UPDATED McCain: Now Let’s Save The Military From The Sequester

[DonViejo]

Last edited Sun Apr 28, 2013, 12:24 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: TPM

SAHIL KAPUR 1:20 PM EDT, FRIDAY APRIL 26, 2013

After Congress swiftly and overwhelmingly passed legislation Friday to provide the Federal Aviation Administration flexibility under sequestration to mitigate the worst impacts, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) demanded that Congress do the same for the military, which has also been hit by the automatic spending cuts.

"I support the action by Congress this week to provide the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with the flexibility it needs to keep air traffic controllers on the job and flights on schedule," McCain said in a statement Friday. "However, it is shameful for us to make allowances for the FAA while doing nothing to stop the draconian cuts that are decimating our military today and putting our nation's security in danger. Dealing with the impacts of sequestration on a case-by-case basis does nothing to fix the underlying issue and prolongs this damaging policy. While Congress gives flexibility to the FAA, our military aircraft don’t fly and our ships don’t sail. Just this week, the Chief of Staff of the Army stated that the draconian spending cuts will force the Army to cut an additional 100,000 troops while compromising 'our ability to respond' to national security challenges around the world, including on the Korean Peninsula. We must act to protect America's security and fulfill our responsibilities to the men and women of our armed forces."

Other constituencies are similarly complaining to Congress for not addressing their priorities that have been hit by the sequester.

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Read more: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/mccain-now-lets-save-military-from-sequester

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Update:

McCain: Congress’s Priorities Are ‘Skewed’ On Sequestration

PEMA LEVY 12:02 PM EDT, SUNDAY APRIL 28, 2013

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said Sunday that Congress has its priorities "skewed" when it comes to the sequester after Congress voted to address the air traffic congestion being caused by across-the-board spending cuts but has not acted to ease the pain sequestration is causing the military.

"I think we have our priorities a little bit skewed here," McCain said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I'm for giving the FAA flexibility, but I also want to give the military flexibility and I don't want the sequestration cuts to be as deep as they are on national defense."

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http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/mccain-congresss-priorities-are-skewed-on-sequestration

[Enrique]

1. GOP is on the warpath against spending cuts lately

[fredamae]

11. Dems Support it

and brought this to the Senate Floor. It was passed without a recorded vote---at least there is no recoded vote available. "Unanimous Consent"?
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll125.xml
Only 29 Dems in the House voted against this---apparently no one argued For Cancer Patients, Kids in Head Start or the elderly who actually Need Meals on Wheels to be properly Nutriated.
So, this is a BiPartisan Agreement because they again Hold Us to a much higher standard than they hold themselves.
Kind of like they Gutted the transparency of the STOCK Act based upon "national security concerns"????
This stinks-Dems Stink as bad as the GOP. They've NO Problem with Bi-Partisanship when it serves to serve them. Facts are there--in voting records.

[dotymed]

12. Then the ignorant bastards

should not have forced them.

[wordpix]

24. as long as the cuts don't involve schools and Head Start, they're against the cuts

[kimbutgar]

2. They only care about spending when a Democratic President is in the white house

Otherwise they spend like drunk sailors when a republican is President.

But hey John, instead of the military how about the children who lost their head start programs, the senior meals on wheels program, Cancer patients on medicare or disabled people. Don't they count? Or is our bloated, corrupt military more important?

[MrScorpio]

3. Actually, I would LOVE to see a huge chunk taken out of Pentagon spending

But we all know that Gramps just has to continue to whore himself out for the War Machine.

[villager]

8. Gramps... and each of the members of our "two" parties....

Alas.

[olddad56]

4. lets save America from McCain.

[L0oniX]

9. ...and save it from the Pentagon/Roman Empire fail.

[wryter2000]

5. Let's save Meals on Wheels, instead

Asshole.

[L0oniX]

10. [phone]

[Mr. David]

6. Request irrevocably denied. Cancel the sequester, then agree to a 95% cut to the military

and hire 20,000 auditors to audit the entire Department of Defense, limiting DoD's annual budget to $500,000.

Cancel the fucking F-35 boondoggle, and the sequestration is over.

