The 81 million voters who sent Trump and his war-mongering Republicans packing in 2020 most likely believed that Democrats’ control of the White House and both houses of Congress would lead to cuts to military programs after decades of the defense budget spiraling out of control and the “eternal wars” in the Middle East drawing to a close.
They couldn’t have been more wrong.
The Democratic-controlled House, with a “bipartisan” lopsided 363-to-70 vote last week, fed the already-bloated Pentagon another $768 billion to spend on nukes, warships, and planes. That includes $28 billion for the Energy Department’s nuclear weapons programs. The whole package contains $25 billion more than Biden had asked for and way more than even the generals wanted.
If you’re counting, that extra $25B alone is enough to end homelessness in the U.S., according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The bill includes money for 12 F/A-18 Super Hornets that were not requested; 5 more Boeing F-15EX jets than the request for 17 total; and 13 ships total ― including two attack submarines and two destroyers ― for five more than the request.
The bill will likely sail easily through the Senate.
We should have seen it coming when Democratic Party leaders built their right-center election coalition on a partnership with that old gang of neocons (so-called "moderate Republicans") and all but excluded the party's progressive wing. This group has never met a war they didn't like, going all the way back to Vietnam. Biden even reassured the Pentagon brass that more money was on its way once he was elected.
All this as the desperately-need Build Back Better bill, which could provide relief to millions in the form of social programs, early-childhood education, and environmental protection, continues to be stalled in Congress by those in both parties who insist on asking, “how are we going to pay for it?”
That question never came up in Congress last week. As for the “debt ceiling” and rising inflation? — no problem. Instead, it was all about a cold war with China and Russia about to turn hot.
Biden’s withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan was simply part of a refocusing by the cold warriors and regime changers away from the Middle East and towards preparation for a global conflict with China.
We now spend more than the next 11 countries combined on defense, 9 of whom are allies. We spend way less relative to European social-democratic countries to make the lives of our citizens more bearable by providing universal health care of free college education.
And make no mistake about it, increased militarization comes with a greater cost than the one measured in dollars. It also takes its toll on the environment, basic civil rights, voting rights, immigration rights, and women’s rights, here at home.
Think Trump’s 2017 expansion of the 1033 program. It provided for the transfer of Defense Department military gear to civilian police departments. So increasing D.O.D. spending also means the increased militarization of the police.
No, that’s not what most Americans voted for in 2020.
Disheartening…
It was disheartening to see so many of our IL Democratic reps voting for this ghastly bill, including progressives who I’ve supported in the past, like Marie Newman, Bobby Rush, and Robin Kelly.
A big Edu/Pol salute goes out to courageous Reps. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Danny Davis, and Jan Schakowsky for voting NO.
MAGA reps claim the bill is “too woke.”
A faction of anti-vax Republicans voted NO on the Defense Bill because they claimed it was too diluted by “wokeness” and too influenced by “Critical Race Theory.”
I’m not joking.
The unconstitutional vax mandates are bad enough, but the Biden administration and some of our military leaders have become missionaries of the left. They are focused on finding white supremacy in the military. They are convinced that our biggest national threat is climate change.
Taking this bill down is our only opportunity to “de-woke” the NDAA. Taking it down is Republicans’ leverage to protect our military men and women from the social engineering advancing in our military at the direction of President Biden. — The Hill
Following Biden’s Democracy Summit…
In a separate vote on Tuesday, the Senate shot down a bipartisan attempt by Senators Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, and Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, to block a $650 million arms sale to Saudi Arabia.
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