Why do people think Ron Paul is an isolationist?

Question

EDIT: Conservative is not a Republican, There are many different intelligence gathering agencies. He wants to end the bureaucracy and consolidate.. not abolish them.. this actually strengthens our central intelligence by gathering intelligence and making it more effective

NATO? it's managed trade not free trade that's why he opposes it

Lol.. I was thinking of NAFTA sorry,. NATO was formed in a response to the threat from the Soviet Union, but the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.. It has outlived it’s usefulness since the Cold War.. It commits American military forces to situations that don’t serve in our national interest.

You’ve all made very valid points.. Congressman Paul’s non-interventionism is not isolationism. In case of an imminent threat to the United States, he would take the necessary steps to protect us, even military action as he did after 9/11. He voted in favor of entering Afghanistan in a direct response to the attacks.

He advocates using diplomacy/trade with countries around the world.. not secluding ourselves..

Answer 1

Its a term they try to shout people down with. It is not indicative of anything other than the peson who utters it being prone to believing that what fox or cnn reports or what the Post or Times Reports as absolute Truth. We have never in our history really had an isolationist period, we have always traded and had diplomacy with other nations since our birth as a nation while maintaining a Non Interventionalist foreign policy. Paul just advocates returning to it.

Our country was never meant to be an empire. Nor are we equipped to be so and we are all feeling the effects of it now as we lose are civil liberties to protect us against threats that we armed and trained. Inflation is going up, inflation will continue to go up as the cost of running this empire becomes ever more Costly. Dollars will continue to go Down. And as every detail of government pertaining to running this empire continues to demand several billions of dollars and the Cost of our Enforcing U.N. Resolutions in Iraq cost a Few Trillion and the cost of placating world opinion is Americans Jobs Manufactoring, they placate its own citizens with cheaper goods to consume . As this is going on China is specifically designing its military technology to beat us in battle and take out are satelittes. Russia is once again is asserting its rights to move its military within its Boundraies in the Western most part of its territories. We need to stop policing the world. Start worrying about defending our homeland both from terrorism and from Major Potential Powers, and start helping Europe defend Europe.

Answer 2

I think it is because we are creatures of extremes. We either love or hate something, and things are either black or white.

Most people on this forum say that they want the war ended, but at the same time, they want us to be involved in the affairs of the world. Unfortunately, when we get involved, this usually leads to war.

What I hear Ron Paul saying is that we can be involved, we can trade and have diplomatic relations, but we cannot get involved in internal and regional conflicts, we cannot occupy another nation for years at a time, and we only have a war if we are attacked.

None of this seems Isolationist to me, but I suppose it might to some.
I personally think we need to mind our own business, and not everyone elses. We have more than enough things to take care of in this country.
I think that is just being a good neighbor.

Answer 3

"I am just absolutely convinced that the best formula for giving us peace and preserving the American way of life is freedom, limited government, and minding our own business overseas." - Ron Paul

"Both Jefferson and Washington warned us about entangling ourselves in the affairs of other nations. Today, we have troops in 130 countries. We are spread so thin that we have too few troops defending America." - Ron Paul

"We can continue to fund and fight no-win police actions around the globe, or we can refocus on securing America and bring the troops home." - Ron Paul

"Under no circumstances should the U.S. again go to war as the result of a resolution that comes from an unelected, foreign body, such as the United Nations. " - Ron Paul

"The obligations of our representatives in Washington are to protect our liberty, not coddle the world, precipitating no-win wars, while bringing bankruptcy and economic turmoil to our people." - Ron Paul

"Legitimate use of violence can only be that which is required in self-defense." - Ron Paul

"I believe that when we overdo our military aggressiveness, it actually weakens our national defense. I mean, we stood up to the Soviets. They had 40,000 nuclear weapons. Now we're fretting day in and day and night about third-world countries that have no army, navy or air force." - Ron Paul

"How did we win the election in the year 2000? We talked about a humble foreign policy: No nation-building; don't police the world. That's conservative, it's Republican, it's pro-American - it follows the founding fathers. And, besides, it follows the Constitution." - Ron Paul
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Ron Paul does have some valid points but he certainly sounds like an isolationist.

Answer 4

As I understand it (and I could be wrong) it's because he believes in taking care of this country through economic strength. And he does not support a foreign policy that would allow us to intervene in another country. He believes that we should take care of the US and every other country should take care of themselves.
And to harryb-isolationist and isolationism is actually a word that has been used in describing a political agenda for many years.

Answer 5

Jessica, I bet you are beautiful,intelligent,and a hoot to drink a beer and talk politics with! I thought that Ron Paul might be "taken" as a isolationist,because he wants to put some responsibility back into government. It is time to cut our losses. Has anybody ever thought about what America could have done with all that cash that has been pissed away in IRAC? Saddam be damned,Was it worth it to blow our entire wad of surplus cash and "THEN" go in big time debt over his sorry *** ? I think not! I support the troops because they had to do as the were told ,BUT,I do NOT support this president,who did not even try to avoid this conflict,but was hell bent to "bring it on"! But that's just me talking again,..........

Answer 6

I don't understand how isolationism became a bad thing! It is what built this country so obviously the opposite will destroy this country.

Why are China and India allowed to be isolationist without hearing any criticism?

Answer 7

Jessica, too many people make assumptions about, with out taking the time to listen, read & do their research on a candidate. I became a fan of yours for I take the time to read & ABSORB peoples answers. There are about five Y/A folks, make that six at current for I just met another one, that I would deem EXPERTS on the subjects they elaborate on, & your one of them. If more folks would ABSORB others info, such as Ron Paul's information, you would NOT have had to ask this question in the first place!

Answer 8

Probably because people don't know that isolationism is a combination of military non-interventionism AND economic protectionism.

On economic matters, almost every candidate is more of a protectionist than Ron Paul. Remember Bush's steal tariffs or Duncan Hunter & Hillary Clinton's comments about trade with China? That's protectionism, the other half of isolationism - and it has nothing to do with Ron Paul's position.

So if its fair to call Ron Paul an isolationist because he isn't an expansionist, you can call all the other candidates isolationist because they won't trade with Iran or Cuba.

Answer 9

People seem to think that Ron Paul is an isolationist because he wants to reduce the role of the US as "big brother" and wants to remove troops from Iraq. People do not realize that he is only militarily isolationist, and is very non-isolationist when it comes to trade with other countries. The term 'isolationist' usually applies to both military and trade. Ron Paul is only part isolationist, and cannot truly be called one, since he is not a full isolationist.

Answer 10

A nation of duped, politically correct idiots, will generally believe what the MSM feeds them. However, more and more of the populace is waking up and listening to Dr. Paul's message, and when he is permitted the opportunity to speak, it is not about the U.S. becoming isolated in the world community. It is about returning to constitutional government and taking care of Americas' needs first, rather than intruding into the matters of other countries.