When Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul meets with Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan on Tuesday, he will be meeting — most
likely unknowingly — with a fellow “Libertarian.”
At least, Abbas lists his political
views as “Libertarian” on his Facebook profile. Nothing in Abbas’s record
suggests he is actually philosophically libertarian – or, for that matter, a
member of the Libertarian Party in the United States.
Libertarian legal scholar Eugene Volokh
first pointed out the bizarre claim on his blog The Volokh Conspiracy. As a
commentator on his blog suggested, Abbas, who is also chairman of the
Palestinian Liberation Organization, may be confusing “libertarian” with
“liberation.”
In no way is the Palestinian Liberation
Organization like the Cato Institute.
Paul is in the region to meet with
Israeli and Arab leaders. Many speculate the trip is a move to bolster his
international credentials before making a run for the Republican presidential
nomination in 2016.
In Israel on Monday, Paul gave a speech
to the actual libertarian-minded Jerusalem
Institute for Market Studies, in which he reiterated his position on ending
foreign aid, including to Israel.
The Jerusalem Institute for Market
Studies lists Iddo Netanyahu,
brother of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, as among its “distinguished friends.”
“It will harder to be a friend of Israel
if we are out of money. It will be harder to defend Israel if we destroy our
country in the process,” Paul said…
Source:
Daily Caller
No comments:
Post a Comment