What is it that keeps the Washington Post’s hyperventilating neocon scribbler Jennifer Rubin up at night? The fact that Ron Paul’s lifelong efforts to promote a peaceful foreign policy continue to light fires in the imaginations of his fellow Americans. Any chance her fellow neocons’ near-total control of Washington’s foreign policy might be slipping sends Rubin scurrying to her keyboard to launch another spit-bomb.
Rubin has been apoplectic for months over the possibility that Donald Trump may wind up the Republican nominee for the presidency. She followed six of the stages of grief but skipped the final one, acceptance, and quickly returned to the first one, shock. Forget about the fact that when it comes to foreign policy, there isn’t all that much for non-interventionists to get excited about when it comes to Donald Trump. He just threatened to shoot Russian planes, he wants to confront China, he wants to dump more money into the military-industrial complex, he just told Bibi to build build build more settlements on occupied Palestinian territory in Gaza, and so on.
With Trump we of course can hope for the best, and any improvement would be welcome, but realistically the yellow warning flags are taking on a distinctively red hue with each passing foreign policy proclamation.
Never mind. For Jennifer Rubin if Trump does not openly worship at the altar of Kristol, Podhoertz, Bolton, et. al., he must be utterly and completely destroyed.
Things are so glum in Rubinville that Jennifer has even taken to giving Hillary Clinton advice on how to defeat Trump.
But nothing makes Rubin madder than the fact that the ideas Ron Paul openly espoused in his recent two presidential campaigns have planted a seed especially among young people, who may in fact be settling for Trump but whose hearts are still with Dr. Paul’s prescription for peace and prosperity: non-intervention overseas and in the US economy. Sound money. Free markets and free minds.
So Rubin goes nuclear against a Republican rank and file who have backed the non-neocon candidate: A Trump victory could bring Ron Paul back to Washington!!!!!
She Tweets:
Ron Paul as secretary of state #thingstoworryabout
— Jennifer Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) May 4, 2016
Of course anyone who knows anything about anything knows how unlikely is such a thing. But the mere thought of it is enough to sent Rubin screaming as if her hair was on fire. “Don’t you people understand how dangerous Trump is??? He could even bring Ron Paul into his administration!!!!”
What a horror for Rubin and the neocons!
What would a Ron Paul State Department look like to the rest of us? Obviously the Secretary of State serves the president, but history teaches us that the Secretary has ample opportunity to make his or her mark on US foreign policy while at the helm of the Foggy Bottom Fudge Factory.
Under a Secretary Paul there would be no endless hectoring calls to the president demanding that this or that country be “liberated” with smart power and smart bombs. Under Secretary Paul there would be no legions of US-funded NGOers sent to undermine the electoral processes overseas. Under Secretary Paul there would be no fact-free, mindless propaganda sessions deceptively named “daily press briefings.” Under Secretary Paul diplomacy would not mean “do what we say and we will give you money, refuse and we will bomb you.” Under Secretary Paul diplomacy would serve the national interest instead of the special interests. Under Secretary Paul, the customary appearances by the Secretary before the House and Senate foreign affairs committees would actually be exercises in truth-telling instead of spin-making.
Well, you get the idea. It would be a total nightmare for Rubin and the neocons. So Jennifer has something to worry about…
Daniel McAdams is director of the The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity. Reprinted from The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity.