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United States News Title: Rand Paul sucks up to anti-Americans just like his nutjob poppy Noah already wrote a policy rebuttal to Pauls position, which Paul elaborated on this afternoon in a new op-ed at Time. (The op-ed, unlike his tweets, doesnt mention Rubio by name. Although it does approvingly cite
George W. Bush?) Anyone want to make the case that the politics of attacking Rubio on this issue were smart, at least? I cant figure out why Rand would do it. When I tweeted out my surprise a few hours ago, a dozen people tweeted back, Maybe Pauls just saying what he really believes. No doubt. But the thing that distinguishes Rand from Ron and what makes him a legit contender for the nomination is that hes willing to temper his foreign policy positions in order to make himself more appealing to mainstream conservatives. Remember when he complained earlier this year, as things got hairy in Ukraine, how certain Republicans (*cough*McCain*cough*) always seemed to want to tweak Russia? That was a fine libertarian/paleocon sentiment. A few weeks later, after Putin had gotten more aggressive and conservatives were demanding that Obama show some muscle, Paul took to Time magazine to demand strong action against Russia. Remember when he scoffed at the idea of intervening again in Iraq, with the U.S. effectively serving as Irans air force by bombing ISIS, only to decide a few months later as conservatives rallied for force that he would seek to destroy ISIS militarily as president? Last month he introduced a bill to formally declare war on the group that would even allow ground troops in certain limited circumstances. Remember when he seemingly endorsed containment of Iran on ABCs Sunday news show, only to come back the next week after the predictable uproar on the right ensued with an op-ed insisting he was unequivocally not for containing Iran? Its not just conservatives whove noticed these reversals. Members of Pauls libertarian base like Jacob Sullum and others at Reason have noticed them too. And everyone understands what its about: Rands afraid that if he takes a traditional libertarian line on hot-button foreign policy matters, itll be too easy for 2016 rivals to convince tea partiers that hes just like his old man after all and cant be trusted to protect America. Watering down his libertarian impulses may be cynical, but its smart. So
why pick a fight with Rubio, then? It would have been easy for him to oppose the embargo while hedging enough to make conservatives comfortable with his position. E.g., I believe in the liberating power of trade and support lifting sanctions on Cuba, but Im concerned that Senator Rubio is right that this will mainly be a windfall for the Castros, not the Cuban people. The president needs to do more to ensure that the benefits of trade flow to the public, not to the regime, starting with demanding democratic reforms. At the very least, he should have emphasized the point made by Noah, Michael Brendan Dougherty, and many others that tossing a bunch of capital into a corrupt, cronyistic socialist swamp with no meaningful civic institutions is likely to produce a fascist oligarchy like modern Russia, not a truly free state. But Rand didnt hedge; instead he went right at Rubio, mocking him with a too-cute-by-half crack that Rubios the real isolationist. Why? Why, with the primary campaign just weeks away from going full tilt, would he suddenly refuse to pander to a position that probably 85 percent of the right-wingers hes trying to woo hold? And not only is his position one thats disfavored by the right, however ambivalent the rest of America might be about the embargo these days, its one that righties will forever associate with Obama and his foreign policy legacy. Paul may think hes waging war on Rubio on behalf of libertarianism but I bet most conservatives will see it as him waging war on behalf of Obama. It doesnt even make sense at the micro level: As Harry Enten explains, while Cuban-Americans generally may be more conflicted about the embargo than they used to be, Cuban-American Republicans in Florida arent. And those arent the kind of voters you want to alienate if youre eyeing the GOP nomination. These Cuban-American Republicans could easily swing a relatively close Florida Republican primary. Cuban-Americans make up a sizable 8 percent of the primary vote in Florida, which is greater than the 6 percent Cuban-Americans make up in the general election. More importantly, though, Cuban-Americans have voted in a bloc in the past two presidential primaries. In 2008, Cuban-American voters in Florida cast 54 percent of their ballots for John McCain compared to just 32 percent for Rudy Giuliani. McCain actually lost among white voters to his nearest rival, Mitt Romney, but was able to win the primary by 5 percentage points primarily because Romney won only 9 percent of the Cuban-American vote. In 2012, Cuban-American voters switched their allegiance to Romney. He won 57 percent of the Cuban-American vote in the primary, while Newt Gingrich won only 31 percent. As a swing state and an early state that follows Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, Floridas arguably the single most important Republican primary in catapulting its winner to the national nomination. McCain won it in 2008, Romney won it in 2012. Whatever chance Rand Paul had to win it is smaller now, maybe considerably smaller, than it was yesterday. So, again: Why? Why would Rand unload on Rubio knowing that hell be accused of carrying Barack Obamas water on foreign policy? He believes in his position is no answer; as Ive explained, thats never stopped Rand from moderating before. One Twitter pal theorized that maybe Paul hit hard here because he wanted to stand out in the field. But
thats my point. He already stands out! He stands out so much on foreign policy that hes spent two years trying to stand out less, knowing that its a potential liability for him. Another friend speculates that Paul likes the youre the real isolationist! line so much that he couldnt resist throwing it in Rubios face, even if it means stridently opposing conservative orthodoxy in this case. When Rubio or Jeb Bush calls him an isolationist at the first presidential debate next year, Rand now has a ready comeback. The problem there, though, is that it wont just be Rubio or Bush whos calling him that; itll be the entire field, Christie, Walker, Huckabee, you name it. If mainstream conservatives watch 20 different big-name Republican pols assure them that Pauls dangerously naive on Cuba, how much counterweight will Paul saying no, youre the naive one! really have? Worst of all, perhaps, Pauls devoted the past year to building the case that, as a realist, hes actually the true heir to Ronald Reagan on foreign policy, not Rubio and the rest of the superhawks. Whats his counter now, though, when Rubio reminds him that the Reagan administration kept the embargo in place? It feels like hes blowing himself up here on what would otherwise have been a boutique issue in the primaries, except for one key primary where it really matters and Pauls bizarrely on the wrong side of it. Anyway. Ed tells me that he put this question to Mitch McConnell in interviewing him for the Hugh Hewitt Show tonight, which should be airing within the hour after this post goes live. Thats quite a dilemma for McConnell Paul is his close ally, a guy who helped him get reelected to the Senate and whom McConnell has already said hell support for president, but Rubio represents the balance of conservative opinion. Which man did McConnell side with? Listen and find out.
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#1. To: no gnu taxes, *Yukon neo-Progressive Vermin* (#0)
(Edited)
Yes, Rand is a Bushbot and even endorsed Willard Mitt Romney the gay progressive neocon, baby killing, gun grabbing, reconquista. He's a REAL Republican, even though he's not an illegal alien or anchor baby, like McCain and Romney.
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