Why Russian aggression could set the GOP back to 2003


For most of the post-World War II era, the Republican Party has seemed most fully itself when America had an external enemy to confront. For all the neo-isolationism of figures like former President Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson, there are still a few conservatives who miss the old days.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine might be their chance for a revival.
"A steely-eyed approach to fighting Soviet communism led to landslide election victories in 1952, 1956, 1972, 1980, 1984, and 1988," GOP pollster Patrick Ruffini lamented Tuesday on Twitter, likening Carlson's recent rhetoric to antiwar protesters of an earlier age. "A similar approach to fighting Islamic terror led to the last Republican popular vote victory in 2004. We have lost our way since then."
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.
There are other signs the old hawkishness that brought about those victories still lurks in a few American hearts. A new poll from the Pew Research Center, released Tuesday, revealed that fully a third of the population — 35 percent — says the U.S. should take military action against Ukraine's Russian invaders "even if it risks a nuclear conflict with Russia."
The good news is that a pretty clear majority of Americans, 62 percent, aren't interested in chancing civilizational suicide. But those numbers suggest there's a not-insignificant constituency for old-fashioned militarism in the United States, that could lead to electoral gold.
In that vein, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) certainly seems to want to keep up with the latest in whiz-bang pew-pew military technology with which future wars will be fought. As they prepare for their likely takeover of the House of Representatives next year, Axios reports Republican committee leaders may get some help from MIT in learning about the latest weaponry wonders.
We'll see the results of the GOP's MIT seminars if they sweep Congress in November. In the meantime, old-school hawks clearly see a chance to make a comeback. At Commentary magazine, editor John Podhoretz claims that recent events — the American crime wave, Russia's invasion of Ukraine — have vindicated neoconservatism, the muscular subspecies of conservatism many observers deemed responsible for America's disastrous 2003 invasion of Iraq and all that flowed from it.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
"Deterrence is what America lost in the years before Vladimir Putin took the gamble of going into Ukraine, and it is deterrence we need to restore," Podhoretz wrote. "That is why this is a neoneoconservative moment."
Maybe. For now, though, it sure seems like President Biden has found a good-if-tricky balance between helping Ukraine defend itself while not allowing the war to spill into the wider world. Can his conservative challengers be trusted to do the same?
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
September 13 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include court-approved racial profiling and America's moral compass
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Kim Jong Un’s triumph: the rise and rise of North Korea’s dictator
In the Spotlight North Korean leader has strengthened ties with Russia and China, and recently revealed his ‘respected child’ to the world
-
Graphic videos of Charlie Kirk’s death renew debate over online censorship
Talking Points Social media ‘promises unfiltered access, but without guarantees of truth and without protection from harm’
-
Why does Donald Trump keep showing up at major sporting events?
Today's Big Question Trump has appeared at the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 and other events
-
Trump's drug war is now a real shooting war
Talking Points The Venezuela boat strike was 'not a mere law enforcement action'
-
Truck drivers are questioning the Trump administration's English mandate
Talking Points Some have praised the rules, others are concerned they could lead to profiling
-
Pomp but little progress at Trump's Ukraine talks
Feature Trump's red carpet welcoming for Putin did little to advance a peace deal with Ukraine
-
Gavin Newsom's Trump-style trolling roils critics while thrilling fans
TALKING POINTS The California governor has turned his X account into a cutting parody of Trump's digital cadence, angering Fox News conservatives
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by Trump
Speed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
Costco is at the center of an abortion debate
Talking Points The decision to no longer stock the abortion pill came following a pressure campaign by conservatives