Thursday, April 23, 2015
John McCain: Rand Paul is the 'Worst Possible Candidate' on National Security
McCain's comments have highlighted the growing divide in the Republican Party between conservatives and libertarians. He is referencing Rand Paul's promise to "immediately" end NSA mass surveillance of Americans if he is elected President. This is not the only issue that Republicans fail to agree on, and as time goes on, the ideological inconsistencies within the GOP will become more and more prevalent. Ultimately, I believe the party will choose to align itself with libertarian values and "modern" conservatism will become a thing to the past. Which route do you think the Party will take?
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I think that mass surveilance isnt really that bad. Look at the alternative... Look at France, where terrorists can kill whoever they want and almost get away with it. The last terrorist attack we had killed 3, theirs killed over 20. So I think that with ISIS out there, it doesnt make any sense to oppose mass surveilance. We dont lose anything.
ReplyDeleteMcCain seems to attack everyone so I'm not sure her to take his words. I'm not sure if I have a problem with mass surveillance; if it keeps people safe then I'm okay with it although it may invade privacy. I don't care for Rand Paul or John McCain. I think the conservatives feel pushed into the libertarian direction just because of how America is now, but "modern" conservatives will continue to try and prove they know what's best.
ReplyDeleteIf mass surveillance is keeping people safe from terrorist attacks it is always a good thing. The fact is that it does help with the problem of terrorists and that needs to continue. The party knows that so they will most likely go with the Libertarian side of the argument here.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to pretend to understand how the Republican Party works. However, history has shown that general party ideology does shift over time (especially in the years before and after realigning elections) yet history also shows that radical changes often result in a split party (1912 election).
ReplyDeleteBecause more recent generations of Americans are less conservative, the libertarians might eventually become the new "modern conservatives" within the Republican Party. However, that probably won't be for a while.
I agree with Benton that the party is splitting. Even back in January when the new House was electing its Speaker we saw this same ideological divide, so this isn't a new development. As for mass surveillance, I like the idea of it and I like that it exists to protect us and yes, I also agree with Emmanuel that terrorist attacks have decreased in frequency here, but in practice I don't like the inconvenience and the invasion of my privacy. Also, there is much much more to one's ideological stance than his/her views on a single issue such as national security, so I don't think Paul's entire campaign should be shot down for one issue.
ReplyDeleteThe Republican Party is definitely splitting. I think the fact that there are so many people considering running for president on the Republican side proves how split the party is. Because our generation has proven to be more socially liberal than older generations, I think the party will be forced to align with the libertarian values or meet the same fate as the Federalist and Whig parties did. In any case, that would be in the far future. As to mass surveillance, I think that it has proven to be beneficial in stopping terrorist attacks. However, a balance should be found between respecting people's privacy and stopping terrorism. I do agree with Antonella that this single issue is not enough to lead to the shooting down of Paul's campaign.
ReplyDeleteThe Republican party is experiencing issues. As Charlie said, our generation is certainly more socially liberal and that will ultimately lead to the party aligning along libertarian lines. However, that would not be any time soon. I agree with Antonella that one issue should not be enough to entirely shoot down Paul's campaign. Mass surveillance is a controversial subject right now.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Charlie that the party is seeing a split because of how many candidates for president there are. The party is going to have to align with the culture of now which is more of a social liberal society.
ReplyDeleteAs long as this mass security doesn't cross any extreme lines, then I think it'll be okay. It's interesting seeing the candidates kind of be more liberal because of the way America is being more liberal.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Charlie. Many people of our generation are extremely liberal when it comes to social issues. If the Republican party wants to take some of the young liberal vote away from the democratic party, they will have to increase the prominence of the libertarian thread within the party. In terms of NSA surveillance, I do not have an issue with mass surveillance at the moment. Due to the high level of threats at this day in time, I enjoy the sense of security the idea of surveillance implies. While I would not be okay with someone reading through every single one of my emails, I am okay with targeted word searches on social media and analysis of high risk searches on the internet etc.
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