In the final year of his life, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us all that budgets are moral documents. “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.” Though he was speaking about the Vietnam War era, his words are as powerful today — perhaps more so — as they were in 1967-68.

Republicans are embracing the Trump-Bannon-Ryan “hard power” budget, a $54 billion increase in military spending paid for with cuts to nearly every domestic department and tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. The proposal demonstrates what the Republican leadership believes is most critical to achieve in our society and around the world. Nothing, after all, gets the old conservative juices flowing like another military engagement or slashing after-school programs for children.

Dir. Mulvaney on Trump’s Budget: “This is a hard power budget. You’ve got $54 billion more worth of defense.” https://t.co/zfSuLunjH0 pic.twitter.com/k43GhOerAN

— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) March 16, 2017

Contrary to any distancing behavior by congressional Republicans from their White House leaders and allies, the American electorate is seeing a rapid coalescence around an alt-right agenda. Trump threatens Republicans that 2018 will be tough for them if they do not toe his hard-power line in major policy areas. These fellows certainly are not concerned about programs of social uplift. This is hard power.

…Continue reading on The Hill