Posted on 11/12/2015 9:29:17 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Two weeks ago, after the CNBC GOP presidential debate, I predicted that the GOP presidential race would become a contest between Ted Cruz, the owner of the movement conservative lane and Marco Rubio, the winner of the center-right lane post (http://politickernj.com/2015/10/abreakthrough-night-for-ted-cruz/). Today, one day after the Fox Business Network Milwaukee GOP debate, it appears that there are many pundits who now have my same outlook on this contest.
The Cruz-Rubio race will be distinguished by a sharp foreign policy distinction: Ted Cruz is a Reaganite, and Marco Rubio is a Neocon. Neither Cruz nor Rubio is an isolationist like Rand Paul. The philosophies of Cruz and Rubio as to when to intervene abroad, however, are totally different.
On foreign policy, Ronald Reagan’s administration was distinguished by 1) the rebuilding of our national defense; and 2) foreign interventions and alliances only when necessary to preserve, protect, and advance our national interests. In short, Reagan was a highly successful practitioner of Realpolitik.
By contrast, the Neocons, who were prominent in foreign policy making in the administration of George W. Bush, are motivated not primarily by strict national interest concerns, but instead by a desire for a crusade to spread democracy throughout the world. Nation building is a major tool in the implementation of Neocon foreign policy. The Neocon guidepost is Woodrow Wilson, not Ronald Reagan.
Ted Cruz has consistently emphasized his embrace of Reaganite foreign policy. In doing so, he has emphasized what may be defined as the three Reaganite foreign policy postulates:
First, unlike the neocons, Reagan only believed in intervening where a direct American interest was at stake.
Second, Reagan would never make a show of force unless he was prepared to use force.
Third, foreign interventions should be executed decisively, with a rapid exit strategy to be implemented once the mission was accomplished.
The ultimate outcome of Reaganite foreign policy was America’s victory in the Cold War against the former Soviet Union. The denouement of Neocon foreign policy was the quagmire of the second Iraq War.
In a contest for the GOP presidential nomination, Ronald Reagan would defeat Woodrow Wilson easily. And I have little doubt that Reaganite Ted Cruz will triumph over Wilsonian Neocon Marco Rubio for the 2016 Republican Presidential nomination.
I remember hearing that the number of Illegal Ivading Aliens was 20 million.. back in the 1990’s
I sense that this problem is far far larger than is commonly admitted to.
It’s not just the illegals but the visa holding aliens as well.
The goal is to decrease wages in America. Starting from the bottom and working up to the middle class.
Lib reasoning...
Libs hate big corps but love the big government that supports and protects big corps.
Libs say they love organic and local/small businesses but their love for big government kills the local/small business man and organic farmer through regulations, healthcare costs and taxes.
Libs say we need more people in America to support their social programs and we need more diversity to make America a better place, yet these same libtards eagerly support abortion and planned parenthood. Planned Parenthood, which was founded on the idea of reducing the black population...
My summery is this. Libs are mentally ill.
The math says that this thing is going to Cleveland without being locked up. The last brokered convention was before Eisenhower, it appears that one is in the works now. As Henninger said in today’s WSJ.The caveat is that this is all based on polls, and the polls - as Michael Barone pointed out in today’s WSJ - have been getting flakier and flakier since people started abandoning landline telephones in droves.
Presumably lot of smoke will clear out after SEC Tuesday. Cruz could emerge from SEC Tuesday on close to an equal footing with Trump and Carson.
I do assume that Trump and Carson have peaked, but there are too many contenders for the other half of the vote to allow for a winner to emerge from the primaries. The wild card in negotiations in Cleveland will be the fact that Trump can self-finance; he seems to be the anti-JEB missile. GOPe can’t win with a threat to take their marbles and go home. They’ll have to give up a lot to get Trump to acquiesce to a deal; if Trump gets his juices up, there may not be enough to buy him off with. They should sell tickets to Cleveland.
Not even close to have peaked. Once Carson falters-—and he will, with all his recent terrible policy positions, which are 180 degrees opposite that of Trump-—it’s inevitable that a large number of his supporters leave the Trump Parking Lot and come on over. And, no, it won’t go to Cleveland.
Reportedly Cruz has the organization in the South, particularly. So the primaries down there will tell a major tale. I just think that Cleveland is a distinct possibility. Seems like the only other likely possibility is a Trump runaway.
Interesting times. I don’t actually have huge confidence in a Trump SCOTUS nominee being any better than, say, Harriet Miers. Unless he needed Cruz’ support enough to promise the first SCOTUS opening to him.
I’d bet a significant amount of money that a Cruz SCOTUS appt was discussed.
Bump your TRUMP!
Rubio is an empty suit - like a robot he sprouts memorized lines and is controlled by billionaires such as Singer.
Lifetime SCOTUS vs. Extremely difficult Presidency is something to think about. If it is presented as longtime Conservative influence, it might be interesting.
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