Here comes the split...Rand Paul: GOP must consider military spending cuts

[240 is Back]

Get on the record, Getbiggers!  Is Rand paul correct - Yes or no?


Government spending is sure to be one of the biggest targets now that Republicans have won back the House, but there have been few details on exactly what programs will see their budgets slashed.

Senator-elect Rand Paul (R-KY) probably surprised some Republicans Sunday when he said he would be willing to cut military spending.

"Yes, yes," Paul responded when asked if he would vote for defense cuts. In doing so, he highlighted the libertarian streak among some of the candidates propelled to office by the tea party movement. Like his father, Ron Paul, Rand Paul is considered to be at the libertarian end of the GOP's political spectrum, and libertarians have long been calling for a scaling back of US military ambitions.

In that respect, the new Congress could see some infighting among traditional Republican war-hawks and those seeking to do battle with the deficit.

"You need ... compromise on where the spending cuts come from," Paul told ABC's Christiane Amanpour. "Republicans traditionally say, oh, we'll cut domestic spending, but we won't touch the military. The liberals -- the ones who are good -- will say, oh, we'll cut the military, but we won't cut domestic spending."

[Dos Equis]

Depends on what is being cut and when.  Everything should be on the table.  I don't know how much waste there is in defense spending, but to the extent it exists, it needs to be eliminated. 

[Cavalier22]

Absolutely cut defense spending.  Aim for 15% and go from there

[tonymctones]

Get on the record, Getbiggers!  Is Rand paul correct - Yes or no?

yup he is right now and he was right on msnbc when you wanted to make fun of him...

[240 is Back]

yup he is right now and he was right on msnbc when you wanted to make fun of him...

actually, I made a thread 1) when he announced, and said it was awesome, and 2) attacking mathews when he assigned racism to rand paul where there was none.

You can call me a lib shill, or whatever else you'd like, but at least be accurate - I broke the Ran paul announcement that he was running, and i was very happy.  Then I broke down mathew's continued attacks on him.  I can do the search if you'd like, but really...

[newmom]

I shutter to say, yes I agree with that tea party dipwad, to cut a bit of it, no clue how that will happen

[Cy Tolliver]

why does everyone loves Ron and Rand now, but they all hated them back when Ron was running for pres 

[The Showstoppa]

Being a former military member, both active and reserve, I believe there are certainly cuts that could be made.  The problem is, it is always troop levels that are one of the first to go, which should not be the case.   It should be in the defense contractor realm.  Totally out of control, and it's not a partisan thing, as dems and repubs have both went along with them for far too long.

[newmom]

Being a former military member, both active and reserve, I believe there are certainly cuts that could be made.  The problem is, it is always troop levels that are one of the first to go, which should not be the case.   It should be in the defense contractor realm.  Totally out of control, and it's not a partisan thing, as dems and repubs have both went along with them for far too long.

great post

[tonymctones]

actually, I made a thread 1) when he announced, and said it was awesome, and 2) attacking mathews when he assigned racism to rand paul where there was none.

You can call me a lib shill, or whatever else you'd like, but at least be accurate - I broke the Ran paul announcement that he was running, and i was very happy.  Then I broke down mathew's continued attacks on him.  I can do the search if you'd like, but really...

I would like to see that...

and youre a flip flopper 240 the latest example being for the bail outs when they were happening and then condemning boehner for voting for them...

If im not mistaken the whole thing started on madcows show

[240 is Back]

just say "240, my memory is horrible and i dont remember conversations i participated in, in those 2 threads in which you celebrated Paul's candidacy and then condeming mathews bashing him.

better yet. .. google my threads.  i love rand paul.  i defending him when that idiot stomped a protester.  said it had nothing to do with him.  i'm glad he ran, and i called out msnbc on that BS.  really, youre a young dude... work on those memory skills lol...

[Arnold jr]

Depends on what is being cut and when.  Everything should be on the table.  I don't know how much waste there is in defense spending, but to the extent it exists, it needs to be eliminated. 

Agreed. Cuts that would weaken the military shouldn't happen or even be considered. Pinpointing wasteful spending and we all know this exist since we're talking about the government, should be eliminated. Sounds pretty easy but I'm sure the spin will turn this goal into a nightmare.

[240 is Back]

see, this is what i dont get.

1) nobody can really define what this waste is, and
2) cutting this waste also cuts jobs, and
3) it'll also hurt american firm profits, and
4) it'll result in less tax dollars collected.

So what programs will you slash, and are you concerned about those who lose their jobs?



It'll never happen anyway, but it' a fun discussion to have.

[tonymctones]

just say "240, my memory is horrible and i dont remember conversations i participated in, in those 2 threads in which you celebrated Paul's candidacy and then condeming mathews bashing him.

better yet. .. google my threads.  i love rand paul.  i defending him when that idiot stomped a protester.  said it had nothing to do with him.  i'm glad he ran, and i called out msnbc on that BS.  really, youre a young dude... work on those memory skills lol...

hahahah actually in general I have a phenomenal memory, which is exactly why I remembered you saying that the bail outs were a necessary evil and why i pointed it out you condemning someone for voting for it as the latest example of your flip flopping tendancies  

[Arnold jr]

see, this is what i dont get.

1) nobody can really define what this waste is, and
2) cutting this waste also cuts jobs, and
3) it'll also hurt american firm profits, and
4) it'll result in less tax dollars collected.

