Rand Paul’s extraordinarily difficult path to the presidency
A prime example: During his much-ballyhooed speech at Heritage, Sen. Paul repeated the unsubstantiated claim that in the 1980s “Congress armed bin Laden.”
This is a highly disputed allegation, and one that FactCheck.org deemed an “urban myth.” What’s more, it is an assertion Paul has made on multiple occasions, meaning he didn’t merely misspeak.
Aside from the questionable veracity of the statement (a legitimate factor in its own right), there are political problems here for the Kentucky senator. Is it really wise for a Republican to accuse the Reagan administration of arming bin Laden? That puts Paul into Michael Moore territory.
On the heels of his Tea Party response to the State of the Union, it has become fashionable for pundits to announce that Rand Paul has a real shot at the nomination. But this doesn’t appreciate the difficult maneuver Paul is attempting.
And it will only get harder once conservatives view him as a threat. Like a Rubik’s cube, every move Rand makes in order to please one side or constituency has the potential to anger the other side.
Blowback
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The talk of the next one is tiresome, especially after the last debacle and result.
May all who brung/kept Obama be utterly destroyed.
Schadenfreude on February 19, 2013 at 9:22 PM
Worth repeating more so than the drivel the media spends all its energies on.
Bmore on February 19, 2013 at 9:26 PM
Yep. They need to feel serious pain.
VegasRick on February 19, 2013 at 9:26 PM
Is Matt Lewis mentally retarded or something? Rand Paul is not accusing Reagan of arming Bin Laden in order for them to later attack us. He is stating that our actions overseas have consequences that we might not feel or see for decades. Our arming of the resistance movement in Afghanistan in a push to repel the Soviets from expanding absolutely had lasting consequences in the country. Part of which was that Afghanistan became essentially a lawless nation state where Al Qaeda could set up permanently.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cyclone
We armed the Islamic radicals. We didn’t think about what might happen after the fact. Almost an IDENTICAL thing is happening and has happened in Libya, leading to Islamic radicals seizing weapons and then taking over a gigantic swath of land in neighboring Mali.
So to sum up, the reason that Rand Paul says we “armed Bin Laden” is to illustrate that our actions overseas have reactions, sometimes delayed, that we need to be absolutely cognizant of.
thphilli on February 19, 2013 at 9:31 PM
There is no evidence that we supplied and personally supported OBL but the fact is, we supported those fighters that were fighting the Soviets and their afghan puppets. But one more important point, all of the support went through the Pakistani intell service the ISI. The fact is, US taxpayers funded Islamic radicals to further our fight against communism right or wrong.
MoreLiberty on February 19, 2013 at 9:37 PM
You mean the GOP?
ddrintn on February 19, 2013 at 9:37 PM
Matt Lewis is just trying to make his desire to torpedo Rand Paul a reality by drumming it all up.
Warner Todd Huston on February 19, 2013 at 9:39 PM
Matt Lewis Establishment Fluffer.
Bmore on February 19, 2013 at 9:43 PM
I think Reagan was great. But one would think in hindsight, he might have had better advisors to sway him away from Afghanistan after what happened in Beruit. Fighting the Cold War understanding is implied, which was the greater threat? The Cold War at the time.
There is one firm and fast rule over the last few decades. When we get in bed with islamists, we get burned. Since Regean’s time during the Cold War, who has killed more American’s? Communists or islamists?
Perhaps it’s time we stopped getting in bed with islamists?
The definition of insanity, is doing the same thing over and over, then expecting a different result.
By definiiton, we are insane.
Hog Wild on February 19, 2013 at 9:47 PM
I think that the term for what you describe is blowback.
The difference between Afghanistan and Libya is that the former adventure did lead to the collapse of the Soviet Union through bankruptcy. Don’t dismiss the importance of our goals in winning the Cold War.
onlineanalyst on February 19, 2013 at 9:57 PM
Beruit was a debacle. The ROEs forced on those Marines was criminal.
MoreLiberty on February 19, 2013 at 9:57 PM
These kindz of programs tend to continue from administration to administration. Like the anthrax spores to Saddam, it started under Jimmy Carter and people like Richard Clarke stayed on to continue the programs.
Buddahpundit on February 19, 2013 at 9:57 PM
One flower to the grassroots Conservatives, another to the Ronulans. Keep repeating over and over again. Its fascinating to watch the tightrope balancing. So far, so good, Senator Paul. Lets see if you can last the full length.
tommy71 on February 19, 2013 at 9:58 PM
Don’t ignore the fact that useless foreign interventions can bankrupt a nation…any nation.
MoreLiberty on February 19, 2013 at 10:04 PM
Matt Lewis loves amnesty and is a Rubio fanboy.
Jon0815 on February 19, 2013 at 10:10 PM
I think Reagan was cognizant of the fact that millions of people would eventually be freed from the tyranny of the Soviet Union. What this has to do with Rand Paul’s game of “Six Degrees of osama bin laden” is something he should work out with his therapist. He’s as nutty as his father on this subject.
Ronnie on February 19, 2013 at 10:15 PM
There is one thing that matters above all else……
16.5 trillion
In my opinion he is the most apt to do something about it.
With that being said, I could care less about splitting hairs over whether or not we armed Bin Laden in their fight against the Soviets.
Meat Fighter on February 19, 2013 at 11:04 PM
Blah. Blah. Blah. Let’s just nominate another big government statist. It’ll work next time. For sure.
besser tot als rot on February 19, 2013 at 11:47 PM
Matt Lewis = Jen Rubin.
HerneTheHunter on February 20, 2013 at 3:22 AM
Anyone who’s wached Rambo 3 already knows and accepts that we helped the Taliban kick the Soviets’ butts…
Professor_Chaos on February 20, 2013 at 7:54 AM
And apparently misses the fact that Islam has killed more Americans than Communists. When was the last time the Soviets brought down a landmark in our homeland, again?
Giving any sort of aid to Muslim terrorists for any reason is a BAD IDEA.
MelonCollie on February 20, 2013 at 12:16 PM