On Morning Joe's coverage of the debt ceiling deal, Joe Scarborough trivialized potential defense cuts by joking that the money is needed to repel extraterrestrial invasion. "I understand why some neocons are very upset because the Martians could invade any time, and so do we need to have a bigger defense budget than every other country on the planet, because when the Martians do come, we want to make sure we that have our radar gun technology ready," said Scarborough.
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New York Magazine's John Heilemann echoed this sentiment, suggesting that America's military is oversized. "Not just a bigger defense budget, Joe. You need to have a defense budget that's bigger by orders of magnitude. It must be two or three or four times bigger than anybody else's," said Heilemann.
Scarborough and Heilemann did not mention, of course, that the defense budget that would be cut supports the same military that not only defends the United States, but provides a defensive umbrella to our allies, and has delivered humanitarian aid the world over. The record of the United States military over the past century provides ample record that the US defense budget is far more than the frivolous gratuity Morning Joe makes it out to be.
A transcript follows below.
MSNBC
"Morning Joe"
08/02/2011
6:08 a.m. Eastern
JOE SCARBOROUGH: One issue that they actually tackled for the first time, it sounds like, defense.
HAROLD FORD, JR: And there's an automatic cut if the super-committee can't -
JOHN HEILEMANN: There's a big chunk.
SCARBOROUGH: Now listen, no doubt about it, listen, I understand why some neocons are very upset because the Martians could invade any time, and so do we need to have a bigger defense budget than every other country on the planet, because when the Martians do come, we want to make sure we have our radar gun technology ready.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Zap em.
HEILEMAN: Not just a bigger defense budget, Joe. You need to have a defense budget that's bigger by orders of magnitude. It must be two or three or four times bigger than anybody else's.
