Even if it is the economy that will inevitably bring about the undoing of American empire it is hard to ignore the fact that the economic crisis was fueled by spending on wars and homeland security using borrowed money and pushing the government deep into deficit spending. With that in mind, I was very interested in listening to the foreign and security policy components of yesterday’s speeches at CPAC, hoping that at least some mainstream speakers would argue in favor of America first and retrenchment. Alas, it was business as usual except for the people around Ron Paul.
Florida Cuban Marco Rubio, touted as the new conservative shining star, called for doing whatever it takes for however long it takes to smash radical Islamic terrorism, punishing Iran, and standing with allies like Israel. He was cheered enthusiastically by old guard and tea partyers alike. The theme that Democrats are soft on terrorists and national security was everywhere in evidence. The lockstep on a foreign policy that has brought nothing but ruin and despair is incredible, suggesting that we are in the grip of a form of insanity, i.e. doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
DirtyHarriet 
Dave 
seamus_padraig 
Rubio’s speech was very stirring but I couldn’t help noticing that his deep love of the USA rested on an economic determinist basis. It’s the old immigrant story, “This is a great country because I can make money here.” That, and his Neocon war cries made for gloomy listening. From what I can see from CSPAN, this event is the conservative establishments overture to the Tea Partiers. There was no patriotic immigration reform, no cessation of crusades overseas, and no tax reform.