Project for A New American Rubio

[Brian4Liberty]

Project for A New American Rubio
Robert Dreyfuss on April 26, 2012

Marco Rubio, hardly the sharpest tool in the foreign policy tool shed, delivered an address yesterday to the Brookings Institution on “the American world order” and what he thinks about it. From the outset, it was clear that Rubio is trying to identify himself consciously with the neoconservative movement and its chief spokesman in the Senate, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who introduced Rubio. And both Lieberman and Rubio lavished praise on Robert Kagan, the neoconservative strategist who is the chief proponent of the idea that the United States is not in decline and should still pretty much run the world. At the start of his remarks, Lieberman issued a “special thank you to Bob Kagan for orchestrating and inspiring this event today.”

To emphasize the point, Rubio singled out “Scoop Jackson,” the neoconservative senator from Washington who, in the 1970s, launched the careers of nearly all of the leading lights of the neocon movement, from Richard Perle on down.

More:
http://www.thenation.com/blog/167591/project-new-american-rubio

[Brian4Liberty]

Scoop Jackson:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_M._Jackson

Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson (May 31, 1912 – September 1, 1983) was a U.S. Congressman and Senator from the state of Washington from 1941 until his death. Jackson was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972 and 1976.

The political philosophies and positions of Jackson, a Cold War anti-Communist Democrat, have been cited as an influence on a number of key figures associated with neoconservatism, including Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle. The Henry Jackson Society is named in his honor.
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For decades, Democrats who supported a strong international presence for the United States have been called "Scoop Jackson Democrats", the term even being used to describe contemporary Democrats such as Joe Lieberman and R. James Woolsey, Jr.

Jackson served almost his entire Senate tenure concurrently with his good friend and Democratic colleague Warren G. Magnuson. "Scoop" and "Maggie"—as they affectionately called each other—were two of the most effective delegations in the history of the United States Senate in terms of "bringing home the bacon" for their home state. Washington State received nearly one sixth of public works appropriations, even though it ranked 23rd in population.
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Jackson was not only successful as a politician in Washington State, but also found recognition on the national level, rising to the position of chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 1960 after being considered for the vice presidential ticket spot that eventually went to fellow Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson.
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Jackson received substantial financial support from Jewish-Americans who admired his pro-Israel views
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The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, with the cooperation of the Jackson family, awards a Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson Distinguished Service Award to individuals for their career dedication to U.S. national security. Jackson won the first award in 1982, and it was named after him after his death. Winners include Max Cleland, Joe Lieberman, Dick Cheney, Jane Harman, and Paul Wolfowitz.

Influence on neoconservatism

Jackson believed that evil should be confronted with power. His support for civil rights and equality at home, married to his opposition to détente, his support for human rightsand democratic allies, and his firm belief that the United States could be a force for good in the world inspired a legion of loyal aides who went on to propound Jackson's philosophy as part of neoconservatism. In addition to Richard Perle, neoconservatives Paul Wolfowitz, Elliott Abrams, Charles Horner, and Douglas Feith were former Democratic aides to Jackson who, disillusioned with the Carter administration, supported Ronald Reagan and joined his administration in 1981, later becoming prominent foreign policy makers in the 21st-century Bush administration. Neoconservative Ben Wattenberg was a prominent political aide to Jackson's 1972 and 1976 presidential campaigns. Wolfowitz has called himself a "Scoop Jackson Republican" on multiple occasions.[22][25] Many journalists and
scholars across the political spectrum have noted links between Senator Jackson and modern neoconservatism.

Jackson's influence on foreign policy has been cited as foundational to the George W. Bush administration's foreign policy, and the Iraq War. Jackson biographer Robert Kaufman says "There is no question in my mind that the people who supported Iraq are supporting Henry Jackson's instincts."

Peter Beinart, author of The Good Fight: Why Liberals — and Only Liberals — Can Win the War on Terror and Make America Great Again, argues that the Democratic Party should return to Jackson's values in its foreign policy, criticizing current-day neoconservatives for failing to adopt Jackson's domestic policy views along with his foreign policy views.