• Rand Paul: Clinton, Rubio both ‘neoconservatives’

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Rand Paul says Hillary Clinton is a “neoconservative” — just like Marco Rubio.

    The Kentucky senator and GOP presidential candidate lumped Clinton, the Democratic 2016 front-runner, and Rubio, a surging Republican candidate, together on foreign policy — criticizing them for being too willing to intervene in Middle Eastern conflicts in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper Sunday on “State of the Union.”

    Asked about Clinton, Paul said: “I see her as a neoconservative.”

    “I see her and Rubio as being the same person,” he said. “They both wanted a no-fly zone. They both have supported activity in Libya — the war in Libya that toppled Gadhafi, an intervention that made us less safe.

    “They both have supported pouring arms into the Syrian civil war, a mistake that I think allowed ISIS to grow stronger. And they both have supported the Iraq War. So I mean, what’s the difference?”

    He was particularly critical of both Clinton and Rubio over Libya, saying the two had advocated an intervention that led to instability and turned the country into fertile territory for ISIS.

    “I fault Hillary Clinton. I fault President Obama. But I also fault the neoconservatives within my party like Rubio who have been eager for war in Libya, in Syria, in Iraq, and they want a no-fly zone in an airspace where Russia is already flying,” Paul said.

    “It’s a foolhardy notion, and people really — this is the kind of stepping it up to a debate over who would best be commander in chief that we really need in our country,” he added.

    Source: Rand Paul: Clinton, Rubio both ‘neoconservatives’ – CNNPolitics.com


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  • Appeals court deals crippling blow to President Obama’s immigration plan

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    A federal appeals court dealt a potentially fatal blow Monday to President Obama’s immigration plan, leaving more than 4 million undocumented immigrants in legal limbo and setting up a possible Supreme Court battle at the sunset of his administration.

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld a challenge to the deferred deportation program brought by Texas and 25 other states with Republican governors, who argued that Obama lacked the authority to protect about one-third of the nation’s undocumented immigrants by executive fiat.

    The authority that the administration claimed, the court said in a 2-1 ruling, would allow it “to grant lawful presence and work authorization to any illegal alien in the United States.”

    The White House said in a statement that it strongly disagreed with the court and that the departments of Justice and Homeland Security will review the ruling to determine the “next steps” in the case.

    “The Supreme Court and Congress have made clear that the federal government can set priorities in enforcing our immigration laws,” the statement read. “This lawsuit is preventing people who have been part of our communities for years from working on the books, contributing to our economy by paying taxes on that work, and being held accountable.”

    The decision had been anticipated by the administration and immigration rights groups, who have hung their hopes on the Supreme Court rather than the conservative appeals court with jurisdiction over Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. But the four-month wait for a ruling, since oral arguments were held before the three-judge panel, could mean that the justices won’t get the case during their current term — and won’t decide it before Obama leaves office.

    Under that scenario, the 4.3 million undocumented immigrants deemed eligible for the program would be at the mercy of the next president — either a Democrat who favors giving them temporary protection from deportation, or a Republican who most likely would have campaigned against it.

    That makes the panel’s decision a major blow to Obama, who has hoped to overhaul the nation’s immigration system before leaving office even if Congress won’t go along. And it’s a crushing defeat for millions of immigrant families who hope to win protections that would make them eligible for three-year work permits and a host of health care, disability and retirement benefits.

    Source: Appeals court deals crippling blow to President Obama’s immigration plan


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  • Rand Paul Went On The Offensive, Reshaped The Debate And Had His Strongest Performance Yet

    Posted on by Azrael 1 Comment

    Love him or hate him, few people until recently would deny that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has a unique brand as an independent, libertarian-leaning Republican, which he has successfully leveraged to national fame.

    For a variety of reasons, Paul has failed to gain traction as a Republican presidential candidate. And his peevish and lackluster performances in the first three GOP debates did him no favors.

    At the Republican debate in Milwaukee on Tuesday night, though, the old Paul was back: the guy who is steadfast and combative in his libertarianism, but in a likable way. The crowd ate it up.

    On foreign policy, Paul stood by his insistence that the United States should engage Russian President Vladimir Putin to seek a resolution to the war in Syria. He dismissed a no-fly zone in Syria as a reckless move that could lead to war with Russia. And playing to anti-interventionists in both parties, he noted that the proposal has the support of Hillary Clinton, as well as his Republican rivals.

    “If you’re ready for [a no-fly zone], be ready to send your sons and daughters to another war in Iraq,” Paul warned.

    “I don’t want to see that happen. I think the first war in Iraq was a mistake,” Paul added, before being cut off by applause.

    On fiscal policy, Paul was unapologetic about his plans shrink the government by starving it of revenue — and unforgiving in his attacks on his rivals for deviating from conservative fiscal orthodoxy.

    He called Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) proposed child care tax credit a “welfare transfer payment.”

    Then he went further, claiming Rubio’s proposed increases in defense spending weren’t conservative. “You can’t be conservative if you’re going to keep promoting programs you’re not going to pay for,” he said.

    Source: Rand Paul Went On The Offensive, Reshaped The Debate And Had His Strongest Performance Yet


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