Automatic Military Cuts May Stand in Congress

[ProSense]

Automatic Military Cuts May Stand in Congress

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER

WASHINGTON—Mere seconds after the leaders of a joint Congressional committee announced their failure to reach a deficit deal, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee announced he would try to undo the consequences.

Yet the chairman, Representative Howard P. McKeon, Republican of California, and other members of Congress who hope to overturn the automatic cuts may find their biggest obstacle is not President Obama, who has already called the reversal of $1.2 trillion in cuts over 10 years a nonstarter, but leaders of both parties in Congress. They control what legislation reaches the floor and have shown little hankering for reversing the cuts.

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And while Republican lawmakers with strong ties to the Pentagon and the defense industry will be aggressive in asserting that the automatic cuts will harm the military, many newer conservative lawmakers are more devoted to cutting spending than to bolstering the Pentagon budget, potentially diluting the party’s support for restoring the money.

“If the plan is to exempt only defense spending from sequestration,” said Will Adams, a spokesman for Representative Justin Amash, a freshman Republican from Michigan, “he does not support it. ”

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Cracks in the ranks!

To quote Bernie Sanders: "The American people have made it clear that it is time to take a hard look at mushrooming defense spending."

[ProSense]

1. Bad news?

Or fans?

[DCBob]

2. Interesting.. this may actually happen without a fight.

good!

[Cali_Democrat]

5. "this may actually happen without a fight"

Not a chance.

The Military Industrial Complex will never be subjected to cuts without a fight, which they usually win.

[DCBob]

6. True dat.. but this time may be different.

It will not be easy to undo the triggers... especially when Democrats are increasingly seeing them as beneficial.

[Hutzpa]

7. Time for those Reps. to start hiding their assets

because the military is going to try and fight this, we all know they fight dirty,
I don't believe all of them will as some in the military do agree with over spending
and would like to see cuts made, but there are the rogues who thinks that milking the
government should be the order of the day.

[ProSense]

8. True, but

"The Military Industrial Complex will never be subjected to cuts without a fight, which they usually win."

...sometimes they lose, video: death of the F22 (fascinating case study in waste by Rachel Maddow )

[Hutzpa]

3. wow

another maestro move by the Obama administration.

[DCBob]

4. This sets up a rather bizarre scenario..

Many of the new teabagger Republicans may actually vote with the Democrats on any new bill proposed to do away with the defense spending cuts.

[sofa king]

9. They can try all they want in Congress. Ain't gonna happen.

The President very deliberately reversed the dynamic, forcing the Republicans to pass the law first, and only having a chance to change the details if they dealt honestly in the budget super committee.

The Republicans had no interest in working honestly in the committee. Their only real objective was to extend tax cuts for the rich before that issue totally destroys them in the next election.

That didn't work, and now they've f%&^ked over their most important supporters. The moment they did, the President wisely took compromise off the table, which he can easily do because his veto will never be overridden.

Now the Republicans have two dynasty-ending problems: they're going to get killed on the tax cut issue, and they have to kiss up to Congressional Democrats and the President--in an election year--if they want to get funding for their most important supporters re-appropriated.

Part of what makes it one of the smoothest political moves I've ever seen is that the President found a lock-tight way to use the Republicans' dishonest ways against them. He knew Republicans don't actually give a shit about the deficit or the debt ceiling--our national debt was to be paid down by now had Bush not stolen the election in 2000.

The President also knew that the Republicans are so beholden to special interests that they can't suggest cutting anything except programs that help the downtrodden; in 2010 they couldn't even supply a budget counter-proposal that had numbers in it.

So when they took the economy hostage to get their tax cuts back, the President instead assigned them the task of fixing the problem they created, knowing they can't without damaging their own political base, and made them agree to the President's own plan if they didn't. And now it's all right there for the world to see.

I have no doubt some of that money will be returned to Defense, but it will be returned by Democratic legislators, with the approval of the President. And every Defense lobbyist in DC knows it, just in time to advise their clients not to fund Republican reelection campaigns next year.

[FrenchieCat]

10. Your analysis is how I see it as well......

I think that Pres. Obama has used being underestimated by Everyone
as a weapon against the Republicans......Who he realized long ago
have been the enemy of the people for a very long time.

[quaker bill]

11. Well said and on target

Thanks

[The Wizard]

12. The bloated military budget

is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Everyone in Congress is in fear for two reasons: Defense contractors will stop sending cash to secret off shore accounts in tax havens and the Military Industrial Media Complex will label them as soft on the ism or bogeyman of the day, thus threatening their careers. We need a national strike until our military expenses are more in line with real and not imaginary threats, with the imaginary threats serving as jobs programs in select legislators' districts and States. We're getting hosed and it has to stop.
After 9-11-01 no one questioned the fact that 19 guys with box cutters and a desire for a perceived 72 virgins brought this country to its knees in fear after we spent more than the rest of civilization combined on defense. Military spending and legislative bribery has to be audited and made realistic. Squandering our resources on useless weaponry makes us a weaker nation as it paralyzes the economy. Giving generals and admirals masturbatory aids is a failed concept.

[DCBob]

13. +1

well said.