Note To Limbaugh: If Barney Frank “Is Singing From Chi-Com Hymnal,” So Are Conservative Lawmakers

Written by Solange Uwimana

Published

In the midst of attacking President Obama for supposedly wanting a U.S. credit rating downgrade, Rush Limbaugh stated: “This is all being done on purpose. ... And it's tragic. And it ... just ticks me off when Barney Frank sits over there and starts talking about how we need to cut defense. He is singing from the Chi-com hymnal. They want us to cut our defense spending, too.”

Limbaugh was likely referring to recent comments by Rep. Frank, who said on CBS News that the United States “could easily save more than $200 billion without in any way endangering our security.” CBS reported that Frank “added that defense cuts should come before other spending cuts because it is the 'one area in American policy where we are doing things disproportionate to the rest of the world.' ” Frank has made this argument repeatedly over the past few months.

And so have numerous conservative lawmakers:

  • A recent proposal by Republican Sen. Tom Coburn included $1 trillion reduction in defense spending over the next 10 years.
  • Sen. Rand Paul has argued that conservatives have to consider military spending cuts as part of any deficit reduction deal, saying, “The compromise is for conservatives to admit that the military budget is going to have to be cut.”
  • Discussing the federal budget deficit, Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) stated that to reduce the deficit, “there's not a government program that shouldn't be under scrutiny. And that begins with the Department of Defense and goes all the way through.”
  • When asked whether defense spending should be one of the areas subjected to cuts, Rep. Allen West, a former Army lieutenant colonel, replied: “I think you have to. I think that nothing can be sacrosanct.”
  • Rep. Eric Cantor said of cutting defense spending: “Everything's got to be on the table. Everyone in this town must go through what people at home are doing -- which is doing more with less, and prioritizing what we should be about.”

In March, likely 2012 GOP presidential candidate Haley Barbour stated in a speech in Iowa:

Anybody who says you can't save money at the Pentagon has never been to the Pentagon. ... We can save money on defense and if we Republicans don't propose saving money on defense, we'll have no credibility on anything else.

And tea party members have also argued for cutting defense spending. Tea Party Patriots co-founder Mark Meckler has said: “The widely held sentiment among Tea Party Patriot members is that every item in the budget, including military spending and foreign aid, must be on the table.” He added: “It is time to get serious about preserving the country for our posterity. The mentality that certain programs are 'off the table' must be taken off the table.”

And let's not forget that numerous conservative media figures have taken the same position, including Mike Huckabee and John Stossel. Glenn Beck, for example, advocated for cutting the defense department budget by “30-50 percent.” In a chapter of his book, Broke, titled “Declare War on Defense Dollars,” Beck wrote: “If Democrats are going to be asked to make difficult choices in cutting their favorite programs, then Republicans need to be asked to do the same.”

Were all these people reading from the “Chi-com hymnal,” too?