esrosedotblog

FLIP FLOP

When I was a kid and there were wars and stuff going on, both parties seemed to be influential on foreign policy. Bi partisan.

Then, probably with Eisenhower being military and all and an expert on Europe, the shift came toward the GOP as the predominant party of national security and foreign relations.

In fact, they came to dominate it to such a degree that to vote Democratic was thought to ignore security issues importance. Or it was made to seem so at election time. Democrats always played catchup on those issues.

But now, it is the reverse. The GOP finally fell victim to hubris. The idea of American exceptionalism came to pass.

When Reagan got the wall down and the Soviet Union collapsed, things began to change. This article describes the situation nicely.

A Staggering Shift on the Politics of Foreign Policy.

Now, the Democrats own the high ground and the expertise. We are confronted by a GOP slate with no experience at all in these areas and whatever steps they have taken to inform themselves, they have gone to the worst sources for enlightenment. The Bush people who got the Republicans in so much trouble at the end of their dominance.

Labels: history, Republicans