Dave, the DOD is the Constitutional responsibility of the Federal Government. Do we need to change the global role of our military? Yes. But we shouldn’t butcher its budget. The majority of other Federal Departments oought to belong to the several States rather than being Federal. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say anything about the environment or pensions for all.
If our government followed the Constitution, we most likely wouldn’t be bankrupt.
It’s a stunning display of feckless stupidity that the GOP thinks that there is nothing in the DOD budget to cut.
Talk to the guys coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan and ask them about waste. There’s HUGE waste in the DOD, some of it just ripe-suck stupid stuff.
If the GOP came forward with a list of waste and fraud in the DOD to cut, they’d remove the #1 bargaining and PR point that the DNC has: That the GOP refuses to cut defense spending. OK, so give the DNC what they want: Defense cuts - in their districts. Give the DNC cuts galore - that hit their constituents. Then go forward proposing more cuts to many more departments.
But no, the GOP wants to double down on stupid and say “No defense cuts at all.”
Which shows that they’re not serious fiscal conservatives.
People like to bring up the fact that defense is Constitutionally empowered, unlike say Medicare. It’s not really a matter of defense anymore, rather “pursuing national interests,” or whatever, but nevermind. The unconstitutional departments should go first, however in insisting on that we lose tge game to the Dems. And I’m not talking about the perfect as the enemy of the good here. I’m not talking McCainian compromise. I’m saying all the other side has to do is bring up defense to stop us from cutting the budget.
It is their trump card, and they will beat us with it. Defense robs us of all credibility and makes them—them!—appear fiscally restrained. It’s worse; it makes us them.