Taking the Offense on Defense

Since beating out five senior rivals last January to become chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Wisconsin's Les Aspin has walked a tightrope on defense issues. A knowledgeable critic of Pentagon spending, he nevertheless angered many fellow Democrats by supporting the MX missile. Last week Aspin challenged his party, saying that the time has come to stop playing "the Doctor No of the defense debate." Democrats, he said, ought to start coming up with alternatives to weapons they do not like, instead of merely voicing criticism.

In a speech that attracted considerable attention on Capitol Hill, Aspin told the Coalition for a Democratic Majority, "If Democrats want to spend the rest of their careers writing op-ed pieces and giving lectures at universities, then we can continue to stroke our antidefense image. But if we want to make defense policy in the White House and the Pentagon, then we had better stand for something." The party should point to some areas that need increased military spending, Aspin said, and should construct a positive defense policy around issues such as Pentagon reform. "The voters are not attracted to national security naysayers," he concluded sternly.