Posted on 02/06/2013 4:15:02 PM PST by SkyPilot
With less than a month left to replace the $1.2 trillion in automatic budget cuts scheduled for March. Republicans revealed Wednesday their party is divided over what is more important: protecting the Department of Defense or pushing spending cuts no matter the cost.
Republican Sens. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona continue to speak out about how devastating across-the-board spending cuts would be to the Pentagon, while their GOP colleagues in the House say sequestration, no matter the cost, may be the only way to force spending cuts from the White House.
"Our enemies would love this to happen," Graham said during a briefing with reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday addressing the severity of across-the-board defense cuts. "I am sure Iran is very supportive of sequestration. I am sure that al Qaeda training camps all over the world would love if [sequestration] would gut the CIA."
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.com ...
"If you feel comfortable with cutting the government this way, then you've lost your way as much as the president," Graham says. "What happened to the party of Ronald Reagan who said the number one goal of the federal government is to fund the Department of Defense? What happened to that party? I intend to get that party back."
Indeed.
I agree with the sentiment, but sequestration need not cripple us if we would stop subsidizing the defense of first world nations like South Korea, Japan, and Germany. When will we bring the troops home? End the occupation!
The war was lost when the Stupid Party signed up for the Fiscal Cliff in the first place.
The point of sequestration was that it would be so painful that the congress-critters would choose to actually do their job rather than face the “devastating cuts”.
To now disregard the very issue that was putting them in a corner would be just another example of how inept, feckless, and ball-less Congress has become — including (especially including) the Republicans.
This IS Obama’s economy. Make him eat it. No budgets for 4 years and the RINOs want to bail him out again.
Let the cuts happen.
The Feds won’t do their primary job, either way.
No reason to throw keep throwing good borrowed money after bad.
And as old as I am, I remember when Reagan was voted into office.I voted for him. He was a RINO, but he loved this country. He was also pragmatic.
Reagan would have wanted us to let the Sequestration happen.
Those of you advocating that sequestration be alowed to happen are fools. Sequestration will bury the economy and upwards of 2 million people will lose their jobs. For those who say the job cuts will only hurt Govt workers, you are also fools. Many of us who work for Defense companies will be jobless. If this happens I will recieve my 3rd pink slip since 2009. I will lose my house, drain my savings, and have nothing left for retirement. But, you will also be suffering right along side me when the economy goes into the shitter.
All this is BS. Strongest conventional force that the US may face is China. Chinese navy is starting to build their first Arleigh Burke type destroyer that has networking command and control capability. Without this the PLAN cannot closely coordinate and share info with PLA and PLAAF in theater. Their aircraft carrier is a medium size carrier with conventional power and will need refueling and bases to project. To match this does the US need a super destroyer vs an improved Arleigh Burke DDG follow on or an improved Agesis cruisier based on the current Ticonderoga class CG. Less costly product improved current ships with ability to upgrade without tearing the ship apart should be the naval program. Example is the Spruance destroyers built under Pres Carter catch up program. They enter service with ASROC, helicopter, gun and Sparrow Octuple SAM launchers. Large hull, bloc shape structure lightly armed. but they were produced rapidly to replace the FRAM destroyers. The large Spruance went on to incorporate Cruise missiles, advance electronic upgrades, twin SAM launchers, Harpoon SSM, and later blocs had Vertical Launched Systems (VLS). The USN still thinks they are facing the Soviet Union and keep proposal super expensive surface combat ships when a Spruance strategy is needed to face China at best and fits US budget contrainst. We need to build lower cost ships that can be upgraded over time. The US has two critical military areas they need to dominate that China does not, Stealth fighters and attack submarines. The Chinese ASW gap is huge compared to US and China is starting to experiment with first stealth aircraft. The US needs low cost stealth fighters that they can produce in huge numbers and not a few super planes. When China finally achieves a stealth fighter immune to radar, air to air warfare will be like WW2. Radar is limited and lady luck of who spots who first visually will be the game. Numbers will count when two sides have radar nullifying ability. Graham is correct if the US has money to spend, the US is like Western Roman Empire, it is about to collapse and broke, and may end up like the Eastern Roman Empire fighting a delaying action against more numerous enemies. This is why growing number of Americans do not like either party on fiscal matters. One wants to tax and spend, and the other wants to cling on to Empire America even if the war costs more then the value of the province we want to own.
