Rand Paul Calls For Long Overdue Audit of the Pentagon

[AuH20]

Three dimensional chess yet again. Politely making the republican mainstream look like imposters for the nth time.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/rand-paul-on-defense-spending-why-dont-we-jettison-some-of-the-crap-we-dont-need/


“Look at [the idea of] auditing the Pentagon. They’ve been talking about having an audit for 30 years probably. They’ve now said it’s coming in 2017. And my guess is that in 2016 it’s going to be 2024, in 2023 they’ll tell us it’s going to be 2030. But I bet you if we said next year you’ve got to meet this sequester, maybe then all of a sudden they’ll say ‘Well why don’t we jettison some of the crap here we’re doing we don’t need?’ They’ll never do it unless their top line number is ever reduced.”

Rand Paul discusses the budget game played in Washington:
http://reason.com/blog/2012/07/23/rand-paul-were-compromising-all-the-time


“Most people in our conference,” said Paul, “are on the side [that thinks] that they need to do anything now to avoid the military sequester. I think there is a little bit of irony in that most of them voted for the military sequester. I didn’t vote for it. They all voted to raise the debt ceiling with a military sequester, and now they’re all basically caterwauling about it.”

....In order to extend the debt limit through to 2013, most Republicans and Democrats eventually agreed to $1.4 trillion of “triggered” cuts—sequesters. Half of the money would be taken out of domestic discretionary spending over 10 years; half would be taken from the defense budget over 10 years, a slash of around 8 percent....

“They seem to say, ‘Well, we are for certain revisions to make the military more efficient,’ ” said Paul. “I’m of the belief that nothing around you will ever be efficient unless the top line number is lower. So, they don’t like what they call sequester. To me, that means that the top line number is lower, and if you really believe in savings in the military budget or else you’d have to find the savings, you’d be forced to find the savings. If they could offset it with true one-to-one spending cuts somewhere else, I might consider supporting that. If it’s like most of the games they play around here—they give us cuts over 10 years to pay for something over one year—I’m not going to vote for that, because really, we’re going back on what we promised the American people during that whole battle was that we’re going to be more fiscally responsible.”

Paul didn’t take a position on the Ryan “sequester replacement.” That plan won’t make it through the Senate, anyway. But he disagreed with it in spirit. “Conservatives defend military spending,” he said. “Liberals defend domestic spending. The idea [is] that both sides get together and compromises and we reduce all spending … and right now, and really for the last 50 years, we’ve done the opposite. Our compromise has always been: We raise military spending and we raise domestic welfare spending. So when people say we’re not compromising, they’re missing it completely. We’re compromising all the time to spend more money.”

[Bruno]

Maybe they will find the trillions they announced "lost" the day before 9/11.

And that may be the first time in a decade or more I have heard the term "caterwauling". Leave it to Rand! :D

[Matt Collins]

Audit The Penthouse!

[jmdrake]

Maybe they will find the trillions they announced "lost" the day before 9/11.

And that may be the first time in a decade or more I have heard the term "caterwauling". Leave it to Rand! :D

For those wondering about that.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU4GdHLUHwU


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RvLL--vSsA

[Romulus]

that dirty neo-con!

[Sola_Fide]

For those wondering about that.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU4GdHLUHwU


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RvLL--vSsA

Wow. Never saw that...

[Uriah]

Most of that is not waste... it's going for other purposes.

[GunnyFreedom]

Most of that is not waste... it's going for other purposes.

"You don't think they really spend $400 on a hammer do you?" (I think Men In Black)

[jmdrake]

Most of that is not waste... it's going for other purposes.

Some of it goes to procure child prostitutes.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3Nc_9PJ8ys

[Sola_Fide]

Most of that is not waste... it's going for other purposes.

Killin more brown people?

[Aratus]

senator rand is having an impact...
the pentagon's audit is long overdue

[MJU1983]

Think Rummy ever found that "missing" $2,300,000,000,000?

[Crotale]

that dirty neo-con!

This is what he should be doing/saying. It's like congratulating a ten year-old with a problem of using foul language for saying 'Please' and 'Thank You' while completely overlooking the swearing. Yes, you should award the good stuff, but don't turn a blind eye to the bad stuff either.

Well done Rand for doing what you should be doing, but saying things like this won't give a carte blanche to stray aside in other areas. I hope this statement isn't a token gesture, and I'm quite confident it isn't because you have done a lot of great things for liberty whilst in Senate. But you have also slipped up on multiple occasions, and you have a long way to go before proving yourself to be the successor to Ron Paul.

[LibertyEagle]

Think Rummy ever found that "missing" $2,300,000,000,000?

Hell no.

I remember calling my Senators about it back when this happened. They acted like they didn't know a thing about it and said they wouldn't be able to find out if it had been recovered or not.

They're all corrupt. Well, most of them.

[Indy Vidual]

"You don't think they really spend $400 on a hammer do you?" (I think Men In Black)

Independence Day
Explaining where the money comes from for Area 51...

[Matt Collins]

But you have also slipped up on multiple occasionsRegarding his voting record, how so? :confused: :rolleyes:

[LibertyEagle]

Regarding his voting record, how so? :confused: :rolleyes:

His vote to sanction iran's central bank. I read your thread about it, but it still bothers me some. Also, endorsing Romney before the convention, while his father is still in the race. Most everything else has been fabulous though.

[ZENemy]

Yeah, rand calls for a lot of things, what happen to his TSA defunding bill? What happen to his outrage about his detainment with the TSA? phshshhs, all I see him do is get outraged and fade away.

[Matt Collins]

Also, endorsing Romney before the convention, while his father is still in the race. Ron had quit campaigning before Rand did that.

