There once was a time The Republican party was serious on foreign policy. They were cautious and only believed in military intervention if US interests were at risk. This was the policy that guided the GOP during Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan and even Bush I administrations. It was the Democrats who were reckless and got us involved in conflicts that were not in America interstate’s like Vietnam, the Balkans or various interventions in Latin America. The core of the Democratic foreign policy was Progressive nation building. As recently as the 90’s Republicans opposed the Bosnian and Kosovo interventions. Then 9/11 happened and everything changed.
After the 9/11 attacks, the Republican Party under George W. Bush learned the wrong lesson. Rather than stick to the tradition Republican style of interventions, they decided to go on some Democracy spreading crusade that in retrospect has actually spread Islamists governments. The modern GOP is addicted to interventionism and nation building. Polls show Republicans reflexively support any military action, even if it’s in support of the very same people who attacked us on 9/11. If you are against the nation building foreign policy of today’s GOP, the labels isolationist and anti-Semite get thrown in attempts to silence you. But one Republican refuses to be silent, Rand Paul.
Unlike his crazy father, Rand Paul is not an isolationist nor an anti-Semite. He believes in the Pre-George W. Bush traditional cautious Republican foreign policy of Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan and Bush I. He realizes that nation building is not a Conservative concept and that we do Israel nor Mideast Christians no favors by supporting Islamists regimes.
Rand Paul has been selected to sit on the Foreign Relations committee. This will give him a powerful platform to call out the Pro-Islamist policies of Obama and the GOP. On that same committee, will be his nemesis the leader of the nation building wing of the Republican party, John McCain.
s the Senate Foreign Relations Committee big enough for both of them? Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Arizona Sen. John McCain are two new members of the committee for the 113th Congress.
Though they are both Republicans, Paul and McCain have clashed repeatedly over foreign policy and national security. “I worry a lot about the rise of protectionism and isolationism in the Republican Party,” McCain said when Paul was first elected. “I admire his victory, but … already he has talked about withdrawals [and] cuts in defense.”
“Calling me an ‘isolationist’ is about as accurate or appropriate as calling Senator McCain an ‘imperialist,’” Paul shot back in his book “The Tea Party Goes to Washington.”
[….]McCain and Paul have differed on military involvement in Libya, arming Syrian rebels, the size of the Pentagon budget, warrantless surveillance and foreign aid. Paul also opposed the Iraq War and tried to revoke its congressional authorization. McCain was a staunch supporter of the war
One of the factors that led to Mitt Romney defeat was his support of intervention in Libya and his calls for war against Syria. This prevented Romney to go after Obama on foreign policy since they both supported Islamic terrorists. It also fed the narrative that Republicans love war and nation building. Rand Paul is trying to bring the GOP back to sanity on foreign policy. Sadly, the Establishment will continue to manipulate Republican voters that nation building and unlimited interventionism is good. That is why Rand Paul will get no traction in 2016.
The Republican party can not claim to be against Islamic terrorism, when their foreign policy is based on supporting Islamists. Rand Paul’s potential 2016 rivals, Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio are both nation builders. Although I agree with these 2 on economic issues, their foreign policy ideas leave much to be desired. You can not be a Fiscal Conservative and support nation building. Rand Paul is the only major national Republican who is against nation building and Islamic terror. I wish him luck but realize he has a tough road.
Tags: Foreign Policy, John McCain, Rand Paul
