In a final note that betrays the declinist preconceptions to which the so-called “America First” wing of the GOP is beholden, Ramaswamy impugned the motives of Israel’s defenders. “A lot of it comes down to money,” he said. While allowing for the possibility that some advocates of America as a force for good on the world stage are earnest in their “outdated” ideological predilections, he maintained that “the corrupting influence of super PACs” and “mega money” is mostly to blame.

Americans — public officials and average voters alike — do not support Israel in this time of testing because they’ve been bought off. They recognize a partner nation in need when they see one. They understand that when our enemies chant “death to America” after murdering Israeli Jews, they’re not confused. They comprehend the high stakes of a conflict they did not seek and do not want but was thrust upon them, nonetheless.

It is the weakness projected by Americans who advocate retreat and retrenchment that emboldens our would-be killers, not the other way around.

[Not coincidentally, that was true of the first iteration of “America First” as well. You could look it up, as Yogi Berra would say. — Ed]