[Matt Collins]

Yeah, rand calls for a lot of things, what happen to his TSA defunding bill? What happen to his outrage about his detainment with the TSA? phshshhs, all I see him do is get outraged and fade away.We will not be able to scale back the leviathan over night, this is a marathon, not a sprint.

[LibertyEagle]

Ron had quit campaigning before Rand did that.

Yet, but he was still in the race and still trying to win delegates.

I can forgive him for it, but it was very poor timing. He shouldn't have done it when he did and in the way he did. Everyone makes mistakes, but that was certainly one of them.

[ZENemy]

We will not be able to scale back the leviathan over night, this is a marathon, not a sprint.

Uuuh huh, heard that my whole life, when will we finally hit a checkpoint in this marathon?

He doesnt even talk about it anymore, seems to me like its a whole lot of "see I tried, they just wouldn't let me pass a bill, it was to hard, I was blocked by so and so" blah blah blah sounds JUST like obama.

[ZENemy]

Yet, but he was still in the race and still trying to win delegates.

I can forgive him for it, but it was very poor timing. He shouldn't have done it when he did and in the way he did. Everyone makes mistakes, but that was certainly one of them.

I agree, I am still here for Ron Paul, When Rand did that he lost 30% (if not more) of rons supporters and I'm just going by my friends and the people I know.

[LibertyEagle]

Yeah, rand calls for a lot of things, what happen to his TSA defunding bill? What happen to his outrage about his detainment with the TSA? phshshhs, all I see him do is get outraged and fade away.

He is changing the discussion and in so doing, is putting all kinds of chinks in the neocon armor. He is reminding people what real conservatism is and in so doing, is exposing the impostors. He's done a huge amount in his short time in office. Ron was in office for 30 years and never got a bill passed, I don't think, until the Audit the FED bill the other day. Yet, we have no problem with that, right?

Ron and Rand have different strategies, but their end goals, in my opinion, differ very little at all.

[GunnyFreedom]

Yeah, rand calls for a lot of things, what happen to his TSA defunding bill? What happen to his outrage about his detainment with the TSA? phshshhs, all I see him do is get outraged and fade away.

On THIS issue (getting bills the attention they deserve and coming to the floor for a vote) I will give him the benefit of the doubt due to my own experience in the NC State House. Even if you have a majority of the legislators on your side, it all comes down to the Majority Leader and the Speaker (or in the Senate, President Pro-Tem) whether or not something comes to a vote or even gets heard in committee. So for the TSA defunding bill (and other such Rand Paul bills in the US Senate) even if he has the majority votes in the Senate it comes down to Harry Reid and Daniel Inouye allowing it to be heard. Which is BS, but that's how the legislative process currently works.

[Aratus]

tampa looms --- this could be a neat platform plank

[Aratus]

tampa is less than 3 weeks away an' i'm again
hoping someone gets a GOP platform plank up

[Matt Collins]

I can forgive him for it, but it was very poor timing.The timing of it was by design.

[Matt Collins]

Uuuh huh, heard that my whole life, when will we finally hit a checkpoint in this marathon? We are actually gaining momentum with every week.

Have you politically organized your precinct, county, or state yet?

[Matt Collins]

When Rand did that he lost 30% (if not more) of rons supportersThat is ancedotal, you shouldn't spout stats unless you have done a scientific poll.

[John F Kennedy III]

Three dimensional chess yet again. Politely making the republican mainstream look like imposters for the nth time.

http://www.mediaite.com/online/rand-paul-on-defense-spending-why-dont-we-jettison-some-of-the-crap-we-dont-need/



Rand Paul discusses the budget game played in Washington:
http://reason.com/blog/2012/07/23/rand-paul-were-compromising-all-the-time

Rand is so badass :)

[John F Kennedy III]

He is changing the discussion and in so doing, is putting all kinds of chinks in the neocon armor. He is reminding people what real conservatism is and in so doing, is exposing the impostors. He's done a huge amount in his short time in office. Ron was in office for 30 years and never got a bill passed, I don't think, until the Audit the FED bill the other day. Yet, we have no problem with that, right?

Ron and Rand have different strategies, but their end goals, in my opinion, differ very little at all.

This ^

[anaconda]

that dirty neo-con!

He keeps doing these things just to trick us!

[anaconda]

I had assumed that Dick Cheney would step away from politics after his heart transplant.

[DerailingDaTrain]

"You don't think they really spend $400 on a hammer do you?" (I think Men In Black)

Independence Day

[Aratus]

rand paul has asked for a long overdue audit

[Aratus]

WE KNOW THAT THIS IS A REALLY BIG REQUEST BUT WAY LONG OVERDUE,
AND YES, IN ADDITION TO AN ABLE AUDIT&ENDtheFED PLANK WE ALL NEED
TO ASK THE GOP + RNC TO FOCUS ON A PENTAGON AUDIT A.S.A.P BECUZ
THIS IS NOT THE NORMAL TYPICAL IMPULSE OF A HARDCORE DEMOCRAT...

[July]

*bump*

The bill is called the "Audit the Pentagon Act of 2012" (S. 3487)

From Rand's Facebook:

I'm proud to join Senators Tom Coburn and Joe Manchin as a co-sponsor in this bipartisan effort to Audit the Pentagon. As Sen. Coburn has noted, when it comes to cutting government waste, the Pentagon might be the best place to start. There
has been a major lack of oversight and accountability in this department for far too long. http://www.manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2012/8/senators-offer-bipartisan-bill-to-force-the-pentagon-to-audit-its-books

[Aratus]

JULY! you aptly bumped this thread! you deserve more REP!

[July]

Write/call your senators and ask them to co-sponsor too! :)