So what programs will you slash, and are you concerned about those who lose their jobs?



It'll never happen anyway, but it' a fun discussion to have.

Are you saying military spending can't be cut, as in they'll never cut it? If you remember, Clinton cut military spending drastically, although many, including myself believe much of this cut was in the wrong areas.

As for jobs that will be lost due to military cuts, that' shouldn't be a concern of the government. Their concern is to spend money where needed, to spend as little as possible where needed. It is not the governments job to present jobs or to keep Americans employed...that's part of what's caused the huge economic problem we have now.

And of course waste can be defined. If we have a base that has zero strategic importance, that provides nothing, eliminate it. The same can be said for any program or contract that exist in the military. If it is not of strategic value, if it provides nothing in terms of defense or to added production, cut it, eliminate it, be done with it.

[Straw Man]

Secretary of Defense is on board (actually leading the way).

[tonymctones]

Are you saying military spending can't be cut, as in they'll never cut it? If you remember, Clinton cut military spending drastically, although many, including myself believe much of this cut was in the wrong areas.

As for jobs that will be lost due to military cuts, that' shouldn't be a concern of the government. Their concern is to spend money where needed, to spend as little as possible where needed. It is not the governments job to present jobs or to keep Americans employed...that's part of what's caused the huge economic problem we have now.

And of course waste can be defined. If we have a base that has zero strategic importance, that provides nothing, eliminate it. The same can be said for any program or contract that exist in the military. If it is not of strategic value, if it provides nothing in terms of defense or to added production, cut it, eliminate it, be done with it.

he is trying to walk the tight rope so that later on he can condemn him for killing jobs   its a 240 tatic...

act like he is for something to gain credibility when he condemns it later...

just like the bail outs...

[Soul Crusher]

Get on the record, Getbiggers!  Is Rand paul correct - Yes or no?


Government spending is sure to be one of the biggest targets now that Republicans have won back the House, but there have been few details on exactly what programs will see their budgets slashed.

Senator-elect Rand Paul (R-KY) probably surprised some Republicans Sunday when he said he would be willing to cut military spending.

"Yes, yes," Paul responded when asked if he would vote for defense cuts. In doing so, he highlighted the libertarian streak among some of the candidates propelled to office by the tea party movement. Like his father, Ron Paul, Rand Paul is considered to be at the libertarian end of the GOP's political spectrum, and libertarians have long been calling for a scaling back of US military ambitions.

In that respect, the new Congress could see some infighting among traditional Republican war-hawks and those seeking to do battle with the deficit.

"You need ... compromise on where the spending cuts come from," Paul told ABC's Christiane Amanpour. "Republicans traditionally say, oh, we'll cut domestic spending, but we won't touch the military. The liberals -- the ones who are good -- will say, oh, we'll cut the military, but we won't cut domestic spending."

Everything should be on the table.

[benchmstr]

we do...but only in certain area's....not at the expense of soldiers safety.....next time i see a 2 star general with his own private 80million dollar jet i am going to pull my fucking hair out...

bench

[Deicide]

We would save trillions a year if we simply ended overseas troop deployments; maintaining hundreds of bases+fighting wars is expensive. And nothing essential would have to be cut, unless you really think Germany still needs our military there to protect them.

[Soul Crusher]

We would save trillions a year if we simply ended overseas troop deployments; maintaining hundreds of bases+fighting wars is expensive. And nothing essential would have to be cut, unless you really think Germany still needs our military there to protect them.

We spend a shit load of money overseas, but the military budget is not in the trillions. 

[The Showstoppa]

We would save trillions a year if we simply ended overseas troop deployments; maintaining hundreds of bases+fighting wars is expensive. And nothing essential would have to be cut, unless you really think Germany still needs our military there to protect them.

The bases in Germany aren't there to "protect them."  They are there as stop-over for deployments to other areas, mainly the middle-east.

[buc1994]

How about they cut the bases in Germany and give some of that money to the other theaters?  My second time here in Afghanistan and the conditions over here absolutely suck as they bad as they did the first time I was here.  Yes, I understand deployments suck, but this theater hasn't changed much since early in the decade.  The equipment could use an upgrade, the weapons could use an upgrade(we still have soldiers here who don't have slings for their weapons, they're using 550 cord for Christ sakes).  I'm not bitching, I'm just saying it would be nice to have some essential equipment and just a few creature comforts.

[Soul Crusher]

How about they cut the bases in Germany and give some of that money to the other theaters?  My second time here in Afghanistan and the conditions over here absolutely suck as they bad as they did the first time I was here.  Yes, I understand deployments suck, but this theater hasn't changed much since early in the decade.  The equipment could use an upgrade, the weapons could use an upgrade(we still have soldiers here who don't have slings for their weapons, they're using 550 cord for Christ sakes).  I'm not bitching, I'm just saying it would be nice to have some essential equipment and just a few creature comforts.

Agreed - we need more hardware and stuff for ther actual troops, and less for the crappola stateside like contractors abusing the system, endless diversity nonsense, etc etc. 

[Hugo Chavez]

why does everyone loves Ron and Rand now, but they all hated them back when Ron was running for pres 

no they didn't.  we had our own thread here for people to vote and Ron Paul won by a mile.  nobody else was remotely close in the number of people that voted for him.  I would link to the thread but it looks like someone deleted it...