Gephardt calls for increased homeland security funding

[Freddie Stubbs]

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate Dick Gephardt, faulting President Bush for "gambling with our safety," on Monday called for spending $100 billion over five years on homeland security.

Battling front-runner Howard Dean for a critical win in the January 19 caucus state, the Missouri congressman proposed the creation of a Homeland Security Trust Fund to assist state and local communities. The plan would be financed by eliminating special interest tax breaks.

"A guiding principle of homeland security is that it should look both inward and outward. A foreign policy that drives away natural allies in the war against terrorism does our country no good. And shortchanging domestic security puts our citizens here at home at undue risk," Gephardt said. "Homeland security involves balance and common sense. Unfortunately, those are two qualities we rarely see in this White House."

Speaking at police headquarters in this eastern Iowa city, Gephardt said he would spend $20 billion per year over the next five years. A special commission, modeled after the independent military base closing commission, would sort through the federal tax code and identify unneeded subsidies.

more: http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/12/01/elec04.prez.gephardt.ap/index.html

[el_gato]

1. No Thanks

Homeland security is a trojan horse for a police state surveillance society.

[bryant69]

3. I don't know

I mean it would depend on the program attempted.

To put it another way, all local police are technically potentially part of a police state someone wants to set up. Firemen and paramedics too. But that doesn't mean that to protect ourselves from a theoretical police state we get rid of all the cops and firemen.

I would feel safer with some ont other than George W. Bush running whatever Gephardt comes up.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[el_gato]

4. homeland security and locally funded controlled cops are 2 differen things

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

2. Gephardt wants them to be unionized

The ony reason the GOP even accepted the DHS was so they could create a new government bureaucracy and forbid workers the right to organize. If Gephardt can fix this, good.