Are Republicans letting Democrats become the party of national security?
The GOP's burgeoning opposition to a strike on Syria represents an about-face for the party
President Obama's call for Congress to authorize a limited attack against Syria has scrambled the traditional partisan divisions on Capitol Hill.
Republican politicians who only weeks ago were urging Obama to intervene — such as former vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan (Wisc.) and Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) — suddenly have their doubts. Indeed, unlike the preludes to most of the U.S.'s military actions in the last few decades, the stiffest opposition is coming from Republicans, rather than Democrats.
There's a good chance that an attack on Syria could founder on the rocks of the GOP-led House, where "80 percent of the House Republican Conference is, to some degree, opposed to launching strikes in Syria," say Jonathan Allen and Jake Sherman at Politico. And if the GOP were to lead the anti-interventionist charge on the country's most important foreign policy decision in years, it very well could erase the strong national security platform that was once at the heart of the party's brand.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The "staggering shift" — as Fred Kaplan called it last year at Slate — was already well underway during the 2012 presidential campaign, when Democrats talked up President Obama's "backbone" and overseas successes, including the killing of Osama bin Laden, while his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, remained focused on the economy.
The transformation has only accelerated with the rise of Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), both of whom are very popular with the conservative base. They have carved out a formidable neo-isolationist wing within a party that was dominated by hawks and neo-conservatives only a few years ago.
The shift has also been reflected in lobbying by influential conservative think tanks like the Heritage Foundation, which opposes U.S. involvement in Syria. "It's pretty striking that Heritage has decided to go full libertarian under [Heritage Foundation President Jim] DeMint and abandon four decades of leading the Reagan 'peace-through-strength' caucus," one senior Republican aide tells National Journal.
Still, given the toll the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have taken, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. Here's Charles Babington at the Associated Press:
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Another factor that will mitigate the impact of the Syria issue on the GOP's image is the fact that the public happens to agree with the doubters on this one. Andrew Stiles notes at National Review that nearly 60 percent of Americans, including 54 percent of Democrats, said in a Washington Post/ABC News poll that they oppose military action in Syria.
It remains unclear, however, whether the GOP's drift into isolationism will mark a permanent shift in the party's identity. Conservatives have justified their opposition to Obama's plan by saying they simply don't have faith in his leadership, or find his Syria policy incoherent. That suggests they are open to using force overseas, just not while Obama is commander-in-chief.
More cynical observers have suggested that the GOP's newfound opposition to military adventures overseas is purely political. "Republicans don’t like what Obama is doing in Syria — whatever it is," says Dana Milbank at The Washington Post.
Either way, the risks for the GOP remain. "If [Rand Paul] becomes the face of the GOP," says Jennifer Rubin at the Post, "Democrats will establish a monopoly on national security reliability they could only have dreamed of during the Reagan-Bush years."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
-
'Elevating Earth Day into a national holiday is not radical — it's practical'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
UAW scores historic win in South at VW plant
Speed Read Volkswagen workers in Tennessee have voted to join the United Auto Workers union
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 22, 2024
Cartoons Monday's cartoons - dystopian laughs, WNBA salaries, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published