3 Senate GOP Frosh Split With Tea Party on Foreign Policy

Three Republican freshmen in the Senate — Marco Rubio of Florida, Mark Kirk of Illinois, and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire — agree with the tea party movement when it comes to cutting domestic spending. But they disagree with its isolationist foreign policy, Politico reports.

They favor stronger sanctions and sometimes military action in countries such as Libya, Syria, and Iran. They advocate more U.S. activism abroad and are traveling as much as possible to war zones.

“We should always be on the side of dignity of the individual and democracy, and if we can tip a dictatorship into oblivion, we should,” Kirk told Politico.

And strong foreign policy credentials won’t hurt the senators if they should ever seek the presidency. “For somebody who’s thinking of a presidential run, establishing credibility on foreign policy is essential,” said James Dobbins, director of Rand Corp.’s International Security and Defense Policy Center.