POLITICO MAGAZINE: Trumpian Conservatives Hold an ‘Emergency’ Meeting Over Russia (4/2/22)
- “The participants generally described themselves as ‘realists’ and ‘restrainers,’ and the meeting featured what amounted to realist royalty.”
- “J.D. Vance was on the warpath. ‘Using American power to do the dirty work of Europe is a pretty bad idea,’ he told a crowd on Thursday, warning against the U.S. getting more involved in Ukraine. ‘We don’t have that many non-insane people in Washington. I need you to be some of them.'”
- “[Up From Chaos] was organized by the American Conservative magazine and American Moment, whose self-described mission is to ‘identify, educate, and credential young Americans who will implement public policy that supports strong families, a sovereign nation, and prosperity for all,’ and which features Vance on its board of advisers.”
- “Reps. Massie and Bishop, along with Senate candidate J.D. Vance discussed NATO’s purpose and rising inflation in the US.”
- “Wednesday’s conference featured speeches from several Republican members of Congress, including Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., as well as panelists from various Washington, D.C., publications and think tanks, centered around American security as it relates to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
THE ATLANTIC: The ‘Putin Is Bad, But’ Republicans (4/2/22)
- “The conference, Up From Chaos, was a summit of all the wings of the right that would prefer a more hands-off American response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The organizers were The American Conservative, the paleoconservative publication founded by Pat Buchanan; and American Moment, a newer organization that tries to sell the next generation of the right on its version of national conservatism.”
- “‘We were acutely worried that the seven years of foreign-policy gains that we made [since Donald Trump launched his campaign] were going to go away,’ Saurabh Sharma, one of the conference’s organizers, told me.”
- “Sharma framed skepticism of the U.S. response as a test of political courage for the few on the right who were still willing to ‘stand up for a more sober foreign policy where the rubber meets the road.'”
THE DAILY WIRE: Rand Paul Warns Sanctions On Russia, China Haven’t Done Anything (3/31/22)
- “Paul spoke Thursday afternoon at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C. at Up From Chaos, an event on conserving American security hosted by The American Conservative and American Moment.”
- “We have lots of sanctions on Russia,” Paul told attendees. “I think sanctions can have leverage as a threat. But once they’re placed on, particularly if they are placed on without any sort of explanation of how they are going to come off…I think the sanctions have no effect and are probably deleterious.”
- “Paul also mentioned a ‘growing movement’ of lawmakers within Congress that he is part of ‘that truly does believe in the constitutional role of Congress in war.'”
WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Massie: NATO treaty doesn’t bind US to war, sanctions on Russia hurt Americans
- “The United States is not obligated by any treaties to engage in the war in Ukraine, including sanctions that will ultimately help Vladimir Putin and hurt Americans, Rep. Thomas Massie said Thursday.”
- “The Kentucky Republican, whose libertarian leanings often separate him on issues for which most of Congress votes together, took a strong stance against nearly all intervention in conflicts abroad at a foreign policy conference in Washington, D.C. He said Washington’s ‘uniparty’ is constantly looking for loopholes to take action in foreign conflicts without Congress’s approval.”
- “‘Congress has the authority — the sole authority — to declare war, and this also means to make acts of war,’ Massie said. ‘And everyone is always trying to find a loophole to exploit to say that ‘No, and this treaty obligates us to war, or this agreement here obligates us to mutual defense.'”
- I sought out this minority perspective at a conference on Thursday titled “Up from Chaos,” featuring prominent Republicans such as Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance.
- The conference’s opening video set the day’s context. “Russia has invaded Ukraine, the world in chaos, and Washington’s decades-long, failed bipartisan foreign policy is to blame,” it proclaimed.
- “They rightfully contend that these acts squandered American power, damaged American prestige and emboldened America’s adversaries.”
- “…William Ruger, Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to Afghanistan (though he was never confirmed), accepted the challenge to lay out an alternative foreign policy. He argued for limited U.S. involvement abroad, with military power only used to protect the United States’ few vital interests.”
- “[Russ Vought], who currently heads the anti-CRT organization Center for Renewing America, made the comments at an emergency foreign policy conference, ‘Up from Chaos: Conserving American Security,’ organized by American Moment and The American Conservative.”
- “He said the policy process was ‘completely disconnected from the views of the President,’ prioritizing defenders of the status quo and avoiding what he described as ‘paradigm-shifting questions,’ including on decades of U.S. military spending: “Why are we still in Afghanistan? Why are we on a collision course with Russia? Why haven’t you brought our troops home from Europe? Shouldn’t we prioritize a China fight above all else? Are Japan and Taiwan ready to defend themselves? Why is it the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force just so happen to have the same share of the budget?”
NEWSMAX: JD Vance: ‘Ridiculous Notions of Gender’ Threaten US World Leadership (4/3/22)
- “‘I think a lot of countries look at the United States as the leader of the free world; they’re not going to look at us like that if we keep on pushing ridiculous notions of gender with the children, not just here, but everywhere else too,’ Vance told The Epoch Times this week.”
- “Vance also denounced the massive spending to aid Ukraine, including $13.6 billion in the government funding package and proposed 2023 budget adding another $682 million to Ukraine.”
THE AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE: Building Up From Chaos (4/6/22) — A response to Henry Olsen’s piece in Washington Post
- “Look what a program of spreading liberalism and defending democracy has gotten us in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Libya; as Olsen conceded, we skeptics of liberal internationalism ‘rightfully contend that these acts squandered American power, damaged American prestige, and emboldened America’s adversaries.'”
- “If there must be a coherent takeaway from ‘Up From Chaos’ spelled out for people, then it is this: The D.C. system, every incentive structure entrenched in this town since the Eisenhower administration, is oriented towards military interventions.
- “Representatives Thomas Massie, Matt Rosendale, and Dan Bishop, as well as Senator Rand Paul, all highlighted the ways the executive bureaucracy and its revolving door establishment class has, with the mostly enthusiastic cooperation of the legislature, taken on the direction of America’s foreign policy and identity on the world stage. The first two panels of the conference sought to make specific the mechanisms by which this has happened and continues to happen, in both the halls of government and the offices and studios of prestige media.”