Posted on 02/29/2016 2:41:44 PM PST by drewh
Donald Trump’s runaway success in the GOP primaries so far is setting off alarm bells among neoconservatives who are worried he will not pursue the same bellicose foreign policy that has dominated Republican thinking for decades.
Neoconservative historian Robert Kagan — one of the prime intellectual backers of the Iraq War and an advocate for Syrian intervention — announced in the Washington Post last week that if Trump secures the nomination, “the only choice will be to vote for Hillary Clinton.”
Max Boot, an unrepentant supporter of the Iraq War, wrote in the Weekly Standard that a “Trump presidency would represent the death knell of America as a great power,” citing, among other things, Trump’s objection to a large American troop presence in South Korea.
Trump has done much to trigger the scorn of neocon pundits. He denounced the Iraq War as a mistake based on Bush administration lies, just prior to scoring a sizable victory in the South Carolina GOP primary. In last week’s contentious GOP presidential debate, he defended the concept of neutrality in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is utterly taboo on the neocon right.
“It serves no purpose to say you have a good guy and a bad guy,” he said, pledging to take a neutral position in negotiating peace.
This set off his rival Marco Rubio, who replied, “The position you’ve taken is an anti-Israel position. … Because you cannot be an honest broker in a dispute between two sides in which one of the sides is constantly acting in bad faith.”
The Jerusalem Post suggested that Rubio’s assault on Trump’s views on the Middle East was designed to win Florida. If that’s the case, it’s apparently not working — in the Real Clear Politics averaging of GOP primary polls in the state, Trump is polling higher than he ever has.
In his quest to take up George W. Bush’s mantle, Rubio has arrayed a fleet of neoconservative funders, ranging from pro-Israel billionaire Paul Singer to Norman Braman, a billionaire auto dealer who funds Israeli settlements in the West Bank. His list of advisers is like a rolodex of Iraq War backers, ranging from Bush administration alumni Elliot Abrams and Stephen Hadley, to Kagan and serial war propagandist Bill Kristol.
Kristol also sits on the board of the Emergency Committee for Israel — a dark money group that assails candidates it perceives as insufficiently pro-Israel. The group started airing an ad this weekend against Trump portraying him as an ally to despots like Bashar Assad, Saddam Hussein, and Muammar Qaddafi — mostly because he argued that military invasions of Libya and Iraq left those countries worse off:
Even when Trump echoes certain elements of neoconservative orthodoxy — he repeatedly and emphatically calls for strengthening the military — he does so in a unique way. He talks not about spending more money but defying the “special interests” who make the Pentagon order “missiles they don’t want because of politics … because the company that makes the missiles is a contributor.”
Jacob Heilbrunn, author of They Knew They Were Right: The Rise of the Neocons, suggested in July 2014 that neoconservatives might be preparing to ally with Hillary Clinton.
With Trump’s ascendancy, it’s possible that the parties will reorient their views on war and peace, with Trump moving the GOP to a more dovish direction and Clinton moving the Democrats towards greater support for war.
Trump followers will have long memories, and pay back will be hell.
From now on and for at least 8 years after President Trump is sworn in.
We will help him bulldoze and destroy the political landscape and power structure of DC.
Is there anything they WON’T Declare War on?
My FRiend, I have several vet friends from Annapolis and West Point grads to enlisted guys like me, and everyone of us will crawl over broken glass to vote for Trump.
How has the current white house puke helped a single vet?
Who is your choice and what has he or she done for Vets like you?
No one listens to what that fatass says anyway.
Most people don’t even know that these neo-cons are actually leftists who moved from the democrat party when that party became more of a peace at any price party. They still support all the leftist social causes, open borders, abortion, gay marriage, affirmative action, political correctness, and whatever else all liberals support. Their only goal is to drag the US into every war they can in the Middle East.
Excellent post;
“Nation Building.....no Tks unless you’ve destroyed the enemy in total war first like 1945.”
Then, you need to have some really tough MPs to make sure that any new enemies don’t appear and to destroy any of the left over bastards.
My Dad had a cousin, who volunteered to stay in Germany after WWII to hunt down and take out left over Nazis for years after the war. One of my cousins did the same thing in Japan re left over Rising Sun warriors. He was 6’5”, 220 #’s of dedication to his 3 years post WWII Japan. They and others like them did a great job of taking out the really bad garbage when the active wars were over.
“The pukes precious New World Order and Big Government Republicanism are in steep decline. We are returning to the federalism of Ronald Reagan, to American conservatism....and the pukes are not on the train. “
This is what this election is ALL about, Liz. Hillary is guaranteed at least 2 extra votes from this fight
McConnell
Ryan
I almost broke the TV screen when their two faces popped up lacerating Trump.
Trump got the last laugh saying if Ryan doesn’t play nice he’s going to pay the price.
