Tensions emerge within Republican Party as sequestration looms

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Howard P. 'Buck' McKeon, R-Calif., speaks during a news conference March 1, 2013 in Washington, DC. / Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

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Obama: "We will get through" the "dumb" sequester

As sequestration rolls into Washington, politicians of every stripe are gearing up for the next phase of negotiations over the wide-reaching, across-the-board spending cuts that have been on the lips of every Beltway insider for weeks. But as the cuts threaten to become a reality, tensions are rising within the GOP -- between old-school defense hawks who say the cuts would cripple military readiness, and the party's anti-government, anti-spending new guard.

Republican lawmakers have been uniformly brutal in targeting President Obama for the cuts, pinning responsibility on the White House and attempting to brand the ordeal as "the president's sequester." The idea for sequestration did originate in the White House, but both Republicans and Democrats supported the idea, and 174 House Republicans -- including House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio -- voted in its favor.

Since that bill's passage in 2011, the pervading conventional wisdom has been that sequestration was a "poison package" so equally bad for Republicans and Democrats that it would inspire the rare Washington compromise.

• Sequester: "It's just dumb," Obama says
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But even as Democrats continue to beat the doom-and-gloom drum, some Republicans have started to sing a different tune, suggesting that the cuts, which are split equally between defense and non-defense discretionary spending, wouldn't actually be that bad.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a freshman senator with tea party tendencies and a member of the new, anti-government crowd, argued in a recent op-ed that sequestration is "a pittance that does not cut enough."

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"The federal government spends $3.5 trillion a year. This would be a little over two percent of that. Surely the government can find a way to trim a little," one Republican Senate aide told CBSNews.com earlier this week. "Some of these scenarios they're presenting almost hurt the credibility of the administration, and the argument about the consequences of sequester."

In a press conference earlier this week, a handful of senators echoed that sentiment, contending that even the defense department can handle a little belt-tightening. 

"Even under this proposal, for the next 10 years, 2014 and beyond, defense spending will go up about 20 percent, argued Sen. John Cornyn, R-Tex. "The American people really don't believe when spending's gone up that much since 2009 -- that a 2.4 percent cut in spending is cutting a lot."

Some defense-minded Republican lawmakers beg to differ.

In a press conference this morning, Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee railed against the sequestration cuts, calling them "catastrophic" for military readiness and a disservice to men and women in active duty and at the Defense Department.

Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., pointed out that the Defense Department has already cut nearly half a trillion dollars in the past few years, and argued that reducing its budget by another half a trillion would be devastating.

"That, for our military, is catastrophic," he argued. "We're at a point where we look at our readiness, our ability to meet the threats that are out there, and just as you heard, we are at a place of increased risk at a place of what our military leaders say is a readiness crisis."

Even while those Republicans blasted what committee chairman Rep. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., called "a lack of leadership and truth-telling" on the part of Mr. Obama, he also echoed some key points being made by the president's administration at the Pentagon.

"We have the responsibility to protect our nation's defense and to make sure that those who we send out to war have the things that they need to carry out their missions and return home safely," McKeon argued. "We are done cutting our defense. You know, we are fairly intelligent. We know that we can cut two cents out of the dollar of government spending. Every family in this nation has had to do that. But while we've cut those two cents, 50 cents have come out of our national defense for every dollar we've spent."

He added: "We are telling the president and John Boehner: When you walk out of that meeting [with Mr. Obama and other congressional leaders] this morning, don't plan on cutting our national defense one more cent."

Boehner, who has decried sequestration and targeted Mr. Obama as the culprit for its perpetration, pressed the president and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., this morning to produce a passable plan for averting the cuts. But there's a major sticking point between the two parties: Democrats want to replace the cuts with a package that would raise tax revenues by closing various loopholes, while Republicans insist that's a non-starter.

[GOP-R--Con-Men]

In essence the GOP uses the Bain capital business model for how they see and govern America. They want to take total control of America, house, senate and presidency. Consolidating power to lower wages for their corporate overloads, reduce or eliminate benefits forcing people to work at any wage to survive. This is great for their corporate overlords but bad for everyone else.

[mityerf]

ALL I CAN SAY IS FRUDFHKCK THE REPUBLI>CAN'TS. They are the party of can't and won't. All they care about is the big, big, big (you put in the second part of the word). Amazingly, there are people who actually vote for them that don't realize that the repubs don't even care about them. What a bunch of dumb-a&*^%$^$#@$%Y&es. I mean come on, wake up you sheep. The GOP could care less about you and want everyone to be a slave to the corporations that are stealing this country away from the people. How a soldier could vote for a repub I just don't know. The've seen what a repub president will do to them and yet they vote for them based on a misguided anti-realism that they (the pubs) could care about the country. Grow up (my brother included).

[katiecla]

Is any republican politican tuly caring about our county or the American
people? This agenda of theirs for total takeover by corporations and
the rich wil totally destroy our country as we now know it. I know their
career politicians will never change but was hoping some of the newly
elected would put a stop to their parties path to destruction.
Please republican voters, tell your party to end their irresponsible
actions. The cost will be diastorous.

[mityerf]

The "new" repubs are worse than the old repubs. They are tigers attacking the poor child. Don't count on the tea Party for any relief.

[RhondaRahn]

Let's all vote the Republicans OUT of the House in 2014. Let's get rid of the obstructionist party of NO. The GOP is out to destroy America. Help stop the GOP in 2014.

[GOP-R--Con-Men]

Notice that republicans never mention eliminating subsides and tax loopholes for corporations, big oil, big pharma and the super rich. No, true to the heartless bully oppressors they are they focus on the least among us to spew their venom and contempt.

And most call themselves christians. Please tell me what's Christ like about that?

[JerrySumm]

President Obama is just that...the President....not a dictator. Yet everything seems to be his fault. Why not put the blame where it belongs? Who writes all this stuff...and votes on it...before it ever gets to Obama's desk? And why won't Boehner and his followers vote to close "loop holes"? Maybe because it will cost THEM money. THEY would have to pay their fair share. Instead they voted themselves in a pay raise. Nice. I think there should be a term limit for Senators and Congressmen. And I also think that when they leave office they should have to GET A JOB. No more free rides for them either. Servicemen serve their country and put their life on the line, and when they do their time and come back home, they have to WORK for a living. What males polititions better than them?

[JERussell42]

Republican unprecedented almost psychotic obsession to make Obama a failed President is harming America. This historic Republican obstructionism is now damaging our economic recovery, job growth, education, weakening our military. After wrecking the economy and banking system, throwing 8 or 10 million of us out of work, and starting and not paying for a false war during the Bush era, you owe it to us to get out of the way and allow us to continue to claw our way back. Please, step aside, your deranged gridlock has weakened us and our country enough

[khairy15]

wanna know how will sequestration affects you ?.. click here

http://sequesters.blogspot.com

[khairy15]

wanna know how will sequestration affects you ?.. click here

<a href="http://sequesters.blogspot.com/">Define sequestration</a>

[bbglow]

The Pew Center reported in April 2011 the cause of a $12.7 trillion "shift" in the debt situation "from a 2001 CBO forecast of a cumulative $2.3 trillion surplus by 2011" to the estimated $10.4 trillion public debt we actually faced in 2011. The major drivers were:

Revenue "declines due to the recession", separate from the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003: 28%
Defense spending increases: 15%
Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003: 13%
Increases in net interest: 11%
Other non-defense spending: 10%
Other tax cuts: 8%
Obama Stimulus: 6%
Medicare Part D: 2%
Other reasons: 7%

It's difficult to accept the truth when the lies are exactly what you wanted to hear.