Five Hawks and a Dove

The traveling circus that is the Republican primary election process opened Tuesday in Des Moines, Iowa. It will end in late August in Florida, when a winner is crowned after an extremely expensive competition through other the states, in which only well-heeled candidates garnering the biggest campaign contributions were able to take part. That winner will go up against incumbent President Obama on Nov. 6.

The past couple of decades has seen the Republicans adopt a quasi-religious conviction that the U.S. military empire must grow continuously. Accordingly, candidates Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney — both fervent advocates for war against Iran and the most popular U.S. Republicans among Zionist hawks in Israel — came to Iowa to campaign. Both men are in a virtual dead heat there.

Romney amassed a personal fortune of $200 million as a “locust capitalist” and is considered a successful businessman. Like Rick Santorum, a mere millionaire, he also advocates tax relief for the wealthy and further limiting the already rudimentary U.S. regulations on business. Compared to Santorum, who gets his support mainly from Christian fundamentalists, and rails against gays, lesbians and a woman’s right to choose, ex-Governor of Massachusetts Romney comes off almost like a liberal.

Trailing them by a considerable distance are Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich and Michele Bachmann, whose arch-conservative views differ only slightly from those of the front runners. The one exception is Ron Paul, who got 21 percent of the vote, keeping him a viable candidate. Iowa, with its population of 3 million, is considered to have only symbolic significance as the kickoff to the primary season.

Three things set multi-millionaire Ron Paul apart from the other candidates. First is his anti-interventionist stance on American foreign policy and his rejection of U.S. wars of aggression. Second is his opposition to the financial and political support of Israeli hawks and their U.S. congressional lobby. Third is his stated desire to get rid of the Federal Reserve, which is controlled by under a dozen large U.S. private banks. Paul charges that the Fed uses its government-granted powers not for the good of the American people but rather to enrich its private owners. He advocates its nationalization, saying it’s long overdue. Outside that, Paul hews to the conservative line, seeking to limit the federal government’s powers and to mainly leave the nation to market forces.

Establishment media like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal have already declared Paul unfit for leadership. But Paul strikes an open nerve with the crisis-battered public, not only with some Republicans, but also with independents and Democrats dissatisfied with Obama. He has an enthusiastic following, which should at least guarantee that the coming election will remain interesting.