Non-interventionism and the Republican Party

From Conservapedia - Reading time: 7 min

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Traditionally, the liberal media and totalitarian Democrats have smeared the Republican Party as the Party of War and Warmongers.

On September 14, 2001, three days after the 9/11 terror attacks, Democrat Rep. Barbara Lee was the only member of Congress to vote against the resolution (S.J.Res. 23) which passed in the U.S. House of Representatives 420-1^[1] authorizing the President to use force in response.^[2]

The Start of the Anti-War Wing on the Right[edit]

While not the only Republican to vote against the Iraq War as a handful of liberal Republicans did, one prominent voice came to the spotlight in the party. That was none other than former representative Ron Paul.

Three weeks after the 9/11 attacks, on October 3, 2001, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware proposed on the Senate floor a billion dollars in aid to a yet-to-be-formed Afghan interim government. The amount was almost twice as much as U.N. General Secretary Kofi Annan proposed,^[3] and more than triple what the Bush administration asked for.^[4] Sen. Biden, who spoke for the Democrats in Congress, wanted more than just removal of the Taliban and degrading al Qaeda. Biden wanted nation building. Biden wanted to flood the new government with cash, which ultimately corrupted the new Karzai regime, and created an anti-Western, anti-corruption, pro-Taliban resurgence and backlash.

On October 22, 2001, Sen. Biden, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, gave a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations insisting that U.S. goals—rooting out al-Qaeda and helping establish a friendly successor government to the Taliban—would require U.S. boots on the ground far beyond the small number of Special Forces that the Pentagon had recommended. Biden said, "There is no way that you can, in fact, go after and root out al Qaeda and or Bin Ladin without folks on the ground, in caves, risking and losing their lives. And I believe that the tolerance for that in the Islamic world is significant, exponentially higher, than it is for us bombing."^[5] Under pressure from U.S. military and anti-Taliban forces however, the Taliban disintegrated rapidly, and Kabul fell on November 13, 2001.

The Anti War Wing of the Right Rising[edit]

Before 2016, two Republican senators were often regarded as the faces of the non-interventionist wing. Those two senators are Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah. While, Mike Lee may not be the strongest on domestic issues, Lee has consistently taken an Anti-war approach.

In 2016, media personality and businessman, Donald Trump would run with what started the America First Agenda. One of the biggest principles in this policy was to end forever wars and to prevent future ones from happening. This policy was super unpopular with the main-line Neoconservative faction.

Before Trump, the House Freedom Caucus formed which consisted of a handful of representatives. Many policies in their group and policies of Donald Trump overlapped and the two worked together to push the America First Agenda.

In 2019, President Trump withdrew from Syria. The US House voted to condemn the action 354-60. While a few America First Republicans were misguided and made a poor vote, and others who eventually betrayed the president, voted on the side of the president.^[6]

Also in 2019, only Justin Amash a Libertarian Conservative turned Never Trumper and 21 Republicans (most of whom have an America First Agenda), were the only ones to vote against the NATO Support Act.^[7]

In 2021, Andy Biggs and a handful of Republicans including, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mary Miller, Matt Gaetz, and Lauren Boebert voted against a resolution condemning the military coup in Myanmar. While the resolution was nothing more than a simple condemnation, Biggs and the group voted against it due to fears that the Neo-liberal agenda would push for conflict in the region.^[8]

The Decay of the Anti-War Wing on the Left[edit]

Democratic Congressman from Colorado, Jason Crow sponsored a bill on the House Armed Services Committee with Neoconservative, Liz Cheney. The vote was 45 in favor of limiting President Trump's withdrawal from Afghanistan and only eleven voted against it. Of the Democrats, only three out of the thirty-one democrats voted in favor to support the President's plan to withdraw. These three Democrats were Tulsi Gabbard who is notable for having a strong non-interventionist record, Ro Khanna and Anthony G. Brown. Likewise, Eight out of Twenty-Six Republicans supported the President's initiative. Some of the most prominent America First Representatives voting with the President on this issue were Matt Gaetz, Mo Brooks, Trent Kelly, and Jim Banks

In 2021, when Biden issued an airstrike on Syria, Representative Ro Khanna expressed major disappointment, giving a huge loss for the Anti-War Wing of the Left.^[9]

Notable Non-Interventionist Republicans[edit]

Not Currently Holding a Public Office[edit]

• Ron Paul
• Donald Trump
• Mark Meadows^[10][11]
• Justin Amash - A Libertarian Conservative who turned into a NeverTrumper, was once a huge advocate of non-interventionist policy.

Senate[edit]

• Rand Paul
• Mike Lee

House[edit]

• Andy Biggs^[12][13]
• Paul Gosar^[14][15]
• Tom McClintock^[16][17]
• Matt Gaetz^[18][19]
• Greg Steube^[20][21]
• Jody Hice^[22][23]
• Rick Allen^[24][25]
• Thomas Massie^[26][27]
• Andy Harris^[28][29]
• Jim Jordan^[30][31]
• John Rose^[32][33]
• Louie Gohmert^[34][35]
• Randy Weber^[36][37]
• Scott Perry^[38][39]
• Chip Roy^[40][41]
• Alex Mooney^[42][43]
• Barry Moore^[44]
• Lauren Boebert^[45]
• Mary Miller^[46]
• Marjorie Taylor Greene^[47]
• Warren Davidson
• Mo Brooks
• Bob Good
• Morgan Griffith
• Ben Cline
• Tim Burchett
• Ted Budd
• Dan Bishop
• Ralph Norman
• Jeff Duncan
• Lance Gooden
• Michael Cloud
• Yvette Herrell
• Ken Buck
• Cathy McMorris Rodgers
• Matt Rosendale

References[edit]

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