Commentary By Ron Beasley
The citizens of the United States are tired of war, George W Bush's wars. Given that I have some advice for the Obama campaign - forget Bain Capitol and go after Romney's foreign policy. Collin Powell gave them the talking points.
WASHINGTON - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday questioned Mitt Romney's choice in foreign policy advisers, saying that some are so right-wing that the advice they give deserves "second thought.
"I don't know who all of his advisers are, but I've seen some of the names and some of them are quite far to the right. And sometimes they might be in a position to make judgments or recommendations to the candidate that should get a second thought," Powell said during an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
He gave the example of Romney recently saying that Russia is the "number one geopolitical foe" to the United States.
"Come on Mitt, think," Powell said. "That isn't the case."
The Nation took a look at Romney's foreign policy advisors and it's pretty scary.
Yet though the candidates and their views were often hard to take seriously, their statements on foreign policy reflected a more disturbing trend in the GOP. Despite facing a war-weary public, the candidates-with the exception of Ron Paul, an antiwar libertarian, and Jon Huntsman, a moderate internationalist-positioned themselves as unapologetic war hawks. That included Mitt Romney, marginally more polished than his rivals but hardly an expert. Given Romney's well-established penchant for flip-flopping and opportunism, it's difficult to know what he really believes on any issue, including foreign affairs (the campaign did not respond to a request for comment). But a comprehensive review of his statements during the primary and his choice of advisers suggests a return to the hawkish, unilateral interventionism of the George W. Bush administration should he win the White House in November.
Bush retreads:
Romney is loath to mention Bush on the campaign trail, for obvious reasons, but today they sound like ideological soul mates on foreign policy. Listening to Romney, you'd never know that Bush left office bogged down by two unpopular wars that cost America dearly in blood and treasure. Of Romney's forty identified foreign policy advisers, more than 70 percent worked for Bush. Many hail from the neoconservative wing of the party, were enthusiastic backers of the Iraq War and are proponents of a US or Israeli attack on Iran. Christopher Preble, a foreign policy expert at the Cato Institute, says, "Romney's likely to be in the mold of George W. Bush when it comes to foreign policy if he were elected." On some key issues, like Iran, Romney and his team are to the right of Bush. Romney's embrace of the neoconservative cause-even if done cynically to woo the right-could turn into a policy nightmare if he becomes president.
Yes, when it comes to foreign policy Romney even scares the Koch brothers Cato Institute. There is every reason to believe that a Romney administration would bring more wars and more tax cuts leading to a ballooning deficit. No body who is sane thinks that a war with Iran would be anything but a disaster.
If you liked George W Bush you will love Mitt Romney. That would make a great bumper sticker.
No, no, no, no. "It's the economy stupid."
ReplyDeleteWhy do Democrats keep falling into traps to start diverting the dialog into subjects that are down the list at number eleven or twelve on the list of things that concern the average voter? Jobs and the economy are #1, and #2 on everybody's list of concerns, and we all think that Obama should talk about birth control or Indian affairs or the price of celery root in grocery stores. Romney is weak on the economy and he needs to be attacked on the economy and have his bogus talking points debunked.
Obama needs to talk about jobs and the economy. And when he's done talking about jobs and the economy he needs to talk about jobs and the economy. And then he needs to talk about jobs and the ecomomy. After that he needs to talk about jobs and the ecomomy.