House Republicans make our point for us

For decades, we have pointed out that bloated military spending takes money away from programs that have a much more positive impact on society–health care, education, the social safety net, and on and on.

Last week, House Republicans decided to put those out of whack priorities into stark relief by voting to save the Pentagon from modest budget cuts by slashing food stamps and other social programs. Attacking those programs is unwise and immoral at any time, but it’s even worse in the middle of an economic downturn with people struggling all over the country. Sorry kids, no food today. We need to be able to shoot down missiles that could theoretically someday possibly be launched at the East Coast, even if the Pentagon says we don’t.

Every Democrat present voted against the bill, which passed 218-199. Credit should be given as well to the 16 Republicans who recognized the folly of this approach. See the roll call here. 

Thankfully, this bill will never go anywhere in the Senate and has virtually no chance of becoming law. But it does demonstrate how horribly out of touch these politicians are with the needs and desires of the American public, especially on the heels of a poll that shows that 90% of Democrats and 67% of Republicans want to cut Pentagon spending.