Senator James Inhofe: I'm a Fiscal Conservative, Except When I'm Not

2005: "I am going to remind you that I am the No. 1 ranked conservative in the U.S. Senate. And yet I’m a big spender in two areas: national defense and infrastructure."

2007: “I am a staunch fiscal conservative, but I am not apologetic about increased spending on our nation’s defense and infrastructure needs.”

What Inhofe willfully ignores is that national defense and fiscal discipline have always been at war with one another. By all means, we should protect the country vigorously and unapologetically, but we must remember that war, simply put, dramatically expands government, whether by curtailing civil liberties, increasing spending or stationing troops around the globe indefinitely.

Equally important, no taxpayer dollar should be exempt from "staunch fiscal conservativ[ism]." The principle of pecuniary prudence, if we take it seriously, is comprehensive and nonnegotiable.