Gene Healy on Why the Rand Paul-Rick Perry Feud Over Iraq Is Good for U.S. Policy
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Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican—that's the "11th Commandment" coined by California's GOP chairman in 1965 and popularized by President Ronald Reagan. It's been suspended for the duration, judging by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Texas Gov. Rick Perry's ongoing dust-up over the future of the GOP's foreign policy—even while the two combined for an impressive 19 invocations of Saint Ronnie in three dueling op-eds. The 11th Commandment was a silly idea to begin with: A little red-on-red internecine strife can be good fun, argues Gene Healy, and the issues here are important. In Perry's case, though, it's a shame he couldn't come up with better arguments.