Peggy Noonan Channeling Ron Paul?
Cross-posted at the Left Coast Rebel
"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force...Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action."
-George Washington
Due to a busy schedule I didn't catch Peggy Noonan op-ed in Saturday's WSJ on the Republican party's trigger-happy war policy.
Plus, Noonan -- Ronald Reagan's speechwriter -- draws up an interesting anti-war John Wayne analogy to what passes as "strong on defense" in the Republican party today...
I wonder how long it will be before the majority of conservatives in this nation wake up to the Republican party's "Bomb here, Invade Now" foreign policy credo Noonan warns of?
I did. I was once a "pro-defense" conservative. I was unaware of the downside of modern "pro-defense" foreign policy. But then I woke up (read a piece I wrote last year at American Thinker for more on this).
Simply put, the Republican party (due in great part to the military industrial-complex's incredible influence over our government and their shortsighted lack of a consistent philosophy) is far too ready, willing and eager to go to war. Blood (lost lives, broken families) and Treasure (devalued currency then loaned to the Chinese to pay for war) aren't even considered in passing as they scream, War! WAR! Bomb 'Em Now! NOW!
Unnecessary, prolonged war not based on self defense is the ultimate big-government infringement upon our liberty and pocketbook. Like every action of today's of Federal Leviathan, the Founders would be ashamed of America's foreign policy.
Please consider the message and authorship of the following anti-war quotes:
"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy." -James Madison
"No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare. "
-James Madison
"Of all the enemies of public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other."
-James Madison
"The executive has no right, in any case, to decide the question, whether there is or is not cause for declaring war."
-James Madison
"It is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or pretended, from abroad."
-James Madison
"Having seen the people of all other nations bowed down to the earth under the wars and prodigalities of their rulers, I have cherished their opposites, peace, economy, and riddance of public debt, believing that these were the high road to public as well as private prosperity and happiness." -Thomas Jefferson
"The most successful war seldom pays for its losses."
-Thomas Jefferson
"The spirit of this country is totally adverse to a large military force."
-Thomas Jefferson
"Wars are not paid for in wartime, the bill comes later."
-Benjamin Franklin
"A highwayman is as much a robber when he plunders in a gang as when single; and a nation that makes an unjust war is only a great gang."
-Benjamin Franklin
"I hope....that mankind will at length, as they call themselves responsible creatures, have the reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats..."
-Benjamin Franklin
"When will mankind be convinced and agree to settle their difficulties by arbitration?"
-Benjamin Franklin
"All wars are follies, very expensive and very mischievous ones."
-Benjamin Franklin
"How far can you go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without?" -Dwight D. Eisenhower
"We seek peace, knowing that peace is the climate of freedom."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
"We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
"Preventive war was an invention of Hitler. Frankly, I would not even listen to anyone seriously that came and talked about such a thing."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
"You can't have this kind of war. There just aren't enough bulldozers to scrape the bodies off the streets."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
"War settles nothing."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
"There is no glory in battle worth the blood it costs."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
"Statism needs war; a free country does not. Statism survives by looting; a free country survives by producing."
-Ayn Rand
"Do not ever say that the desire to 'do good' by force is a good motive. Neither power-lust nor stupidity are good motives."
-Ayn Rand
"No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country."
-Alexis de Tocqueville
"All those who seek to destroy the liberties of a democratic nation ought to know that war is the surest and shortest means to accomplish it."
-Alexis de Tocqueville
"If we don’t stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions, we’re going to have a serious problem coming down the road."
-George W. Bush
"Free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don't attack each other. Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction."
-George W. Bush
For more anti-war quotes visit The Humble Libertarian.
"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force...Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action."
-George Washington
Due to a busy schedule I didn't catch Peggy Noonan op-ed in Saturday's WSJ on the Republican party's trigger-happy war policy.
Plus, Noonan -- Ronald Reagan's speechwriter -- draws up an interesting anti-war John Wayne analogy to what passes as "strong on defense" in the Republican party today...
Finally, in foreign affairs the Republican candidates staked out dangerous ground. They want to show they’re strong on defense. Fine, we should have a strong defense, the best in the world. But that is different from having an aggressive foreign policy stance, and every one of the GOP candidates, with the exceptions of Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman, was aggressive. This is how their debates sounded: We should bomb Iran Thursday. No, stupid, we should bomb Iran on Wednesday. How could you be so foolish? You know we do all our bombings on Monday. You’re wrong, we send in the destroyers and arm the insurgents on Monday.
There was no room for discretion, prudence, nuance, to use unjustly maligned terms. There was no room for an expressed bias toward not-fighting. But grown-ups really do have a bias toward not-fighting.
They are allowing the GOP to be painted as the war party. They are ceding all non-war ground to the president, who can come forward as the sober, constrained, non-bellicose contender. Do they want that? Are they under the impression America is hungry for another war? Really? After the past 11 years?
The GOP used to be derided by Democrats as the John Wayne party: It loved shoot-’em-ups. Actually, John Wayne didn’t ride into town itching for a fight, and he didn’t ride in shooting off his mouth, either. He was laconic, observant. He rode in hoping for peace, but if something broke out he was ready. He had a gun, it was loaded, and he knew how to use it if he had to.
But he didn’t want to have to. Which was part of his character’s power. The GOP should go back to being John Wayne.
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| The Duke, Anti-War by today's twisted GOP standard: Wikipedia |
I did. I was once a "pro-defense" conservative. I was unaware of the downside of modern "pro-defense" foreign policy. But then I woke up (read a piece I wrote last year at American Thinker for more on this).
