Lincoln Chafee: “Mr. President, in the years 1931 to 1938, the people of England failed to heed the warnings that their nation and…”

“Mr. President, in the years 1931 to 1938, the people of England failed to heed the warnings that their nation and, indeed, their lives were in peril. They dismissed voices, such as that of Winston Churchill, crying the alarm. They dismissed him as a warmonger and a scaremonger. Despite clear proof that Hitler was building a fierce war machine, the people of Great Britain preferred to ignore such evidence. John F. Kennedy described that in his book, ``Why England Slept.'' And in his history of World War II entitled ``The Gathering Storm''--that was the first volume--Churchill gave the theme of that volume as follows: How the English-speaking people through their unwisdom, carelessness and good nature allowed the wicked to rearm. Mr. President, a clear analogy can be drawn between the financial peril of the United States in the immediate years ahead and the military peril of Great Britain in the years referred to, with one major difference. No one disputes--no one disputes--the fiscal danger our Nation faces if we do not control these entitlements.”