Is Trump now favoring Dana Rohrabacher for Sec. of State?

Paul Hannosh
The Liberty Conservative
Thu, 17 Nov 2016 17:34 UTC

© Shuji Kajiyama / Reuters

U.S. Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-Ca)

According to the Washington Examiner, concerns are increasing for President-elect Trump's top two picks to run the State Department: Rudy Giuliani and John Bolton. Sources say the Trump transition team is now considering California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a leading House foreign policy expert.

Rohrabacher, who once worked as a Reagan speechwriter and a House member since 1989, emerged Tuesday night as a possible Trump pick. He is much more aligned with Trump on foreign policy, immigration and global warming issues.

Republican Senator Rand Paul said that he could not support either Giuliani or Bolton because he believes they back past failed policies in the Middle East, even referring to Bolton's views as "unhinged". Paul's position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee gives him power over the nomination of Bolton—or anyone else for that position.

Bolton was a primary supporter of the war in Iraq and represents what Americans rejected about the Bush administration's foreign policy. Even after Jeb Bush said that in hindsight the Iraq war was a mistake, John Bolton stood by his original position to go to war. Obama followed Bolton's poor advice on Libya, and Mr. Bolton suggested that Israel pre-emptively strike Iran with nuclear weapons.

Dana Rohrabacher has recently introduced HR 4017, called the "Save Christians & Yazidis from Genocide Act," which attempts to rectify the situation under the Obama regime that has denied entrance to Syrian Christian refugees in favor of Sunni Muslims who were given preference by Sunni United Nations representatives. The Sunnis control the refugee camps and make life difficult for non Sunnis. HR 4017 is a reasonable solution for Americans who want to help the most endangered populations in the Middle East. Evangelical leaders and NGOs, Christian relief and American Middle East churches have met with Rohrabacher to help make this a national issue.

Rohrabacher is chair of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee for Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats and a popular conservative. When Speaker Paul Ryan told congressional leaders he could not support Trump, Dana Rohrabacher called him a coward for stepping away from the GOP nominee.

In Rohrabacher's early days, he was a libertarian activist with "Young Americans for Freedom", but has since moderated his views as a senior member of Congress. Dana has also been a big critic of President Obama's policies in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If Rohrabacher is Trump's pick, it remains to be seen how he will handle the role.

Comment: Some quotes from and about Rohrabacher from the SOTT archives:

• Congressman Dana Rohrabacher: Putin is watching out for Russia, Obama should do the same instead of playing games
• US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher: US politicians still view Russia through lens of Cold War paradigm

  "Thank you for what you are doing in Syria. From me!" Rohrabacher said in front of Russian and US parliamentary delegations. "I've been talking to ordinary Americans and I say: It's great they have Russia down there killing the terrorists that want to kill us. And they thank you too."
  ...
  Rohrabacher blamed the deterioration of Russian-American ties on the ignorance of US politicians, saying that he is "horrified" that his counterparts are refusing to speak to the Russian side on global security issues. "The children of our countries will pay for the stupidity of what is going on in our relations," the California Republican Congressman said, as he laughed about the US leadership which called Russia, the "greatest threat to the United States."
  
  Parts of the American political leadership, Rohrabacher said, still views Russia in through the lens of the Cold War paradigm. "Literally a large percentage of decision makers" are ignorant about the modern-day Russia, Rohrabacher explained, adding "they do not give you credit for the good things you are doing. When there are disagreements, it's been portrayed as: 'Russia is evil because you disagree with us.'"

• Arch hypocrisy: US committee passes resolution accusing Iran, Russia and Syrian government of war crimes

  "Let's face reality. I do not believe [in] this hostility towards Assad and towards Russia at this time. In this case we're going to undermine the position of the anti-ISIL forces in that part of the world. And I know this analysis is contrary to the analysis which has prevailed here in Washington," he said.
  
  "But my common sense tells me that we should not be engaged on focusing on someone who at this time gives safe heaven to Christians and while guilty of certain things we would never condone, is certainly at this point assisting us, as is Russia in defeating radical Islam," Rohrabacher said.

• Hardline Pentagon vs 'moderate' State Department: Is Russia friend or foe?

  "Let me just note that increasing the spending of our military spending in Europe so that we'll have now have more tanks in Europe could be taken as a hostile act by Russia as well," he told Kerry. "So I want to get out of this cycle of well we're going to find things that they are doing hostile and vice versa."