“They all schooled at the knee of Peretz and Kristol and daddy Podhertz
Amongst others.....non Jewish as well
Hell the Bush dynasty....fairly patrician WASP is a benchmark of neoconservatism.
Add a nod to “Open borders” Fred Barnes, and Hugh Hewitt.
“Neocons are basically Rockefeller GOP bred with 70s Democrats who left after their youthful stint with McGovern Carter and Mondale as the party went and stayed left
Krauthammer is like their sage....a culture lib”
Spot on, as always.
“Trump got the last laugh saying if Ryan doesn’t play nice he’s going to pay the price.”
Ryan is such an obtuse Establishment slut that I truly doubt he even understands what Trump can do to him : )
You got that right....
Trump oughta be tweeting out those Ryan tweets NOW...and add a few Instagrams while he/s at it.
Donald Trump is turning American Biblical conservatives into European racialist conservatives. Looks like we're going to find out how just how much some conservatives support Israel.
“So what do the chicken hawks propose to do? Whack DT with their manpurses?
ROTFLMFAO! “
Run over his big toe with their Prius........
Because they're Jews . . . right???
This attitude is why some of us distrust Trump and what he is doing to American conservatives.
I have never seen this kind of hysteria during primaries. The last debate made Democrats look dignified. Is this part of effort to elect Clinton? What does Clinton have on them? Of course, I have never trusted the neocons. There is nothing conservative about them.
After reading what these rectums are doing, you are more concerned about us, the Trump supporters? You are a pitiful lost soul!
I’m not here to defend Trump especially — as he has his flaws...
But the flaw in the logic in the cartoon you posted is that Slick Willie was accused in the Paula Jones Sexual Harassment case and committed blatant perjury because Monica Lewinsky.
Trump was not the President if/when he committed adultery and did not lie about it in court in a sexual harassment case like Slick did.
Slick Willie is exceptionally dishonest and a slimy character. Trump on the other hand may be exceptionally blunt about everything but he is not a sneaky snake like Slick Willie.
Big difference...
As for the “draft dodger” allegation, that’s probably a bit of an overstatement. And using the term “draft dodger” in this case is meant to characterize Trump as a “coward.”
But would you fault ANYONE for not wanting to fight a useless war that has nothing to do with protecting the USA? I was the last year of the draft lottery in Vietnam and had a high number, but no way would I have gone to Vietnam if I were chosen. But if I were drafted to protect our country against Muzzies, count me in!
Here’s info about Trump’s “draft dodging”
http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/article/2015/jul/21/was-trump-draft-dodger/
—In the course of the Vietnam War, about 15.4 million men received deferments, were exempted or disqualified. In contrast to those millions, the government charged 210,000 people with draft violations, ranging from burning their draft cards to refusing to serve to fleeing the country.
Yes, after 2 years of NORMAL student deferments, he had a medical issue. Whether or not it was an exaggerated medical issue, I don’t care because sending our boys off to be killed in the Vietnam war was the wrong thing for the gov’t to do and if you truly believe in Liberty, you too would have protested that.
In other words, your cartoon is really a cheap shot at Trump.
So next time, think a little more deeply about the nuances in what you post.
I mentioned absolutely zero about what you referred to
what I did was compare the lying adulterous draft dodger Bill Clinton to the lying adulterous draft dodger Donald Trump
both cheated on their wives, both lie constantly and both dodged the draft
the specifics of who either cheated with is immaterial, it is undeniable, and Trump bragged about it in his own book.
So, whatever lapse of critical thinking you are experiencing, get over it.
Because they're Jews . . . right???
This attitude is why some of us distrust Trump and what he is doing to American conservatives.
Oh for the love of God. TDS derangement taken to its logical conclusion! T*r*u*m*p is a jew hating kkk nazi!
There's nothing Conservative or Reaganesque about you folks. Y'all sound like little girls, who post at DUmmyland and DailyKaos.
His approach, going in "neutral" is the absolute best idea I've ever heard. This is walking softly and carrying a big stick, rather than talking a big game and then doing the same old same old, like they always do. If Trump goes in neutral and then it all falls apart again with rockets and suicide bombers he will have the moral authority and much higher regional acceptance for punitive action.
At least this way there is a small chance for something to happen, and it really puts the onus on the Arabs and all moslems to behave. It is a brilliant negotiating starting position and coming from a (R)epublican it carries much more weight than from a (D)ummycrat. Hell, we've tried everything else, so this is as good an idea as any.
Cruz has really ratcheted up the stupid lately. Once his followers, many who appear to be history challenged, borderline insane zealots start rambling about anti-Semitism and KKK about someone from NYC, they have gone full tilt nutso. Levin is clearly in this class now and I say good riddance. This exact same smear tactic, the Mississippi occurred just two years ago, and Cruz was a member of that cabal, although cloaked with deniability from Mitch. I wonder how Cruzers feel about being drafted into the GOPe cesspool by Saint Ted?
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