As I watched a clip from the Republican debate last night, the fact that the Republican party is dying was reinforced for me. When Ron Paul was on stage and asked about our foreign policy he signaled a warning for his party. He reminded them that Republicans were anti-interventionist in the past and that that type of policy needs to be revisited. Instead of cheering for him, the audience was silent until Rudy spoke out of turn and wanted to start a fight with Paul over the truths he was speaking.
See, the Republicans do not want to hear about reality. They want to think Americans can do no wrong no matter what the effects are on other countries. And if someone from within the party mentions the cause of those effects, all hell will be unleashed on that poor soul. That was what Giuliani tried to do to Ron Paul. So did Fox News and the audience at the hall last night. They tried to make him seem out of step. Well Paul gave them all another dose of truth with the response to that question.
From Crooks and Liars:
Wallace: "Congressman Paul, you're one of six house Republicans who back in 2002 voted against authorizing President Bush to use force in Iraq. Now you say we should pull our troops out. A recent poll found that 77% of Republicans dissaprove of the idea of setting a timetable for withdrawal. Are you running for the nomination of the wrong party?"
Paul: "You-you have to realize that the base of the Republican Party shrunk last year because of the war issue, so that percentage represents less people. If you look at 65-70% of the American people, they want us out of there, they want the war over."
While Paul tries to stay in step with the majority of Americans, the Republicans refuse to adhere to the realities of the day. They will cheer on the war and anyone who picks up the flag and marches deeper into battle after George Bush is gone. The only problem is that while there are quite a few Republican troops on the front line, plenty of them are deserting and their ranks are being depleted as the war in Iraq drags on.
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