I sympathize with E.J. Dionne. I do. But, in the midst of his righteous outrage he gives one of those classic bromides.
The budget disaster [Bush] stuck us with requires little elaboration. But notice all the stories in the wake of the [New Hampshire GOP] debate about Republicans moving back toward isolationism. The lesson here is that reckless interventionism inevitably produces a backlash into potentially reckless non-interventionism.
Let’s think about “reckless non-interventionism” for a minute. The classic example is Munich 1938, when the Allied Powers still had time to check Hitler’s ambitions but chose appeasement and a temporary peace instead. We can envision a repeat of this in the modern age, either through failing to prevent nuclear proliferation or through letting a terroristic threat fester unaddressed until it bites us in the ass. But, let’s be real. There are no Hitler’s in the world today who can rival and dwarf American military power within five years if we let our guard down.
Of all the faults we can ascribe to the Republicans, this has got to be last one on the list. We suffer so much more from our propensity to intervene than from any inclination not to, that Dionne comes off looking like a nitpicker at best and an idiot at worst.
I would love for the GOP to explore non-interventionism. It will be forever before it reaches a reckless or irresponsible level.
