Arnold Ahlert on Chuck Hagel’s budget proposal: “It is no accident that proposed cuts in mandatory spending are often referred to as dealing with ‘third rail’ issues, in that they inevitably engender massive, and possibly career-ending resistance from a dependency-addicted nation. Such resistance is aided and abetted by a Democratic Party that derives much of its power from promoting and maintaining that dependency. In short, when cuts become inevitable, the military is vulnerable, while entitlement programs remain virtually sacrosanct. … The Constitution requires the federal government to provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare of the nation. Democrats and Obama have it exactly backwards. … [A]bsent national security, everything else is irrelevant. There will be no victorious enemy willing to provide Americans with anything remotely resembling the massive and overly generous safety net we take largely for granted. And hope and change are not viable substitutes for military strength, preparedness and deterrence.”