And that is why, according to Sister Sarah, the military budget should be off limits when looking for places to reduce the deficit:
Sarah Palin is waging a battle inside the “tea party” movement to exempt defense spending from the group’s small-government, anti-deficit fervor.
[…]
Palin’s drive to lead the charge against defense cuts was on display in a June 27 speech at “Freedom Fest,” a conservative gathering in Norfolk where she sent a clear message to Republicans that deficit reduction can’t come at the military’s expense.“Something has to be done urgently to stop the out-of-control Obama-Reid-Pelosi spending machine, and no government agency should be immune from budget scrutiny,” she said. “We must make sure, however, that we do nothing to undermine the effectiveness of our military. If we lose wars, if we lose the ability to deter adversaries, if we lose the ability to provide security for ourselves and for our allies, we risk losing all that makes America great. That is a price we cannot afford to pay.”
Palin also took on Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a Republican, challenging his drive to rein in procurement spending and reevaluate the need for certain huge weapons systems.
“Secretary Gates recently spoke about the future of the U.S. Navy. He said we have to ask whether the nation can really afford a Navy that relies on $3 [billion] to $6 billion destroyers, $7 billion submarines and $11 billion carriers. He went on to ask, ‘Do we really need . . . more strike groups for another 30 years when no other country has more than one?’ ” Palin said. “Well, my answer is pretty simple: Yes, we can and yes, we do, because we must.”
Ohhhhh, okay. I see how this goes, now. There are two questions we must answer here.
One, can we really afford to extend unemployment benefits for 15 million jobless Americans? No, we can’t. The money just isn’t there, you see. We can’t go into further debt to fund something we don’t have the money to pay for. We’d love to, really, but we can’t extend unemployment benefits for 15 million jobless Americans unless we pay for it by cutting an equal amount out of the money set aside for job creation. Because if American families lose the ability to feed their families and stay in their homes, we do not lose anything that makes America great.
Two, can we really afford to spend $21 billion to $24 billion on more naval strike groups for the next 30 years when no other country has more than one? Yes, we can, because we must. Do we have the money to pay for that? Yes, we do, because we must. Shouldn’t we cut the deficit first before getting into more debt? No, we shouldn’t, because we can’t. Because if our allies lose the U.S. military support that keeps them safe and secure, we will lose everything that makes America great.
What makes America great is our military power, not our people.
I understand now, Sarah.
PAST CONTRIBUTOR.