[earthside]

7. Why not?

Now we have precedent that lets the Repuglican's be for cutting federal spending and then demanding exemptions so that no spending is actually cut for anything they like.

They can indeed have their cake and eat it, too!

Good job, Democrats!

[go west young man]

13. No let's cut the military.

They are an overpriced corporation just sucking at the government tit.

[smirkymonkey]

19. +10.000

[City Lights]

21. !

[lastlib]

14. FUCK YOU, McCAIN! Let's SAVE PEOPLE!!!

FUCK the goddamn military!! Do something about Head Start, Meals On Wheels, student loans--the programs that help real live, breathing people, NOT the fucking nuclear submarines, B-2 bombers and the worthless POS F-35!

[smirkymonkey]

20. +10.000

[SunSeeker]

15. No! The military cuts were the only good thing about the sequester.

[LibGranny]

16. McCain's only interest in "saving the Military" from

the sequester is so he can push for war with Syria!

[DallasNE]

17. It Hasn't Taken Long For "Whack A Mole" To Emerge As A Republican Priority

It is certainly no way to run a government but it is exactly what was expected to emerge from the sequester once the rubber met the road. Frankly, I'm not sure what they have done here with the FAA will have the desired consequences because there is not enough flexibility in the FAA budgets to return to normal operations in air traffic control because of the doubling up, or worse, on cuts every where else. McCain is not proposing any revenue increases to pay for this vastly increased defense spending so he would explode the budget deficit, exactly the opposite of what Republicans claim the goal of austerity is. Let the Chinese fire drill begin. It was all predictable yet MSM not once pointed this out. It is not a matter of choosing sides, it is a matter of letting the chips fall where they may.

[awoke_in_2003]

18. Who didn't see this coming? nt

[socialist_n_TN]

32. See my post #30. I misplaced it..........

It was a reply to yours.

[windowpilot]

22. It's a stick up...

n/t

[socialist_n_TN]

30. Somebody without two brain cells to rub together?...

But yeah, this is just what I expected. The Republicans will beat the drums and the Democrats will dance to the tune. The capitalist class NEEDS the military for protection and imperialistic purposes, so they can't let that be cut. It was all a con game to get cuts for the domestic programs. You know, things that people in this country actually need.

[socialist_n_TN]

31. Sorry for the misplaced post.....

This one should have gone under the post above yours. Mea culpa.

[awoke_in_2003]

34. I agree fully...

I am at the point where I don't think the democrats are stupid- they are complicit.

[Doctor_J]

23. time for Obama to grab the microphone and call him a

Miserable hypocrite. I won't hold my breath though.

[sendero]

25. I'm starting to believe..

..... that this was the strategy all along for BOTH parties.

Let the sequestration happen, and then exempt everything that benefits the rich. Nice job.

[creativebliss]

27. Ooh, that is an insightful observation indeed...

To me, it's just more smoke and mirrors...avoiding the real issues that aren't being addressed...like...jobs, jobs, jobs...poverty, income inequality, corporatocracy...

...and, of course, I believe Meals on Wheels, Head Start, and cancer patients are also issues not being properly addressed...

...the military is the LAST place our tax dollars are needed...it already gets 40% on the dollar...

[awoke_in_2003]

35. It is a shell game. nt

[Dawson Leery]

26. Save America from McCain.

We should work on retiring him in 2016.

[tularetom]

28. You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows

And you don't need to be a Mensa member to see which way this is going. Before it is over the sequester will be a meaningless document with all the cuts that republicans hated removed from it. The House will pass bills restoring funds to the military, the Senate will adopt them with the help of the usual crowd of spineless Democrats, and the President will find himself backed into a corner over Syria or North Korea or whatever, and sign the bills with some eloquent words that camouflage the fact that he can't play checkers.

This is Clinton deja vu all over again. I don't know why I thought it might be different this time.

[awoke_in_2003]

36. dems aren't spineless...

they are in on it.

[Kablooie]

29. As expected. Cut everything then restore conservative interests.

While keeping cuts on everything else.

[socialist_n_TN]

33. Yep.

nm