The day before Rep. Ron Paul announced his bid for the Republican nomination for president, the Republican Jewish Coalition issued a press release on May 12th, “RJC Expresses Concern about Ron Paul Candidacy.”
The RJC press release asserts, “As Americans who are committed to a strong and vigorous foreign policy, we are deeply concerned about the prospective presidential campaign of Congressman Ron Paul. While Rep. Paul plans to run as a Republican, his views and past record place him far outside of the Republican mainstream” (emphasis added.) The press release goes on to state that the RJC “strongly objects to his misguided and extreme views.”
On its Policy Platform page, the RJC claims it wants more free enterprise in the United States, low taxes and less regulation, but overseas it wants an America “powerful enough to overcome the evil, enslavement and human rights abuses fostered by dictators, autocrats and other repressive regimes.” The RJC wants America to “lead the world in standing for the cause of freedom and democracy.” Moreover, if America does not intervene, “the likely outcome of an America not intervening would be darkness overcoming light.” In short, asserts the RJC, “keeping the world free and safe for democracy is critical to our ability to be free citizens of our own country.” The RJC makes this incredible statement, “It’s not enough to have a strong military to protect our own borders; our national security also relies on us actively combating the forces of evil in the world.”
The RJC’s views on foreign policy are pure rubbish. While the RJC claims that Ron Paul is outside the Republican mainstream, its foreign policy is pure Wilsonian. In other words, the RJC’s foreign policy platform is identical to Democratic president Woodrow Wilson’s assertion that America’s mission is to “make the world safe for democracy.”
Since when is being the world’s policeman a mainstream Republican policy initiative? The RJC should heed the wisdom of Howard Buffett, Republican congressional representative from Nebraska and Midwest presidential campaign manager for Senator Robert Taft, Mr. Republican, who said, “Even if it were desirable, America is not strong enough to police the world by military force. If that attempt is made, the blessings of liberty will be replaced by coercion and tyranny at home. Our Christian ideals cannot be exported to other lands by dollars and guns.” In addition, as founding father James Madison observed two centuries ago, “If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.”
Moreover, the RJC is a major link in the neoconservative nexus.
The neoconservatives—in both political parties–have given America out of control spending domestic, a massive national debt, humongous budget deficits, open-ended military intervention and a collapsing dollar. Moreover, Ron Paul has opposed all these big government policies for decades in Congress.
The RJC incredibly opposes Ron Paul’s presidential candidacy claiming he has “extreme” positions, while it supports the warfare state unequivocally. One of the major reasons the RJC opposes Ron Paul is that he wants to end all foreign aid, including the multibillion-dollar aid package Israel receives from the United States annually. The United States has to borrow every dollar it sends overseas. This is financial insanity.
The RJC leadership has unmitigated chutzpah calling Ron Paul an extremist for wanting to restore liberty in America and end the immoral and unconstitutional interventions overseas, while it wants all American politicians to give Israel unequivocal support.
Rep. Paul stated that he supports the sovereignty of Israel and wants its policies to reflect its national security interests. What could be more pro Israel than supporting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Israel?
The RJC claims it stands for mainstream Republican principles. The Republican Jewish Coalition needs to rethink its unwarranted assertions about Rep. Paul’s presidential campaign and reflect on what it means to embrace the ideals of individual liberty, free enterprise and the principles of limited government, supposedly the key principles of the GOP.
A free society cannot have limited government at home and unlimited military interventions overseas. Apparently, the RJC believes the welfare-warfare state is compatible with Jewish values. They are not. Jewish values of freedom, integrity, compassion, peace and good will can be found in the Ten Commandments and the Declaration of Independence, not in the neoconservative handbook on ruling the world.