You are wrong on both counts.
1. Ronald Reagan was not a "RINO"; that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.
2. Ronald Reagan would not have sat by and watch this nation's military be eviscerated by an entitlement state Congress
Dempsey: Sequestration Will Gut the Military
Defense Cuts In Sequester Would 'Hollow' Military, Joint Chiefs Warn
Rush summed it well. The next 10 years the US will spend 44 trillion. Sequestration will force the gov to spend 43 trillion over the same period of time. So how is the US economy and US defense destroyed??!!!!
There are a lot of those on the board lately, and in our Congress.
I never thought people who claimed to be Conservatives were really this short sighted and myopic. It has been an education.
Is the GOP still a party?
The Pubs have only been a pretend opposition for a long time. Now some people are waking up to the fact they live under a 1 party dictatorship.
Want to bet on the number of people who know a pedophile Senator at the head of the Foreign Relations Committee has been sleeping with a Russian prostitute, vs the number of people that can give details of a brief power failure at a sporting event?
Most people already forgot what all that sequestration stuff was about. Let it burn.
“”The majority of the caucus agrees that at the minimum, the spending cuts we have already agreed on, must happen,” Huelskamp says.
Oklahoma Republican Rep. Tom Cole echoed the sentiment...”
Well, it’s going too happen. Prepare for it now. You should have prepared already.
You know someone who borrows a third of the money to pay you is not a reliable employer.
Yes, I’m sorry the voters elected fools.
Defense and our military is the cornerstone of our values, our freedoms, our world standing (which is related to economic power by the way), and our national will.
Defense has already been subject to $450 Billion in cuts over ten years before Sequestration. Those initial cuts began in 2011 (2 years ago). Defense has already been cut, and cut deep.
Sequestration is a disaster for the Dept of Defense. They cannot touch troop personnel strength, so the money has to gutted from Operations and Maintenance, and because they delayed it once all of those cuts have to take place between March and September, and that is only for the first year.
When you hear the news stories about the military cutting bone and muscle this time, it is not an exaggeration.
This is madness. Our Republicans masters in Congress came up with this jack assery along with their drinking buddies in the Democrat seats. They came up this forumula. They placed great hope in a Windmill In The Sky "Super Committee" that would be chaired by Senator Murry, Senator Kerry, and Rep Clyburn.
The "Super Committee" was such a joke the Democrats walked out. And then they laughed in the Republicans faces.
The GDP went down 0.1% last quarter because Defense spending shrunk 22.1%, the lowest over 40 years, and that was before Sequestration.
Entitlements are exempt from Sequestration. So the US military and the men and women who serve in it are paying the price for runaway Food Stamps, Social Security Disability, and 3/4 Trillion in unemployment checks cut since 2008.
How is this moral and good?
It isn't.
The Republicans need to wake up, and realize they will be blamed when the Obama economy goes into recession (and it will). They will be blamed for weakening the military (and they will definitely be greatly responsible if they allow Sequestration to happen), and they will have broken faith with our men and women in uniform.
If you want to embrace all of that, go ahead.
What a great political slogan.
I can just imagine Ronald Reagan saying that on national television.
You know what's funny? My experience lately is that the same people who have these metal magnets on their bumper stickers are the first to throw the military in front of the moving conveyance.
Agreed.
I have been preparing, but my preparation isn’t going to save me. I have already been laid off twice since 2009. Those layoffs hurt me bad, but I made it through. There is no way I can make it through another layoff. There are many other veterans like me that will get screwed. Defense companies recruit us because of our skills, and our work ethic. There are not alot of civilian sector companies out there that are eager to hire a 47 year old retired Marine GySgt with no college degree even though I have more experience than many of their engineers.
I have been preparing, but my preparation isn’t going to save me. I have already been laid off twice since 2009. Those layoffs hurt me bad, but I made it through. There is no way I can make it through another layoff. There are many other veterans like me that will get screwed. Defense companies recruit us because of our skills, and our work ethic. There are not alot of civilian sector companies out there that are eager to hire a 47 year old retired Marine GySgt with no college degree even though I have more experience than many of their engineers.
I guess you think it’s OK to just keep printing money and spending twice what is brought in on taxes, while saddling the future people with astronomical debt for your parties now.
Or is it that you think taxes should be doubled to support your lifestyle?
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