The GOP and Foreign Policy

Now on to bigger and better things.

Naked Politics reported a couple of interesting stories this week. First, our wonderful new Senator's first toe tap into the ocean of foreign policy is turning into a disaster.

Higher ups in the State Department are a little angry that he's ignoring Brazil, the cornerstone of capitalism in South America and perhaps America's strongest ally, for political points. He's blocking the Obama appointed new ambassador to that country.

"This continuing, prolonged vacancy sends an unintended signal that the United States does not consider Brazil an important relationship,'' the nine former assistant secretaries of state wrote in a letter to LeMieux, urging him to lift his opposition to nominee Tom Shannon.

Yikes. What's the real political game?

Shannon had triggered the ire of South Florida Cuban Americans who believed he wasn't tough enough on the Castro regime during his tenure as a former assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs under President George W. Bush.

Shock in a GOP member pandering to the lowest elements of the Cuban exile community.

Here's the Senator himself:

"I feel like I have a role and a responsibility far greater than other senators do in terms of anything that deals with Latin America, and I take that job seriously,'' said LeMieux, who will be a "special guest" at a DC fundraiser Friday for Crist. "This is about the entire hemisphere. This is about Venezuela, El Salvador, Bolivia, Colombia and Brazil and Cuba and the role that Mr. Shannon played . . . and the role he will play. We are burning the midnight oil here to make sure I'm doing the best job I can for 18 million Floridians, and that's my motivation.''

Bloomberg News reports the extended hold could cost Boeing Inc. up to $7.5 billion.

Yes, Mr. Shannon is almost entirely responsible for so much of the Western world seeing the Bush Administration's screw you approach to diplomacy and running to the opposite spectrum. If LeMieux's really burning the midnight oil by doing this, then I'm glad this moron will be gone in a year.

But that's not all. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen who continues to embarrass herself by schilling for herself on Twitter also screwed up in foreign policy. She of the military comes first mentality found one General who didn't back down, pissed him off and then argued with him in Congress.

Apparently she's a disrespectful little shrill when people don't kiss her butt, even to Generals who have done more for our country than she could ever dream of.

Today's House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing was a highly-charged event -- but the real sparks flew when Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen tussled with retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey.

McCaffrey raised the Miami Republican's hackles with his testimony that Cuba represents no risk to national security and the travel ban should be scrapped since it hurts longtime U.S. interests.

Them's fightin' words. He destroyed the one issue she has to run on and wave the bloody flag of the cuban revolution. Cuba's a national security threat to America? How?

But during questioning, he took exception to Ros-Lehtinen, whom he said appeared to question his national security credentials and called him "Mr. McCaffrey,'' rather than "General.''

"To refute the argument that I had offered to the committee, she seemed to be implying my lack of commitment to U.S. national security, which is a silly thing for her to do,'' McCaffrey told reporters after the hearing. "She stated a very carefully chosen way to denigrate my military credentials, which she is not authorized to do.''

You know he's worked for that title, much like a doctor works for theirs. I'm pretty sure most doctors don't like having their title left out in their professional careers. Alas, Ileana will surely hypocritically post how wonderful the military is next time to score political points, while insulting them for political gain at other times.

She said she had written down the questions she wanted to pose to McCaffrey and that "General'' appears in her handwritten notes.

Too bad her brain's apparently too small for her to be able to both write something and then verbalize it. It's clearly done intentionally and I'm glad the General spoke out.

But that's what the GOP offers going forward folks. Enjoy!