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Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) -- he of the "non-interventionist" foreign policy -- wants to increase defense spending. This comes after he has, in the past, called for a significant reduction thereof.

From Time's Alex Rogers and Zeke Miller:

The move completes a stunning reversal for Paul, who in May 2011, after just five months in office, released his own budget that would have eliminated four agenciesCommerce, Housing and Urban Development, Energy and Educationwhile slashing the Pentagon, a sacred cow for many Republicans. Under Paulsoriginal proposal, defense spending would have dropped from $553 billion in the 2011 fiscal year to $542 billion in 2016. War funding would have plummeted from $159 billion to zero. He called it the draw-down and restructuring of the Department of Defense.

But under Pauls new plan, the Pentagon will see its budget authority swell by $76.5 billion to $696,776,000,000 in fiscal year 2016.

The boost would be offset by a two-year combined $212 billion cut to funding for aid to foreign governments, climate change research and crippling reductions in to the budgets of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the departments of Housing and Urban Development, Commerce and Education.

So while Paul's old proposal funded defense at $542 billion in 2016, his new one funds it at $697 billion -- a 28 percent increase.

This is significant. Paul has often stressed that his non-interventionist foreign policy isn't isolationist, but he has also clearly been on the more dovish side of the GOP, particularly when it comes to curtailing foreign aid and avoiding unnecessary wars.

The problem is, the dovish portion of the GOP is a fast-shrinking constituency in the 2016 presidential race. While it was trendy not long ago, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have drawn down and the Islamic State has taken hold, the Republican Party has very much reverted to a more hawkish footing akin to where it was during the Bush administration. And it has happened very quickly.

To wit, this poll from September:

In less than a year, the percentage of Republicans who said the United States was doing "too little" overseas jumped from 18 percent to 46 percent. That's the kind of massive shift you rarely see in such a short period of time. And it belied what has long been true of the GOP; when there is reason to be hawkish, today's Republican Party will be hawkish.

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The Fix: Rand Paul now wants more defense spending. Welcome back to the old GOP.