Posted on 01/30/2012 8:21:49 AM PST by Colonel Kangaroo
After the Republican presidential debate in Myrtle Beach last week, Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Fox News, "I hope people in the country understand that we're Ronald Reagan Republicans in South Carolina. We believe in peace through strength and we're not isolationists."
In an interview the next day, Graham's fellow South Carolinian Sen. Jim DeMint said on Fox Business,"If we spread ourselves too thin around the world we're not going to be able to defend the homeland, particularly with the level of debt that we have right now. It's foolish for us to think that we can have military bases all over the world, spend billions of dollars when we're going broke back home. It just isn't going to happen."
Austerity may be a bad word to Graham when it comes to Pentagon spending, but for DeMint it's the very definition of conservatism. When Republicans like DeMint and his Senate ally Rand Paul say that Pentagon spending cuts must happen, Republicans like Graham and his Senate ally John McCain call such actions "isolationist." When Paul was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010, McCain said he was worried about the "rise of isolationism" in the GOP. When Paul later led the charge against President Barack Obama's military intervention in Libya, both Graham and McCain trotted out the isolationist label again.
DeMint stood with Paul on Libya and now stands with Paul on foreign policy in many instances, even voting to essentially defund the Iraq War; both were also against the National Defense Authorization Act, which was heavily promoted by Graham. Such positions reflect DeMint's over-arching fiscal concerns. But perhaps most importantly, South Carolina's junior senator does not pretend that our debt is unrelated to foreign spending, a fantasy that continues to be a major philosophical flaw for so many in the GOP. DeMint addresses this issue directly in his new book Now or Never: Saving America From Economic Collapse, of which I was a contributor:
"Sen. Rand Paul has pointed out that there are two extremes in foreign policy — being everywhere all the time or being nowhere none of the time. Currently, the United States is far closer to the first extreme of trying to do too much in too many places. Of course, America must have the ability to defend our nation and our interests around the world, but ... we simply can no longer afford to intervene in every crisis around the world."
What about that is isolationist? We know that Graham believes America should still be in Iraq; he has said we need a permanent U.S. presence in Afghanistan, has supported our intervention in Libya, has floated the idea of military action in Syria, and has no qualms about a war with Iran.
If we look at the two extremes in foreign policy cited by DeMint, it becomes clear that Graham falls into the first extreme camp. The other extreme — being "nowhere none of the time" — is genuine isolationism. But is anyone actually advocating this? Paul and DeMint certainly aren't. What they are saying is that America's military might be stretched beyond its practical limits and that as a nation we must face fiscal reality.
Applying a cost-benefit analysis to foreign policy is wise — not to mention quintessentially conservative. But to Graham this is isolationist. Many conservatives don't like Graham for multiple reasons, but they consider him to be strong on issues of national security when in reality the exact opposite is true. It is on foreign policy where Graham is the most liberal, believing we can spend infinitely on questionable matters that Republicans can never question
But DeMint is asking these questions. In fact, DeMint is saying we have to ask these questions and face certain realities. As he said on Fox Business, "The best way to defend our country is to move toward a balanced budget, concentrate our defense capabilities back here at home ... but we're not in a position now to do what we've been doing over the last several decades."
Republicans like Graham approach Pentagon spending the way liberals approach welfare. In much the same way conservatives are always accused of throwing the poor out on the street whenever they suggest reforming welfare, anyone who suggests cutting military spending is labeled an isolationist.
Such scare tactics have served liberals well for decades. They have also served Graham well, but perhaps not for much longer, as Republicans follow DeMint's lead and reassess the contradictions in their own philosophy that prevent the GOP from becoming the conservative party it should be
Juan MeCain farts, Lindsey Graham speaks.
Graham unfortunately knows his state well enough to cobble up electoral majorities. But if he wants another war he better not pay for it out of the hides of the Fedgov pensioners of his state.
It's totally unbelievable that after 60 years of that war we still have...
Do the math on how much WE (the taxpayers) are paying for this utter folly....
28,500 troops (per Dept of State) x $110,000/yr per head (per CBO)
But they are very lucrative, I know a guy making big six figures in AfPak. Of course since 2008 he is an Obama supporter, pre-08 he thought Bush was on the right track, meaning he knows which way the wind is blowing.
When can someone run against this RINO? We need his state to stop allowing Democrats to vote in the primary. That’s how Lindsay keeps winning.
Take most or all of the US troops off the 38th parallel and you can imagine anything made by Samsung or LG not making it to the US.
(Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Fox News, “I hope people in the country understand that we’re Ronald Reagan Republicans in South Carolina.)
That’s right. That’s why Lindsey pisses on everything that Ronald Reagan stood for. DeMint is a heck a lot closer to Ronald Reagan’s philosophy than the RINO Graham.
With that type of thinking, maybe we should also send some troops to Israel so they can 'scare' those Arabs too.
Well, the ‘arabs’ don’t have a 1MM+ man standing army supplied with Russian and Chinese military equipment backed by nuclear weapons.
Although Iran is working toward that goal.........
No, DeMint isn’t an isolationist, he’s one of the only few who have any sense.
I still can’t believe anyone, even n SC, takes this moron seriously
DeMint is my hero in congress. No iffies about it.
To put that in perspective, the National Debt has continued to increase an average of $3.94 billion per day since September 28, 2007!
The federal government borrows $4 billion every day. We make $73.9 million a day in interest payments to China. That works to be about $27 billion a year.
“DeMint is my hero in congress. No iffies about it.”
Same here.
He’s also responsible for turning the US into an abusive police state and creating an American KGB in the name of domestic terrorism. The girl has to go, South Carolina! It’s insane.
Obama is shipping money over to the Muslim Brotherhood like there is no tomorrow. Nation building DOES NOT WORK.
Lindsey Graham is NOT wooing the “strong national defense” crowd in South Carolina.
He’s wooing the “protect the national defense budget spending in South Carolina” crowd.
For him, it’s not about the right level of defense resources, in a national strategic sense.
For him it’s about the right level of defense-related jobs and spending in South Carolina.
Is he up for re-election in 2012?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.