http://libertyfight.com/2012/rand_pa...to_israel.html
With LewRockwell and Economic Policy Journal picking up the story of the Israeli giveaway, the Rand Paul apologists are performing amazing contortions; claiming it's disingenuous to report the fact that Paul supported $9+Billion loan guarantees to Israel, since the legislation was passed with a voice vote. "You don't even know if he was there!" "He could have said nay!" "Harry Reid is the only person who you can hear saying Yea in the video!" "Rand couldn't have stopped it anyway!" "You're engaged in libel! slander! defamation! against Randy!"
In reality, this is cut and dried. James Madison had it right- "All men having power ought to be distrusted." Silence is consent, and Rand Paul didn't say one peep in opposition to extending these obscene loan guarantees to a foreign nation, as his father did.
Paul was indeed in the Senate on Friday June 29th, a fact documented by the numerous recorded votes he participated in that day. A full list is here. The specific votes were roll call votes 169 at 12:53pm, 170 at 1:22pm, 171 at 1:39pm, and 172 at 1:54pm.
Additionally, I called Rand Paul's Kentucky office on Friday July 13th regarding the matter. They referred me to his D.C. office, (202-224-4343) which they said deals with legislation. The staffer in D.C. answered the phone and I asked him if he could tell me how the Senator voted on S.2165, the United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012. He put me on hold for a minute then came back on the line and said it was a voice vote. (I already knew it was a voice vote, which is why I called in the first place. If it had been a roll call vote, the results could have easily be found without calling the office.) He repeated "it was a voice vote" several times, and I asked if there is a record of how Paul voted in the voice vote. The staffer replied no, and said that voice votes are an "honor system". He could not even tell me if Paul was present for the voice vote. I finally asked if Paul had issued any statement on the matter, like his father did. The staffer said not that he was aware of.
Furthermore, it's silly to contend that Paul somehow didn't support this aid to Israel or that he couldn't try to stop aid to a foreign country if he wanted to. Paul is currently in the news [here, here and here] for threatening to end aid to Pakistan unless they release Dr. Shakil Afridi, who Paul says was instrumental in the "successful killing of the world's most infamous terrorist", Osama bin Laden.
In his July 12 press release 'Sen. Paul Declares Intent to Hold Vote on Pakistan Aid', Paul stated, in part,
"I have worked consistently to bring awareness to Dr. Afridi's plight, and I have offered legislation to deny any current or future foreign assistance to the Pakistani government until they reverse course and free Dr. Afridi. In pursuing a resolution to this situation, I have gained the necessary number of signatures on a cloture petition to force a vote on my legislation on the Senate floor. If Dr. Afridi is not released upon appeal, I will seek such a floor vote at the earliest opportunity. This legislation would deny Pakistan tens of billions of dollars in foreign assistance into the future if Dr. Afridi is not freed-extending through the duration of his 33-year prison sentence, if necessary."
Even assuming that story and the entire official government line regarding bin laden is true, (a preposterous stretch in itself, but granted for the sake of brevity here), what happened to Rand Paul's alleged principled opposition to "all" foreign aid in general? [ Sen. Rand Paul: We Should End All Foreign Aid To Countries, Including Israel (1/30/11 - includes a video of Rand on CNN's 'Situation Room' with Wolf Blitzer).]
In a February 2011 interview with ABC News, Paul said that we should end "welfare" to Israel. As Politico reported on 2/04/11,
"...Paul also defended his calls to end aid to Israel, saying they're just part of his bigger efforts at fiscal responsibility. "I'm not singling out Israel. I support Israel. I want to be known as a friend of Israel, but not with money you don't have," he said. "We can't just borrow from our kids' future and give it to countries, even if they are our friends." And, he said, giving money to the country is especially unwise considering Israel's relative wealth. "I think they're an important ally, but I also think that their per capita income is greater than probably three-fourths of the rest of the world," he said. "Should we be giving free money or welfare to a wealthy nation? I don't think so." [Rand Paul: End 'welfare' to Israel]
As LibertyFight reported on June 21,
"Rand Paul is known for advocating reduction of the military budget- but on March 22 2012, Rand appeared on Glenn Beck's show discussing his proposed 5 year budget plan. Asked by Beck about defense spending, Paul noted that he would actually increase military spending increase by cutting four other departments: [4:38] "Instead of having military spending go down, like the sequester would have, ours actually allows for a gradual increase in military spending over time.." Beck's assistant asked Rand for clarification; "Wait a minute. You're actually going to increase military spending?" to which Rand replied an unoquivical "Yes." Despite being the son of the most well known non-interventionist of modern time, Paul voted for sanctions against Iran and has been referred to as a neocon in libertarian clothing." [Ron Paul says GOP is wrong for trying to cut food stamps one week after Rand tried to cut food stamps, 6/21/12.]
The so-called Republican Liberty Caucus has defended Rand's support of Israel.
Despite detractors and deniers, this latest "monstrous, warmongering giveaway", as Lew Rockwell calls it, has gotten a lot of attention. Our July 9th article breaking the story is still, nearly a week later, at the top of Google search results for both Rand Paul and Google News Search for Rand Paul. If Rand wants to defend or deny his 9+ Billion dollar financial support of Israel, he certainly has the means to do it. If Paul refuses to explain his support of this bill, he loses what little credibility he has left. While it's true that most of the '100 on the hill' are generally already regarded as trecherous traitors among the liberty-minded, Rand Paul presented himself as someone different. He appealed to libertarians for their support and money in exchange for promotion of constitutional, non-interventionist policies. A non-emperical foreign policy is what will turn this country in the right direction and help us retain our freedoms.
See also:
The Senate (Including Rand Paul) Vote to Extend $9 Billion in Loan Guarantees for the Benefit of Israel (Economic Policy Journal)
Pols Rip-Off Americans for Foreigners, Again (LewRockwell.com)
Martin Hill is a Catholic paleoconservative and civil rights advocate. His work has been featured on LewRockwell.com, WhatReallyHappened, Infowars, PrisonPlanet, National Motorists Association, WorldNetDaily, The Orange County Register, KNBC4 Los Angeles, Los Angeles Catholic Lay Mission Newspaper, KFI 640, The Press Enterprise, Antiwar.com, IamtheWitness.com, FreedomsPhoenix, Rense, BlackBoxVoting, and many others. Archives can be found at LibertyFight.com
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