Rand Paul's Isolationist Views Rebuked by Senate

Rand Paul may be a Tea Party darling, but he went down in flames in a vote in the U.S. Senate.  And that doesn't even take in the tongue lashing he received from Chris Christie on the issue of federal aid to a state - i.e., New Jersey receives 77 cents for every $1 sent to Washington - that gives much more money to Washington than it receives versus a state - i.e., Paul's Kentucky which receives over $1.5 for every $1 sent to Washington - which is a freeloader in comparison propped up by federal money.  The overall effect is to show that Paul is not ready for prime time outside of Tea Party circles.  The Washington Post looks at the rebuke in the Senate.  Here are excerpts:

Chris Christie, the popular GOP governor of New Jersey, last week called Paul’s libertarian views “dangerous.” And on the Senate floor Wednesday, Republican colleagues dealt the junior senator from Kentucky what can be described only as a resounding rebuke. 

Even the 86-13 vote against Paul’s proposal to strip Egypt of its foreign aid doesn’t capture the lopsided nature of the defeat. In the final seconds of the roll call and long after the outcome was obvious, a bloc of six GOP lawmakers led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) quietly cast their votes with Paul — not in agreement with him but in fear of the tea party voters who adore him.

But whether Paul’s position had seven Republican votes or 13, the isolationist gadfly found himself in the decided minority of the 45-member Senate GOP caucus. And in the hour-long debate that preceded the vote, Paul was alone on the floor defending his position against an emotional onslaught from his party’s most respected voices on foreign policy.  

The result reinforced the proud tradition of internationalism in the body, and in the GOP. For all the talk of a Republican civil war over foreign policy, Wednesday’s vote showed that the internationalists still dominate. McCain portrayed Paul as the heir to the America Firsters. 

Paul, attempting to attach his proposal to a domestic spending measure, made his familiar argument for “nation-building here at home” instead of overseas. “Detroit crumbles. Chicago is a war zone,” he said. 

His colleagues had different ideas. Sen. Jim Inhofe (Okla.), the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, said he might have agreed with Paul 15 years ago, “before we realized the threats that we have in the Middle East.” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) tried a practical appeal, saying the aid cutoff would mean “you lose leverage.” And Graham read aloud a letter from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee opposing Paul’s amendment.

Paul responded to all this with rambling speeches and wild gestures, refusing to yield when colleagues asked him to and accusing his opponents of “empty thoughts and empty promises.”

For the Republican internationalists, this wasn’t about winning but dominating.

Britain Threatens to Cut Funds to Anti-gay African Nations

In a move that I hope will see follow through action - and which needs to be emulated by the USA and other western/developed nations, Britain has warned homophobic African nations that their persecution of LGBT individuals will carry a financial price. No doubt we will hear fuming and rants from the corrupt, vile, and often dictatorial African governments about the west meddling into their foul nations, but money talks and I hope Britain follows through with the threat. No one should be underwriting bigotry (or tyranny either) especially when the bigotry stems from a foul and perverted form of Christianity that ignores the Gospel message and focuses instead on hatred and bigotry. The irony, of course, is that it is a conservative British government that is taking these enlightened moves. What a difference between real conservatives in the UK compared to the sectarian extremists who now dictate policy for the GOP. The Daily Mail looks at this development. Here are some excerpts:

Poor African countries which persecute homosexuals will have their aid slashed by the Government in a bid by David Cameron to take his gay rights crusade to the Third World. International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell has already cut aid to Malawi by £19 million after two gay men were sentenced to 14 years hard labour. And he has warned the country's leaders to scrap plans to introduce draconian new anti-lesbian laws.

Mr Mitchell, one of Mr Cameron's closest allies, is also threatening to impose further aid 'fines' against Uganda and Ghana for hardline anti-gay and lesbian measures. The policy was disclosed after Mr Cameron defended his decision to legalise gay weddings when he addressed last week's Conservative Party conference. Now he wants to persuade those countries where homosexuality is still taboo to follow his lead – and he is ready to reduce aid to some of the world's poorest people to do so.

Three weeks ago, Mr Mitchell protested to Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, who has claimed 'European homosexuals are recruiting in Africa' and who believes gay relationships are 'against God's will'. Uganda is due to receive £70 million from British taxpayers in 2011.

During a visit to Ghana earlier this year, Stephen O'Brien – Mr Mitchell's deputy – told President John Evans Atta Mills that Britain would cut its aid unless he stopped persecuting gays.

A spokesman for Mr Mitchell said: 'The Government is committed to combating violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in all circumstances, in this country and abroad. We take action where we have concerns. "We now allocate funds every three months, rather than every year, so that we can review a country's performance, . . "

Report details US refusals of foreign aid after Katrina

Many of you have perhaps read my post about my experience traveling to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Having seen the disaster first hand and witnessed how inadequate the aid to residents was, it leaves me incredulous that the US Government turned down huge quantities of relief aid. The lives of many Katrina victims could have been better but for such huburistic conduct:

A new report reveals the US government turned down offers of help from across the globe in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, telling one diplomat "human assistance of any kind is not on our priorities list."

The report from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington relies on a review of 25,000 documents obtained from the State Department. The report reveals the US was interested mostly in cash assistance and materials, rather than direct aid from foreign relief workers and doctors, after Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast in 2005.

"A review of the State Department documents reveals distressing ineptitude," CREW's executive director Melanie Sloan said in a prepared statement. "Countries were trying to donate desperately needed goods and services, but as a result of bureaucratic bungling and indifference, those most in need of these generous offers and of aid never received it."

Offers to help came from 145 countries and 12 international organizations. The US did accept help from its top allies around the globe, but CREW's report shows it left unclaimed hundreds of thousands of prepared meals, water pumps, doctors and medicine.

As of today, thousands still are displaced and areas of New Orleans look little different than shortly after the storm. These images are images of Chimperator Bush's America. He allowed special chartered flights to remove members of the Bin Laden family from the USA after 9-11, but denied foreign assistance to US citizens.