President Obama demonstrates patience for the American democratic system that is surely not efficient. Yet, these are times that try men’s souls because turbulence inside the system has grown so great that it has driven government performance to a state of dysfunction. The consequences include threatening citizen’s essential requirements.
Class warfare is real and festering. People are steaming over the steady drip of hurt inflicted by wealth and power, squeezing more and more people into the ranks of poverty with less and less assistance.
Now, national security is at stake for these reasons. Economic security is essential for all other national security. When revenue production stops and when the economy underperforms, everything else diminishes.
Evidence is that America’s penchant for war since WWII has not brought about sufficient return on cost. The negative impact on the economy is cumulative and today we see the consequences in debt and deficit.
Sequester legislation forces defense cuts, among others. Curbing defense means less aggressive foreign policy. That need not translate into failure to support our allies and commitments to them. It does mean being much more prudent about when to deploy military assets and solutions to problems that may be resolved through diplomacy.
During this period of transforming US foreign policy, it is essential for government representatives to perform as a team under leadership of the president. Some Republicans are deviating from that so visibly that their behavior is a threat to national security. Public displays of array and discontinuity telegraph weakness to the world.
Only American voters can ensure greater continuity at the next election in 2014.
“Hagel opponents look to continue fight in 2014
By Jeremy Herb - 03/03/13 06:00 AM ET
Chuck Hagel may now be secretary of Defense, but conservative groups that attacked the former Nebraska senator during his confirmation fight are claiming victory anyway, arguing he is in a weakened position and had to change his views to get confirmed.And if Hagel strays from the promises he made on Iran, Israel and nuclear weapons, the groups say they could make vulnerable Democrats pay in 2014 for their votes supporting Hagel.
“The high-profile nature of the confirmation process has certainly tied a number of senators who will be facing voters at the ballot box in the future to his performance,” said Ryan Williams of Americans for a Strong Defense, one of the outside groups that released TV ads criticizing Hagel.
“If Chuck Hagel makes any comments that are out of the mainstream regarding our relationship with Israel, if he tries to implement devastating cuts to military that Barack Obama has signaled, senators like Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) and Mark Begich (D-N.C.) are going to be held responsible,” he said, referencing Democrats viewed as top GOP targets in 2014.Hagel’s backers say the notion he will be weakened as Pentagon chief is overblown. The outside groups that criticized the Defense secretary during his confirmation fight badly manipulated his positions and took quotes out of context, his supporters argue.
They also say they will continue to defend Hagel if political groups go on the attack again.
“We’re going to support his efforts and we’ve got his back, and if people come after him, we’re going to be there to take that on to whatever extent we can,” said Harold Schaitberger, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, a union that bought ads in support of Hagel.Hagel was confirmed as Defense secretary this week on a near-party line 58-41 vote, with just four Republicans voting for President Obama’s pick for Defense secretary, along with every Democrat. The final confirmation vote followed a bruising confirmation battle that saw him face the first-ever filibuster of a defense nominee.”
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