Democracy | Economy | Government Dysfunction | National Security

New GOP Civil War: Moderation vs. Extremism

The prospect of deep cuts in defense is troubling to many in the party, [...] But increasingly, that impulse is giving way to arguments from GOP lawmakers, many of them new to Congress, who say the most important goal is to rein in federal deficits.

The GOP Splits Over Pressure to Slash Defense Budget

Some Lawmakers Push for More Efforts to Avoid Toll on Military-Heavy Districts

By Patrick O’Connor, The Wall Street Journal (02/21/2013) – Republicans head into the next budget battle with President Barack Obama torn between two long-standing goals: Strengthening the military and cutting federal spending.

The prospect of deep cuts in defense is troubling to many in the party, which has traditionally supported robust defense spending. But increasingly, that impulse is giving way to arguments from GOP lawmakers, many of them new to Congress, who say the most important goal is to rein in federal deficits. They believe that steep, across-the-board spending cuts due to hit on March 1, while an imperfect tool, are the only way to accomplish their goal.

Even some Republicans in defense-heavy districts are calling for the budget cuts to take effect—a development that helps explain why the $85 billion in defense and nondefense cuts, known as sequestration, are now likely to go through. Part of the 2011 deal between the White House and Congress to raise the debt ceiling, the cuts were seen as a threat so dire that they would be replaced with a more nuanced spending-reduction plan. But that threat hasn’t produced the expected effect. [MORE]