I Agree with Barney

I agree with Rep. Barney Frank, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, that those in Congress who are complaining the most about President Obama's stimulus package don't make a peep when it comes to congressional appropriation of $10 billion a month on the war in Iraq.

Yes, those, largely Republicans, who moan and groan about the pork in the stimulus package see the grotesque expansion of the defense budget to widen the war in Iraq not as pork but as prime rib. Frank is right -- the defense budget must be cut, and we, as a nation, must revisit our values.

Indeed, the whole paradigm of the military industrial complex, which another president, Eisenhower, warned against, doesn't work. If it did, we wouldn't be where we are today.

How important are cluster bombs, spy programs from outer space, and the kinds of "star war" defense programs of Reagan when an estimated one in five children, in this country, live in poverty, and the number of homeless is growing daily? And, those who find themselves fortunate enough to have a roof over their heads, often live in conditions that are one step above squatting. Do we call it "pork" when a budget includes increases to spending on education, health, the arts, unemployment, food stamps, and family planning? When we reward the landlords, and the CEOs, whose family values are we extolling?

When the Senate votes on the President's stimulus package, they must keep in mind that what Mr. Obama is proposing, in essence, is moving us from a wartime to a peacetime economy. We have only to look at the egregious loss of manufacturing jobs to realize that the old capitalist model of war as fueling prosperity is dangerously outmoded. Time to try something else.

Barney Frank is right. Those same folks who brought us the Republican Revolution, back in 1994, are still around to nudge us into thinking that they've got the copyright on protecting the American family, but it is their values, their wars, and their lack of judgment that has gotten us where we are today. What's more, the founders never intended to put a warning label on the Constitution: "Caution: democracy may be hazardous to your health."

It's time now to turn the tables: to restore dignity, and opportunity, to every working man, and woman; to ensure that, when one loses one's job, one is no longer forced to forfeit their health coverage, to provide women with alternatives to unwanted pregnancies, to show, once again, that hard work, not chicanery, will lead to a better life.

Comments

[alphacitizen]

I agree with Ms. Stahl. The MIC has had its grip on our economy to the detriment of our citizens. Just look at our failing school systems, crumbling infrastructure and totally inadequate universal health care! It's time we put our money to meet the real needs of our citizens, not to "democratize the world" and pad the pockets of military contractors.

[Doofus]

Invading Iraq was wrong, sure, and spending $10B per month is absurd,
but until we get our troops out, we have to keep spending the money,
and to vote otherwise is political suicide, pure & simple.

[Doofus]

On the other hand, Congress did an $800B 'package' to 'relieve' Wall St
& the banks, which appeared to have gone right into the wallets of the
wealthy. Now, when the proposal is to provide relief for the non-wealthy,
the Repo response is that *another* package for the wealthy is in order.

Could be this is another of those 'fool us twice' deals of which W. was so fond.

[Peter007]

I don't like the logic that Franks uses.
Because the Republicans messed up, its ok for the Democrats to do whatever they want.
How about, We don't like spending on military stuff and we don't like spending on Pork.
Because I'm against the spending bill doesn't mean I'm a Bush supporter.

[eltopo]

That's not what he's saying *at all*. He's saying that spending money on our own country makes sense, but that spending it on blowing people up for no reason *doesn't* make sense.

[GreatNews27]

The Republican party exists for two reasons:

1. Funnel as much taxpayer money as possible into corporate and weathly hands.
2. Get elected so as to fulfill reason 1.

If a person identifys themselves as a Republican, they are either stinkin' rich or they are a racist. Period.

[magen]

Exactly.

Their coalition has boiled down to that.

[ecsd]

I call this the "Star Trek versus World War II" paradigm (see axisofevil.tv.) Will we be kept living in a world of desperate military adventures (World War II) or will we establish genuine worldwide egalitarianism on earth and then reach out to the stars?

I advocate for a Star Trek future.

[davidly]

Yeah, yeah, and we'll only set phasers to kill when absolutely necessary.

[Strepsi]

I agree with your philosophy completely, but the fact is that the U.S. is a military state, and its economy completely depends on war!

Arms dealing with foreign powers, creating wars and waging them, developing and building weapons, the "war on Terror", the "war" on drugs, policing the border, policing the citizens, the fact that the U.S. is a world leader in incarceration (including of its own citizens), all of this infrastructure and superstructure is extremely expensive and employs millions of Americans. Most Americans can not see themselves -- the U.S. is a military / police state masquerading as "freedom".

But yeah, at least let's start by cutting the Orwellian-named "Defense" Budget.

[sarge]

I agree. Actually, I think it is the "offense" budget we should cut, and retain defense of our nation. War has become a foreign policy tool instead of a last resort to preserve the sovereignty of our country. This overreach may be the biggest single cause of the demise of our formerly great country.

Hopefully it isn't too late to turn it around. Unfortunately, I don't think Obama is entirely immune to the influences of the MIC. And obviously Congress isn't. Every district that is home to defense contractors have hawks for representatives, regardless of party.

(Although I should point out that my great Senator from Washington, Patty Murray, even though our economy depends so much on Boeing, voted against the Iraq war authorization.)