Dom Giordano Speaks To Sen. Rand Paul About Endorsing Steve Lonegan For Senate And The Crisis In Syria
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Senator Rand Paul, R-KY, spoke to WPHT's Dom Giordano about the possibility of going to war in Syria, and about endorsing Steve Lonegan for NJ Senator.
Giordano began the interview by asking Paul about the latest developments in Syria.
"The biggest worry over there, for me, is that the chemical weapons wind up in the hands of terrorists," Sen. Paul said as to why he doesn't want to bomb Syria and potentially destabilize the country.
He cited al-Qaeda as one of the terrorist groups of particular concern, calling al-Assad "a bad guy," but saying that he is keeping the chemical weapons out of the group's hands.
And as to Paul's previous comments about the debate between the "libertarian point of view" versus the "authoritarian point of view" on Syria:
"For a long time, I think there's been a bipartisan consensus in Washington…for a very aggressive, interventionist foreign policy," Sen. Paul said, saying that he thinks the opposite is now starting to form, with the push for less intervention and more Congressional authority over going to war. "I think there is a growing consensus…the public absolutely does not want to be involved in this."
"When American interests are involved, absolutely we will use the force and every bit of it that we have," Sen. Paul added. "No one's ever going to believe they can attack us without repercussions…we don't go into war halfway."
But, Sen. Paul continued, as President Reagan essentially said, "You only get involved in a war with overwhelming American support and with an overwhelming desire for victory…stalemate's not a good reason to get involved in war."
Giordano also asked Sen. Paul about his upcoming appearance on Friday in Clark, NJ and his endorsement of Steven Lonegan for Senator over Democrat Cory Booker.
"I'm hoping I get introduced to T-Bone, [Booker's] imaginary friend," Paul joked, referring to an allegedly reformed drug dealer who is a central character in one of Booker's stories.
"The question I've got for Cory Booker is, does he care about imaginary friends and imaginary jobs, or about real people and real jobs?" Sen. Paul said, on a more serious note.
Furthermore, "[Booker] would have to vote on Syria" if he were a Senator, Sen. Paul said, before stating that he doesn't think the Democratic candidate has made up his mind on the issue and may vote to push the nation into another war.
Click here to listen to the full interview.
