t so much the lack of appropriations for the military, it is the fact that legally, the budget must be passed, each and every year. This is a huge problem for one missed budget, let alone 4. This issue must be addressed instantly.
“Again, either you’re for budgeting or you’re not for budgeting. The former indicates fiscal responsibility, the latter indicates a lack of it.”
And I’m very much in favor of budgeting.
“And while we’re on the war - it’s time to end it.”
So sayeth the loser generation that lost in Vietnam and drew in Korea. No, we’re going to fight in Afghanistan and win in Afghanistan. As much as I’m sure the boomers want to cut and run, the younguns like me who have been fighting the war for their entire adult life are going to keep fighting.
“Occupying Afghanistan serves absolutely no US security interest.”
Establishing a democratic and free Afghanistan does.
“so your analogy is useless on its face.”
Jefferson didn’t cut and run from the Barbary Pirates. Why do you think Jefferson would cut and run after something like 9-11?
“Like we should have done in 2002.”
Umm, neither the war in Iraq nor the war in Afghanistan was won at that point in time. So you believe in losing wars?