printIf America busies itself not with war, but with commerce, the shift in prestige will be away from politicians and back to The People and the private economy. At bottom, what neoconservative Macro Rubio is petrified about—reflexively, not consciously—is no longer being a politician in the country that is the number one bully of the world. What will the likes of Rubio and others like him do? Their ambitions will be stymied.
Marco Rubio’s rabid neoconservative ideation surfaced during the second primary season Republican debate, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California:
RUBIO:
Well, first of all, I have an understanding of exactly what it is Russia and Putin are doing, and it’s pretty straightforward. He wants to reposition Russia, once again, as a geopolitical force.
He himself said that the destruction of the Soviet Union — the fall of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century, and now he’s trying to reverse that.
He’s trying to destroy NATO [boohoo]. And this is what this is a part of. He is exploiting a vacuum that this administration has left in the Middle East.
Here’s what you’re gonna see in the next few weeks: the Russians will begin to fly — fly combat missions in that region, not just targeting ISIS, but in order to prop up Assad.
He will also, then, turn to other countries in the region and say, “America is no longer a reliable ally, Egypt. America is no longer a reliable ally, Saudi Arabia. Begin to rely on us.”
What he is doing is he is trying to replace us as the single most important power broker in the Middle East, and this president is allowing it. That is what is happening in the Middle East. That’s what’s happening with Russia, and…
Incidentally, CNN must have done a fair job at the debate, because Sean Hannity was going blotto on the radio, dismissing the event as no more than the political equivalent of Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment. Juxtapose CNN’s relaxed timing with dominatrix Megyn Kelly’s whipping the men into shape—and the dialogue encouraged between candidates last night looks like another positive feature of the event. I agree with Donald Trump that the event was too long.