Simply put, the Republican party (due in great part to the military industrial-complex's incredible influence over our government and their shortsighted lack of a consistent philosophy) is far too ready, willing and eager to go to war. Blood (lost lives, broken families) and Treasure (devalued currency then loaned to the Chinese to pay for war) aren't even considered in passing as they scream, War! WAR! Bomb 'Em Now! NOW!
Unnecessary, prolonged war not based on self defense is the ultimate big-government infringement upon our liberty and pocketbook. Like every action of today's of Federal Leviathan, the Founders would be ashamed of America's foreign policy.
Please consider the message and authorship of the following anti-war quotes:
 |
| Wikipedia |
"No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare. "
-James Madison
"Of all the enemies of public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other."
-James Madison
"The executive has no right, in any case, to decide the question, whether there is or is not cause for declaring war."
-James Madison
"It is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or pretended, from abroad."
 |
| Wikipedia |
"Having seen the people of all other nations bowed down to the earth under the wars and prodigalities of their rulers, I have cherished their opposites, peace, economy, and riddance of public debt, believing that these were the high road to public as well as private prosperity and happiness." -Thomas Jefferson
"The most successful war seldom pays for its losses."
-Thomas Jefferson
"The spirit of this country is totally adverse to a large military force."
-Thomas Jefferson
"Wars are not paid for in wartime, the bill comes later."
-Benjamin Franklin
"A highwayman is as much a robber when he plunders in a gang as when single; and a nation that makes an unjust war is only a great gang."
 |
| Wikipedia |
"I hope....that mankind will at length, as they call themselves responsible creatures, have the reason and sense enough to settle their differences without cutting throats..."
-Benjamin Franklin
"When will mankind be convinced and agree to settle their difficulties by arbitration?"
-Benjamin Franklin
"All wars are follies, very expensive and very mischievous ones."
-Benjamin Franklin
"How far can you go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without?" -Dwight D. Eisenhower
 |
| Wikipedia |
"We seek peace, knowing that peace is the climate of freedom."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
"We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
"Preventive war was an invention of Hitler. Frankly, I would not even listen to anyone seriously that came and talked about such a thing."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
"You can't have this kind of war. There just aren't enough bulldozers to scrape the bodies off the streets."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
"War settles nothing."
-Dwight D. Eisenhower
"There is no glory in battle worth the blood it costs."
 |
| Wikipedia |
"Statism needs war; a free country does not. Statism survives by looting; a free country survives by producing."
-Ayn Rand
"Do not ever say that the desire to 'do good' by force is a good motive. Neither power-lust nor stupidity are good motives."
-Ayn Rand
"No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country."
 |
| Wikipedia |
"All those who seek to destroy the liberties of a democratic nation ought to know that war is the surest and shortest means to accomplish it."
-Alexis de Tocqueville
"If we don’t stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions, we’re going to have a serious problem coming down the road."
-George W. Bush
"Free nations are peaceful nations. Free nations don't attack each other. Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction."
-George W. Bush
For more anti-war quotes visit The Humble Libertarian.
Noonan should have qualified her statements on Wayne. John Wayne PLAYING A CHARACTER IN A MOVIE did those things, not Wayne.
ReplyDeleteWayne was an alcoholic and a drunk.
"According to Sam O'Steen's memoir, 'Cut to the Chase,' studio directors knew to shoot Wayne's scenes before noon, 'because by afternoon he was a mean drunk'."
But it's true that the GOP and their spokespeople come across as warmongers, vis-a-vis Iran. It's their way of showing support for the radical righties in Israel. Not all Israelis agree with Bebe and his radical right wing policies.
Now that you've had fun with your irrelevant babble, I am still waiting for you to give a objective definition of fair. One which can be objectively argued...
DeleteShaw: Forest for the trees, forest for the trees. There are many points in this post I assume you would/should agree with, excepting the typical epistemic closure you are exhibiting.
DeleteNoonan's words from the post (on the CHARACTER that John Wayne played),
Delete"He had a gun, it was loaded, and he knew how to use it if he had to.
But he didn’t want to have to. Which was part of his character’s power."
Les: leave it to lefties (the non-open-minded hate-filled types) to pick apart an anti-war post (which they should at least in part agree with) and attack the character of a cherished American movie star.
"Now that you've had fun with your irrelevant babble, I am still waiting for you to give a objective definition of fair. One which can be objectively argued..."
ReplyDeleteWhat you call "babble" is fact. John Wayne never did anything but play macho characters on movie sets. I responded to your piece about Noonan.
Where in your post do you demand anyone give an objective definition of "fair?"
This post is about unnecessary wars, and you list a number of quotes by the Founding Fathers.
What's with the "fair?"
In a bad mood, are we?
No, not at all. Refer back to comments on Will's post On Greed and Compassion. You'll fond Silver's and my request to define fair.
DeleteI think that there are (and have been; LBJ, anyone?) more than enough saber-rattlers and bomb-droppers in both parties, thank you very much.......And, yes, that Johnson dude's looking better by the minute.
ReplyDeleteYeah, LBJ was a real flame throwing saber rattling bomb dropper for sure. And he painted Goldwater as the war monger. Lying piece of crap that he was.
DeleteWill: I totally agree. The difference is now though that the GOP is the official home of "Bomb Anyone, Anytime, USA!" mentality.
DeleteYes Tim, and it is indeed quite unfortunate. The GOP (Grand Old Poop)has lost the high ground on most issues methinks.
Delete