Neocons vs. Rand Paul

Created: March 17, 2010 18:31 | Last updated: July 31, 2020 00:00

Rand Paul takes a little less relish in arguing with neoconservative foreign policy hawks than his father, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), does. (The elder Paul’s debate confrontation with Rudy Giuliani was a pivotal moment in his insurgent presidential campaign.) But supporters of both Pauls generally despise the GOP foreign policy establishment. They’re going to love this part of Jonathan Martin’s great story on Republican jitters about Rand’s Senate bid.

Recognizing the threat, a well-connected former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney convened a conference call last week between Grayson and a group of leading national security conservatives to sound the alarm about Paul.

“On foreign policy, [global war on terror], Gitmo, Afghanistan, Rand Paul is NOT one of us,” Cesar Conda wrote in an e-mail to figures such as Liz Cheney, William Kristol, Robert Kagan, Dan Senor and Marc Thiessen.

With an attached memo on Paul’s noninterventionist positions, Conda concluded: “It is our hope that you can help us get the word out about Rand Paul’s troubling and dangerous views on foreign policy.”

In an interview, Conda noted that Paul once advocated for closing down the detention center at Guantanamo Bay and sending some suspected terrorists to the front lines in Afghanistan.

“This guy could become our Republican senator from Kentucky?” he exclaimed. “It’s very alarming.”

Paul probably won’t use this for fundraising, but his base doesn’t need him to.