Tea Party Willing to Talk Defense Cuts

Via the AP:  Tea partiers say defense in mix for budget cuts

"The widely held sentiment among Tea Party Patriot members is that every item in the budget, including military spending and foreign aid, must be on the table," said Mark Meckler, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots. "It is time to get serious about preserving the country for our posterity. The mentality that certain programs are ‘off the table’ must be taken off the table."

Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey and Matt Kibbe, leaders of the group FreedomWorks, recently wrote in a Wall Street Journal editorial that "defense spending should not be exempt from scrutiny." On Gates’ proposed savings of $145 billion over five years, they said, "That’s a start."

I look forward to the debate.

FILED UNDER: Congress, US Politics, ,
Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. Patrick T. McGuire says:

    “…including military spending and foreign aid…”

    Especially foreign aid!!!

  2. sam says:

    “Especially foreign aid!!!”

    Oh, yeah, there’s just tons and tons of $$ to be saved there.

  3. DMan says:

    I think there’s definitely an isolation movement growing in the Tea Party, which is perhaps the result of a Democratic Commander in Chief. I also think the message that any cuts that aren’t in entitlements or defense won’t tackle the debt is slowly starting to resonate within the public, and is forcing the Tea Party to choose if they wish to be taken seriously.