Memo to the Next Congress: Americans Want to Cut Government, Not Defense

Mackenzie Eaglen / November 05, 2010

Ask the average American about the strength of our nation’s defense, and the answer may surprise you.

According to a poll earlier this year, Americans are now more likely to believe the U.S. national defense is “not strong enough.” Intuitively, many Americans support the government in spending what is necessary for a strong defense — and that includes missile defense.

Surprised? You shouldn’t be.

This week, The Hill came out with another poll. In what should be a strong signal to the 112th Congress, most Americans do not want policymakers to cut defense to pay down the deficit. The midterm election poll found “six in ten Republicans and 53 percent of independents said they would not accept cuts to defense and homeland security spending.” (more…)