United Liberty

As you know, Republicans in both chambers of Congress are beside themselves over the prospect of defense spending cuts. They’re trying to scare Americans into believing that we’ll be somehow vulnerable if any defense spending is cut by any amount. However, Veronique de Rugy notes that, in the grand scheme of the budget outlook, these cuts amount to next to nothing — roughly $54 billion annually.

So yesterday, I received an e-mail blast from Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee pointing to SecDef Leon Panetta’s agreement with Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), who had stated that the national debt “threaten[s] our national security”:

That’s all well and good, but Secretary Panetta’s solution isn’t just to cut spending in other areas. He much like President Obama, wants tax hikes.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Tuesday stepped back into the bitter debate over the nation’s debt, arguing that lawmakers should close the budget deficit through tax increases and changes to popular programs like Social Security rather than through additional cuts in Pentagon spending.

Herman Cain, who exited the race for the GOP nomination early last month, announced last week that he would launch a bus tour in support of his gimmicky “9-9-9” plan, which was panned by several prominent conservatives, hoping that the push will lead to support in Congress:

The one-time Republican front-runner announced his “Cain’s Solutions Revolution” during a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity on Wednesday night.

“I started a new movement. The biggest comment I got when I ended my candidacy was to keep 9-9-9 alive. That’s what this is about, and I’m going to keep it alive with what I’m calling Cain’s Solutions Revolution,” Cain said.

“You have a bus,” Hannity interjected.

“Yes, sir. I have a bus with my picture on it,” Cain said, smiling, as Hannity displayed a photo of a vehicle that looked similar to the campaign bus he used on the trail until the day he pulled up in it at the early December rally in Atlanta when he ended his campaign.

The Atlanta businessman said he plans to “get commitments from members of Congress in 2012 before Election Day” and that the legislation is currently being drafted.

Cain also announced that he’ll be making an endorsement in the race on Thursday, January 19th — just before the primary in South Carolina. Given that he is from Georgia and is close to Newt Gingrich, you can probably guess who he’ll wind up backing.

Since some are already jumping to conclusions, I don’t in any way condone what was said at CPAC. I don’t want to get in an unwinnable debate of opinions of the former Vice President. I’m simply saying that if you feel that way, say it somewhere else.

As libertarians, we are notoriously bad at politics. Partly because we are cynical about things actually changing, but also because we are so principled on certain issues, including opposition to unjustified war and distrust of the Federal Reserve, that we tend to render ourselves irrelevant before we even have a legitmate opportunity to establish our position.

The response is “but it shouldn’t be that way,” and you’re right. But that doesn’t change the fact that this is reality, and sometimes we have to work within the system to achieve a desired change.

On Friday, CPAC attendees were given a surprise as former Vice President Dick Cheney showed up to intro Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense in the Bush Administration, who was set to receive the “Defender of the Constitution” Award from the American Conservative Union.

It was rumored early in the day that several dozen Campaign for Liberty members were going to stage a walkout during the presentation of the award. But I’m afraid the addition of Cheney to the stage was too much for some people to stand.

After a steady round of applause, someone or a group of people - presumably supporters of Ron Paul - began taunting Cheney from the crowd, shouting “war criminal,” calling Cheney “murdering scum,” asking “Where’s bin Laden” and for him to “show us the shekels.”

For those keeping score at home, Obama’s rumored cabinet picks are now official:

President-elect Barack Obama today picked Sen. Hillary Clinton to be secretary of state. Obama said he had no doubt that Clinton is the right person to lead the state department. Obama also announced that he’s keeping Defense Secretary Robert Gates in his current post and tapped Eric Holder for attorney general.

Is anyone else thinking that the time period between election and inauguration should be sped up? It feels like Obama is already President.

Many of us are watching with great interest to see how things are shaping up with likely appointments for the new Obama Administration. Given all the talk about “change” in this election, one would hope that the appointments would indicate some definite moves away from the status quo. Obviously the President’s powers to change much of anything are quite limited by the Constitution (not that this has mattered so much to recent Presidents), with foreign policy being the area of greatest potential for change. An initial look at Obama’s likely appointments in matters of foreign affairs and national security leads this writer to question just how much change, if any, will occur in the conduct of foreign affairs.

Barring a miracle of epic proportions, less than one week from now the nation will choose Sen. Barack Obama as the next President of the United States. But who will this young Senator choose to serve in his cabinet? His choice for Secretaries of State, Defense and Treasury are key decisions that will shape the “Obama Doctrine” and determine whether he governs as a principled leftist, pragmatic leftist, or centrist. While not a perfect candidate, of the names floated thus far, I believe Republican Senator, Chuck Hagel would make the best Secretary of Defense in an Obama Administration.