GOP Hawks and Doves

Preview: What Impact Will Tea Party Have Within GOP on "National Security" Issues?
Republican victory today might produce some interesting shifts in foreign and security policies, even though Congress has only limited ability to influence either.  Changes that might take place would not necessarily be those that one would have anticipated given the Republican reputation for being proactively strong on national security issues.  The fact is that while there is only a handful of antiwar or anti-interventionist Republicans, most candidates have not been talking about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan because they clearly understand that neither is particularly popular and it is hard to describe them as successful.  And, with some exceptions, the congressmen themselves are not particularly keen on expanding what is now conveniently seen as Mr. Obama’s war to include Iran, Yemen, and Somalia in his “overseas contingency operations.”  Unlike some of his predecessors, John Boehner is not particularly interested in foreign policy – nor is Senator Mitch McConnell – and with the neocons in decline within the party it is likely that the GOP will support some version of the status quo, with occasional sniping over particular issues.  But there will not be any fire in the loins to go out to convert the heathen – the passion will be reserved for domestic policies.

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