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I think it has everything to do with politics. The conservatives paint themselves as the party that is pro-military and strong on the defense of the country. They constantly paint the Left as weak on national security. They have basically painted themselves in a corner, as this is one of their main lines of political attack against the Left, spanning multiple administrations.
And the left won't do it, because they know that they are perceived as weaker on defense, so they try to overcompensate and move way towards the Right when they are in positions of influence and decision making. The first party that significantly goes after military spending will be pounced on by the other party and dragged over the coals in front of the American public, even if those lighting the fire know damn well that cutting military spending makes all kinds of sense. Then, besides all of that, there are the usual dynamics of just having a very powerful special interest lobby with tons of money and government contracts completely entrenched in the system.