Ron Paul's Honesty in a Sea of Self-serving Political Mush

With the Republican Jewish Coalition continuing its congress in Washington this week, most GOP presidential wannabes have made an appearance and expressed support for Israel, and in Newt Gingrich’s case outright military assistance in the case of an Israeli attack on Iran.

Today it was Congressman Ron Paul’s turn to step up to the Jewish issue which is important in American politics because Jewish voters are loyal and make contributions. They can also, as a lobby group, cast serious doubt on any presidential candidate who doesn’t take them and Israel seriously enough.  It must be said that the American Jewish vote, if there really is such a thing, usually goes to the Democrats, but President Obama’s awkward forays into Middle East politics has so outraged Israel and American Jews that this year could be a turning point for the GOP.

Congressman Paul, a GOP Presidential candidate and the leader of the American libertarian movement, gave an exclusive interview to Newsmax contributor Doug Wead, a presidential historian and New York Times best-selling author. Paul confirmed his support for Israel, but cautioned that while the United States should be a “friend” of the Jewish state, America should not be the “master” of Israel.
You may recall, dear readers, that several debates ago, Ron Paul stepped a little too far from the party platform on Israel in declaring that America had no reason to help Israel defend itself from Iran or anyone else in the Middle East, saying that Israel’s defenses are so superior to those of its Arab neighbors that it could not be defeated.
Today, Paul went on to say that the United States “should not dictate Israel’s borders” or try to “buy her allegiance” with massive amounts of foreign aid. He argued that foreign aid has actually hurt – not helped – the Jewish state.
Paul has recently come under fire from American Jewish groups and he was banned from the Republican Jewish Coalition debate on Jewish issues in Washington this week because of his “misguided and extreme views,” according to the group’s executive director, Matt Brooks.
While some may say that Ron Paul is a second tier GOP presidential candidate whose views are always somewhat “extreme” or “far out”, the fact is that Paul is gaining ground in Iowa polls and is now tied with Mitt Romney at 18% positive ratings, both being behind the new frontrunner Newt Gingrich at 33%.

Congressman Paul’s views on Israel summarized are below:

1. We should be Israel’s friend and trading partner. They are a democracy and we share many values with them. But we should not be their master. We should not dictate where their borders will be nor should we have veto power over their foreign policy.
2. Part of the original idea of Zionism, as I understand it, was that there should be Jewish independence and Jewish self-reliance. Today, America doesn’t want anyone to be self-reliant. We want to rule the world and be the saviors of the world and we are going broke in the process.
3. Our foreign aid in the region is out of balance and it is wrong. Foreign aid does not help Israel. It is a net disadvantage. I say that “the borrower is servant to the lender” and America should never be the master of Israel and its fate. We should be her friend.
4. In October, 1981, most of the world and most of the Congress voiced outrage over Israel’s attack on Iraq and their nuclear development. I was one of the few who defended her right to make her own decisions on foreign policy and to act in her own self-interest.
5. We should share intelligence with Israel for mutually agreed-upon goals. We should honor our pledge to refuse any arms sales that would undermine Israel’s qualitative military edge in the region.
6. We should stop interfering with Israel. We should not announce bargaining positions even before she begins her negotiations. We should not dictate what she can and cannot do. We should stop trying to buy her allegiance. And Israel should stop sacrificing their sovereignty as an independent state to us or anybody else, no matter how well-intentioned.

All that sounds rather logical and reasonable to me. But, then, many of Ron Paul’s positions are just that, and they make many Americans reconsider some of the modern doctrines foisted on American citizens by politicians who are often not looking farther than the next vote.

But, in all this, it is the thread of independence from foreign entanglements and the realization that America cannot help anyone else until she helps herself out of her fiscal mess that makes Congressman Paul a serious opponent of any GOP candidate venturing into the conservative heartland of America - Iowa, for example - where Ron Paul’s message resonates with truth and honesty in a sea of self-serving political mush.