Rebecca Griffin / Peace Action West – 2012-09-07 00:47:41
http://act.peaceactionwest.org/peaceactionwest/issues/alert/?alertid=61760586&type=CA
WASHINGTON, DC (September 3, 2012) — Last week, Mitt Romney mentioned military spending in his speech at the Republican National Convention just one time.
He didn’t take that moment to explain how it’s possible for him to — as he has pledged — cut the deficit, while increasing military spending. Instead, he attacked President Obama for not spending enough on war. [1]
This is ridiculous.
Since 2001, the US has increased military spending by two-thirds. Given the state of the economy, we urgently need our leaders to get serious and get the reckless spending under control. Obama speaks on Thursday, and I need you to tell him that you expect him to do better than Romney. [Note: In his Thursday speech, Obama promised to channel billions of dollars now squandered on war and use the funds to finance “nation-building at home.” — EAW)
It’s not surprising that polls show the majority of Americans support military cuts. When we surveyed you, our supporters, you said military spending was your top foreign policy concern. [2] So even though Mitt Romney failed to address the issue in his speech, we aren’t giving up.
It’s not enough when presidential candidates deliver pretty speeches about responsible government. We need detailed information about how they plan to get this country back on track. And we won’t get it if we don’t demand it.
Weapons and war continue to cost this nation dearly. And with stakes this high, we need Obama and Romney to lay out in clear detail their visions for the future of military spending.
We won’t get it if we don’t demand it. Please click here to act before Obama addresses millions on Thursday.
President Obama plans to slow the growth of Pentagon spending, but he has not committed to making real cuts. Please tell President Obama to show that he has heard the American people on this issue when he takes the stage at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday.
Thank you,
Rebecca Griffin, Political Director, Peace Action West
THE LETTER
When you take the stage at your party’s national convention, there is one issue I feel you must address.
Since 2001, America has increased defense spending by nearly two-thirds. It should be lost on no one that we have fought two wars on borrowed money. This isn’t sustainable.
The strength of America’s economy undergirds our ability to keep ourselves safe. Meanwhile, some policymakers have proposed that we protect defense spending in exchange for deep cuts to the federal workforce, even though civilian-sector government layoffs are a top contributor to unemployment and economic stagnation.
Given the stakes, we need to allow America’s strategic concerns to guide defense budgeting more than politics. Smart cuts to military spending could in fact enable us to develop a sustainable strategy for defense spending that makes us stronger here at home, as well as abroad.
I ask that, in your upcoming convention speech, you address how you will bring military spending under control, and stop the already planned budget increases over the next 10 years.
Footnotes:
1. The text of Romney’s speech:http://blogs.ajc.com/jamie-dupree-washington-insider/2012/08/31/text-of-mitt-romneys-gop-convention-speech/
2. Click here to see the results of the poll we took that helped us decide which issue to press the candidates on: http://blog.peaceactionwest.org/2012/08/28/your-question-for-the-candidates/
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