Rand Paul and Rick Perry are still fighting over who is more Reaganesque


Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) is "dead wrong" about former President Reagan's legacy, says Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
In the latest round of bickering between the two politicians, Paul writes in Politico that Perry's "new glasses haven't altered his perception of the world, or allowed him to see it any more clearly." Perry, he adds, has misrepresented his and President Obama's foreign policy positions, while also wrongly claiming to see the world like Reagan did.
This is where many in my own party, similar to Perry, get it so wrong regarding Ronald Reagan's doctrine of "peace through strength." Strength does not always mean war. Reagan ended the Cold War without going to war with Russia. He achieved a relative peace with the Soviet Union — the greatest existential threat to the United States in our history — through strong diplomacy and moral leadership. [...]
Some of Reagan's Republican champions today praise his rhetoric but forget his actions. Reagan was stern, but he wasn't stupid. Reagan hated war, particularly the specter of nuclear war. Unlike his more hawkish critics — and there were many — Reagan was always thoughtful and cautious. [Politico]
The back-and-forth began with a Paul op-ed in June that cited Reagan to argue against U.S. intervention in Iraq. Perry swiped back in The Washington Post that Paul was fudging Reagan's beliefs to make them align with his own. At this rate, Perry should be out in the next few hours with a rebuttal to Paul's rebuttal to his rebuttal to Paul's original essay.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.
-
5 hilariously heavenly editorial cartoons about the newly elected pope
Cartoons Artists take on the angel and the devil, music choices at the Vatican, and more
-
Celebrating 60 years of the Pennine Way
The Week Recommends This beautiful long-distance path immerses walkers in the beautiful British countryside
-
To ban or not to ban AfD? German democracy at a crossroads
Talking Point Germany's domestic intelligence agency has officially designated the country's main opposition party a right-wing extremist group
-
Supreme Court weighs court limits amid birthright ban
speed read President Trump's bid to abolish birthright citizenship has sparked questions among federal judges about blocking administration policies
-
Gabbard fires intelligence chiefs after Venezuela report
speed read Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has fired the top two officials leading the National Intelligence Council
-
Trump vows to lift Syria sanctions
speed read The move would help the new government stabilize the country following years of civil war
-
Senate rejects Trump's Library of Congress takeover
speed read Congress resisted the president's attempts to control 'the legislative branch's premier research body'
-
Hamas frees US hostage in deal sidelining Israel
speed read Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old soldier, was the final living US citizen held by the militant group
-
White Afrikaners land in US as Trump-declared refugees
speed read An exception was made to Trump's near-total ban on admitting refugees for the white South Africans
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin