Rand Paul Hits Back At Rick Perry Op-Ed In Response Column

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has lashed back at fellow Republican Rick Perry over the current crisis in Iraq — and the Kentucky conservative also took a shot at Perry’s sartorial choices.

While Rick Perry is popular at the base of the conservative base, Rand Paul — like his dad, Ron — is not afraid to break with his caucus on certain issues. And as politicians who trend more Libertarian, sometimes in a less marketable way, one of the issues both Pauls are less mainstream on is intervention… this time, on the matter of future interventions in Iraq.

Rand Paul is not Ron Paul, but back in 2002, the elder Paul was the only Republican voice opposing action in Iraq — sagely predicting that the “War on Terror” would be used to hobble American civil liberties.

Twelve years and countless lives and billions upon billions of dollars later, the same hawkish policies are being debated, despite the inevitable slide of Iraq into war following our initial catastrophic wade into the country’s future.

In a July 11 Washington Post op-ed, Perry frames Rand Paul’s views as cleverly stated but wrong, despite America’s lived history involving Iraq over the past dozen years.

The Texas governor writes:

“Paul is an articulate advocate for his views, which are shared by many on the left and some on the right. But in today’s world, with today’s threats, we still cannot ‘take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost.’ That was President Reagan’s warning. Sen. Paul would be wise to heed it.”

In his response, Rand Paul isn’t afraid to get down to the reality of throwing more American lives into the quagmire in Iraq, directly addressing the issue of further lives lost to a conflict that was once wrongly and destructively framed as a direct threat to the United States:

“I ask Governor Perry: How many Americans should send their sons or daughters to die for a foreign country — a nation the Iraqis won’t defend for themselves? How many Texan mothers and fathers will Governor Perry ask to send their children to fight in Iraq?… I will not hold my breath for an answer. If refusing to send Americans to die for a country that refuses to defend itself makes one an ‘isolationist,’ then perhaps its time we finally retire that pejorative.”

In another passage of the column, Paul succinctly asks the most basic questions regarding the commitment of more lives, money, and defense to Iraq, writing:

“The let’s-intervene-and-consider-the-consequences-later crowd left us with more than 4,000 Americans dead, over 2 million refugees and over trillions of dollars in debt. Anytime someone advocates sending our sons and daughters to war, questions about precise objectives, effective methods and an exit strategy must be thoughtfully answered. America deserves this. Our military certainly deserves this.”

Gov. Perry’s new glasses haven’t altered his perception of the world, or allowed him to see it any more clearly: http://t.co/ge7zQMFhiD

— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) July 14, 2014

In the above tweet, Rand Paul reiterates his joke about Rick Perry’s glasses and links to his response column. Do you agree with Perry or Paul on the issue of future American intervention in Iraq?

[Image: Rand Paul, Facebook]