This past tuesday, Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) spoke at The Heritage Foundation’s annual spring President’s Club meeting, noting:
Now should be the time for America to rededicate itself to the strategy of: 1) peace through strength, and 2) recommitting ourselves to standing up for democratic and peaceful allies.
Why is now the time? Because total defense spending is projected to decrease from about 4.9 percent this current fiscal year to roughly 3.5 percent in 2015; and unless entitlement spending is reined in, it will consume all federal revenue in just 42 years, with nothing left over for defense.
As more and more people take note of this, talk of America’s decline is in the air. But, as Heritage vice president Kim R. Holmes warns, decline is still our choice: “It will come about only when most Americans decide that what is unique about their country—its Constitution and its legacy of liberty—is no longer worth fighting for.” And as the tea party movement shows, we are not there yet. We need to convince our representatives in Washington that defending and protecting America is their first priority.
Thomas DeCaro currently is a member of the Young Leaders Program at the Heritage Foundation. For more information on interning at Heritage, please visit: http://www.heritage.org/About/Internships-Young-Leaders/The-Heritage-Foundation-Internship-Program