NACBA
Member
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2010
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How Islamic State Threatens Rand Paul’s 2016 Campaign
The past few months, it has come to look like Islamic State cannot defeat U.S. airpower. It’s an open question whether the extremists can overcome the reconfigured Iraqi military. But it appears that they can, at least, defeat Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.).
Sen. Paul shot to the fore of the Republican presidential field last year about the same time voter exhaustion with unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was revitalizing a long-dormant isolationist wing of the Republican Party. In modern history, Americans have turned inward following prolonged military conflict. This happened after both world wars, Korea, and Vietnam. In recent years, voters had once again become skeptical of further foreign involvement. Along with a non-traditional approach to criminal justice in this country and to drug policy, Sen. Paul capitalized on this wariness as he developed the platform for his 2016 campaign.
Establishment Republicans were flummoxed. Since Ronald Reagan’s election, their party’s successes had been constructed on a three-legged foundation of economic conservatism, social and cultural traditionalism, and national security assertiveness. Losing the most reliable of those three legs heading into the post-Obama era was hardly a recipe for victory in 2016.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/03/17/how-islamic-state-threatens-rand-pauls-2016-campaign/
The past few months, it has come to look like Islamic State cannot defeat U.S. airpower. It’s an open question whether the extremists can overcome the reconfigured Iraqi military. But it appears that they can, at least, defeat Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.).
Sen. Paul shot to the fore of the Republican presidential field last year about the same time voter exhaustion with unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan was revitalizing a long-dormant isolationist wing of the Republican Party. In modern history, Americans have turned inward following prolonged military conflict. This happened after both world wars, Korea, and Vietnam. In recent years, voters had once again become skeptical of further foreign involvement. Along with a non-traditional approach to criminal justice in this country and to drug policy, Sen. Paul capitalized on this wariness as he developed the platform for his 2016 campaign.
Establishment Republicans were flummoxed. Since Ronald Reagan’s election, their party’s successes had been constructed on a three-legged foundation of economic conservatism, social and cultural traditionalism, and national security assertiveness. Losing the most reliable of those three legs heading into the post-Obama era was hardly a recipe for victory in 2016.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/03/17/how-islamic-state-threatens-rand-pauls-2016-campaign/
