cover of episode Why Senator Rand Paul Hasn’t Endorsed Trump

Why Senator Rand Paul Hasn’t Endorsed Trump

2024/9/24
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Rand Paul: 我最关心的问题是美国政府的巨额财政赤字。我认为,如果要实施减税政策,就应该同时削减政府开支。然而,目前的做法是减税增支,这是错误的。我不同意特朗普的贸易保护主义政策,我认为关税会损害消费者利益,国际贸易才能使国家富强。此外,我对特朗普政府时期积累的巨额债务表示担忧,这可能会导致国际社会对美元失去信心,引发经济灾难。虽然我不支持特朗普,但我认为民主党在财政问题上的表现更糟糕,他们更加大手大脚花钱,对债务问题漠不关心。 我支持自由贸易,反对政府干预市场。我认为,政府应该减少开支,平衡预算,而不是增加债务。为了降低赤字,我们需要削减军费开支、医疗补助、医疗保险和社会保障等方面的支出。但是,共和党和民主党都不愿意触碰这些问题。 在对外政策方面,我与特朗普政府的一些观点相符,例如反对美国长期参与海外战争。但是,在其他问题上,例如对以色列的援助,我持不同意见。我认为,美国应该减少对以色列的财政援助,因为我们国家本身就面临严重的债务问题。 总的来说,我认为共和党和民主党在财政问题上都做得不够好,他们都未能有效控制政府开支和债务。我支持财政保守主义,我认为政府应该精简开支,平衡预算,而不是增加债务。 主持人: Rand Paul参议员是美国右翼的一个异类。他是一个自由意志主义者,支持自由贸易,反对政府补贴,并且是少数几个仍然没有公开支持特朗普的共和党参议员之一。他认为,美国政府的巨额赤字是美国面临的最严重的生存问题。Paul参议员认为,为了降低赤字,美国需要削减军费开支、医疗补助、医疗保险和社会保障支出。但是,共和党和民主党都不愿意触碰这些问题。Paul参议员的这些立场使他在日益转向贸易保护主义和反移民立场的共和党内显得格格不入。然而,在对外政策方面,Paul参议员与特朗普政府的一些观点相符,例如反对美国长期参与海外战争。

Deep Dive

Chapters
Senator Rand Paul's libertarian views, including his support for free trade and opposition to government subsidies, make him an outlier in the current Republican Party. However, his foreign policy views align with the new right's skepticism towards 'forever wars'.
  • Rand Paul's libertarian stance contrasts with the current Republican Party's protectionist and anti-immigration leanings.
  • He is one of only seven Republican senators who has not endorsed Donald Trump.
  • Paul's foreign policy views align with the new right's anti-interventionist sentiment.

Shownotes Transcript

If you’re a listener of this show, then you’ve probably heard of the horseshoe theory. It’s basically this idea that when you go far enough to the left and far enough to the right, the voices start to sound pretty similar. This is certainly the case when you listen to sound bites of both Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump talk about trade and tariffs. 

But during this time—what my colleague Peter Savodnik has called our great political scramble)—some voices don’t seem to fit in anywhere, voices like that of Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. Senator Paul is a bit of an anomaly on the American right. He’s traditionally libertarian, pro free trade, pro market, and anti subsidy. He’s a deficit hawk and criticizes both Trump and Biden on spending, and he is one of just seven senators who still refuses to endorse Trump. He says it’s over the $1.9 trillion deficit.

Senator Paul says to lower the deficit we’d need to cut military spending, cut Medicaid, cut Medicare, and cut Social Security. But neither Republicans nor Democrats will go near those sacred cows these days. 

All of these attributes make him an endangered species in a party that is less fiscally conservative, more protectionist, and increasingly anti immigration—all positions that are antithetical to Rand Paul’s libertarian worldview. At the same time, Senator Paul is having somewhat of a renaissance when it comes to his foreign policy outlook. The new right and the MAGA movement are the opposite of the Reagan-era neocons skeptical of our ambitions abroad, and firmly against the “forever wars.” All stances Senator Paul agrees with. 

Today, we talk to Senator Paul to find out how he fits into the new right, when Republicans stopped caring about balancing the budget, why he wants to cut military spending, and cut aid to Israel. We ask if the U.S. can remain the world’s hegemon, while spending less, and if that’s even still a worthy goal, and finally, how Donald Trump and J.D. Vance totally lost the plot.

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