Politics: ?Jettison Some of the Crap?

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Politics "Jettison Some of the Crap" Rand Paul's quiet war against more defense spending. By David Weigel Posted Monday, Jul 23, 2012, at 04:16 PM ET Shortly after noon last Tuesday, Dick Cheney slipped out of an elevator and into the Lyndon Baines Johnson room where Republican senators hold a weekly lunch. His mission: convince them that $700 billion of automatic defense spending cuts, put in place by 2011's debt limit deal, had to be overturned. His audience, judging by the bursts of applause, was awfully receptive. As they left, they paused to tell reporters just how convincing Cheney had been. "One thing that the vice president pointed out," said Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., "was when you make these cuts across the board in the way that sequestration does, it's not only the impact on today, it will make a long-term impact on the Defense Department." Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., translated Cheney's argument that defense spending is "not a spigot you can turn on and turn off, that you need to keep money flowing in a predictable way so you can plan for the next war."* There was only a small path between the senators, their scrums, and the exits. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., found that path and called an elevator. Only one reporter noticed him and started asking for details from inside the Cheney seminar. "It was a private meeting," said Paul. "I'm not going to talk about it." The reporter tried again. "Right, again, it was a private meeting." In the few seconds before the elevator arrived, you could read between the lines. Paul, unlike most of his ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Don't Even Consider Talking About the Olympics Sir, Do I Really Have To Work Today, Sir? Updike on the Universe	Advertisement
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