I was not surprised to see an op-ed from my opponent, state Sen. Jim Banks (Oct. 18), calling for an even "yuuuger" (as his party’s presidential candidate would say) military and an increase in military spending. This has been the battle cry of Republicans since Irving Kristol (an avid Trotskyist) taught them how "great" perpetual war and perpetual war spending could be for the country. They took up Kristol’s call and used it to mold the GOP into what it is today: the War Party. While Banks has been attempting to present himself as libertarian-lite on the issue, his op-ed paints a different picture.

The GOP likes to market itself as the party of limited government. A country cannot have limited government under a state of perpetual war. Our Founding Fathers knew this. It’s why George Washington warned us, "It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliance with any portion of the foreign world." It’s why Thomas Jefferson advised, "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none." They knew the madness would lead to war after war after war – and with war comes taxing the American people to the poor house. They knew it would lead to citizens losing liberty in the battle cry Republicans are now so fond of: "We must sacrifice freedom so that we can be safe!"

So it was no surprise to see Banks preaching the very thing that has contributed a massive amount of our now more than $20 trillion in deficit spending. The party of "spending cuts" is begging for spending increases.

Banks thinks we need to increase spending for the military (i.e., Department of Defense weapons contractors). The military/Pentagon has been called out multiple times by Congress for wasteful (and forgetful – we’ll get to that in a minute) spending. They get called out, right before Congress hands them another big check with very few strings attached. Does this funding go to our troops? No. Our soldiers make poverty wages while those who lead them, from far away, make millions. There has been an increase in soldiers applying for food stamps. They’re not getting the money. So where does the money (which Banks is demanding more of) go? Defense contractors, a $20 million gas station in Afghanistan, a $22 million fighter jet the Pentagon doesn’t want or perhaps the buying and selling of weapons to rogue groups in the Mideast who later turn against us with our own weapons (i.e. ISIS)? And is anyone accountable for that money? No. Sometimes the Pentagon even "forgets" what it did with it, or at least that’s what they tell Congress.

I have seen the devastation of the Republican Party’s willingness to send our young men and women to war but yet not willing to support them when they come home physically and mentally broken. Banks is chairman of the Indiana Senate Veteran’s Committee and has been in the Indiana Senate for six years, yet according to internal reports by the Department of Veterans Affairs, and broadcast on WTHR-TV on April 15, "Indiana ranks 50th among the states in average annual benefits paid to disabled veterans."

If I am elected your congresswoman, I will support a strong military budget that will support a strong defense of our country but not one that has helped drive our deficit up to $20 trillion. I will not support a military budget that builds $20 million gas stations in Afghanistan while our soldiers barely get by. I will not support the perpetual war that the Republican Party advocates for or policies that have our troops fighting wars for other countries. I will not support using our military to topple regimes. If I am not willing to send my own children and grandchildren to war, I am not going to vote to send yours. When our troops return home, I will support our troops being given the option to use the current VA system or any doctor of their choosing.

Doing what is best for our military, our soldiers, is not more money for defense contractors. It’s demanding that money is spent on soldiers. It’s demanding that our soldiers are given the best care possible when returning from the chaos of war. This means we need to do much better than what the Indiana Senate Veteran’s Committee has done for our Hoosier veterans.