In a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate yesterday, liberal Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) – who remains under federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice – asserted that paying higher taxes is “just as patriotic” as serving in the armed forces in Afghanistan.

As Politico’s Ben Smith noted yesterday afternoon, “[t]he question of whether paying more taxes is a mark of patriotism drew some controversy when Joe Biden made that case during the 2008 campaign, and New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez took it a step further on the Senate floor today.”

“Millionaires and billionaires can be just as patriotic and willing to pay their fair share as a soldier in Afghanistan whose family is living on an army paycheck,” declared Menendez.

CLICK BELOW TO SEE BOB MENENDEZ ARGUE THAT PAYING HIGHER TAXES IS “JUST AS PATRIOTIC” AS SERVING IN AFGHANISTAN

“It’s revealing that Senator Menendez thinks people can be ‘just as patriotic’ as our troops in Afghanistan, simply by paying the higher taxes he’s trying to impose on New Jersey families and job-creators,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Chris Bond. “Not only is Menendez refusing to support responsible reductions in government spending as our debt tops $14 trillion – now he’s trying to cast his fiscal recklessness as some bizarre form of patriotism, invoking our troops to justify his costly tax hikes as he continues his out-of-control spending binge in Washington.”