Slashing defense spending is a necessity. Are there other areas that should be trimmed? Of course. Should austerity be the direction we take right now? History, as well as the current situation in Europe, proves otherwise.
Praytell, why the refusal to cut military spending? Why does Boehner insist on forcing the military to take obsolete aircraft/engines that are produced by his constituents, while simultaneously calling for spending cuts?
Cutting taxes has proved to be a losing venture, especially while there are two unfunded wars raging.
Likewise, the staunch refusal to compromise on the debt ceiling caused our credit rating to be lowered. I find it questionable that we never once heard a peep from conservatives when the debt ceiling issue was voted on in the past.