Coulter on Paul: Odd mix

[ChristopherBearkat]

I couldn't believe the interview.... Ok, I'll give the scary lady some credit. She seemed (takes deep breath) level headed for the most part.

As a side note, how fair and balanced can you be if you have your own conservative talk show? Brain isn't a journalist, he's a talking head. Quit one of your jobs! You can't be both an objective reporter (whose job is to report the truth) AND a professional commentator (whose job is to persuade)

 

[wildflower]

I agree with this 100%, and I think this is one area the campaign really needs to start emphasizing soon to win over republicans. I have heard Dr. Paul say several times that the Islamic terrorists don't hate us because of our freedom, but because we are occupying their lands. But it goes much more beyond that. I heard him once say that invading Afghanistan and Iraq over a few terrorists is akin to invading Sicily because of the mafia in this country. I think that is a great comparison, but I don't hear it very often. The threat by Islam extremists is way overblown and plays into people's fears because of what happened on 9/11.

So few people in America truly understand Islam and Muslims. I have lived among Muslims in the Middle East in the past, for years at a time, and they are basically peaceful people who are struggling to get by in life just like everyone else. They want to be left alone to live their own lives. I remember when we chased the Taliban out of Kabul, and the western reporters went in and started talking to women on the street who were wearing head scarves. They told them: "You're free now, you don't have to wear those." The young women were in shock, and replied, "But we're Muslims! We want to wear these!" Westerners just assume that all people are forced to be Muslims and all women are oppressed, etc., and they we just need to go over there and rescue them from Islam. But they look at our culture as the one that is morally bankrupt, and they see our presence as pure colonialism. How sad that so few Americans really understand how most Muslims view America.

I agree... That's one of the reasons I stopped posting on that particular forum, back when the war first started, because I couldn't handle being around people who were SO incredibly hateful/paranoid towards any and ALL Muslims, and anyone in the Middle East, for that matter. It was over the top, ugly, and even now, a few years later, it's still like that, although maybe not as bad as right after 9/11. Btw, I also lived in the Middle East, for 2 years, when I was in the 6th and 7th grade, because of my dad's job. So I've been around the religion, the people, and although things have changed since then, at that time, from what I saw, my impression was similar to yours.

The invading Sicily analogy was good. I do think that Paul should work on addressing this issue in a different way, maybe... because right now, even if Paul were to get the nomination, a lot of pro-war Republicans that I've seen have vowed they would never vote for him, because of this particular issue, of the "WOT" and foreign policy in general.

Then again, as someone else mentioned, it may be hopeless trying to get those votes. Those people are so deeply invested in their gung-ho, pro-Iraq war, interventionist thinking that it would take a miracle for them to change their minds.

 

[rasheedwallace]

ann also agrees with ron's 'no foreign aid' policy.


amazing if you ask me, i would have never guessed the devil would agree with some of ron's beliefs!

 

[billv]

Randomly interesting... check this out. She basically likes him for anythign domestic, but hates his ideas on foreign policy. Discussion is basically the 1st half of the video then trails off into lala land.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fyC36Yk3B8

Neo-conservative inconsistencies like this really bother me. Why is it that they love big government abroad, like it can solve all problems, yet hate it at home because it solves no problems at home? I wish they would stop being such hypocrites.

 

[billv]

On "insane foreign policy," we just need to keep hammering home the point that if we don't fix our economic issues, we won't have anything left to defend. See also: David Walker, comptroller general.

I think the problem is that most people are not involved enough to look into the issues and realize that Middle East nations are not Nazi Germany in any sense of the term. I think so many of them have blindly followed into the belief that the terrorists are the greatest threat we ever faced, which of course is absolutely ridiculous, but how do you convince them of this when they think you are a ridiculous, peace loving hippie for saying it?

 

[ChickenHawk]

I don't think most Americans will ever agree with a totally non interventionist foreign policy. I think most Americans will support a less interventionist policy. Most Americans think that we should do something to help other countries that are attacked and have their freedom threatened. I really doubt most people will change their minds on that.

I personally think that Ron Paul's foreign policy is borderline insane. That is probably as close as you will ever get most Americans to agree with him on foreign policy. I agree with 90% of his foreign policy and 95%+ of his domestic policy. I'm okay with that because the Neo-con bomb the world foreign policy is going to cause us far more trouble and Ron Paul would never be able to implement a completely non interventionist policy anyway.