The Republicans took control of the Senate in Tuesday’s elections, but much more important than which party took control is the nature of the incoming Senators from the new ruling party.
It’s not an influx of Tea Party members, reluctant to waste US funds on overseas adventures and suspicious of federal power, but rather a series of hawks in the model of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R – SC) that seized the reins of power last night.
The new senators are typified by Jodi Ernst (R – IA) and Tom Cotton (R – AR), who campaigned heavy on escalating the ISIS war in Iraq and Syria, as well as being more hawkish at essentially every opportunity.
Turkey in particular is expressing hope that this new Senate will push the administration toward dramatic escalations of the war, particularly in Syria, where Turkey has been hoping that an outright US invasion will happen and gift them with all the foreign policy goals they had in mind when they started backing Islamist rebels against the Assad government.
The new senators are seen as even more hostile toward Iran as well, and while some are presenting this as a victory for Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu, others in the Israeli press wonder how well Netanyahu will be able to balance the increasing US-Israel split in the new political environment.
Still Iran negotiations are the one thing the Senate can most easily sabotage, as it would likely just take a new round of sanctions aimed specifically at killing the talks to get the job done.
That’s the silver lining elsewhere, as presidents have become so dictatorial in foreign policy in recent years that Congress has little direct say in wars and such, and can’t directly force escalations of conflicts.
But President Obama’s commitment to any particular level of escalation in his assorted wars is paper thin, and in the face of a more confrontational Senate he’s liable to agree to trade war escalations for other issues without much thought.
The victory of Senate hawks has also put NSA reforms and the CIA torture report in serious doubt, with Senate Intelligence Committee member Mark Udall (D – CO) losing his seat. Udall was one of the most public critics of government surveillance and intelligence community abuses, and the committee’s pending reshuffle with more pro-surveillance, pro-torture figures could spell the end to a push for reform.
I wish to see how much US Kongress critters take sides with the foreign leader Netanyahu against the wishes of the White House to keep AmeriKa out of overt intervention and doing the dirty work for the likes of Turkey and Israel.
Traitors much?
Traitors all.
Hey A-hole "the new ruling party"?
We don't have rulers, we have public servants.
Not sure who this "we" is. You got a mouse in your pocket or something? Personally I have neither "rulers" nor "public servants." Just pests loudly claiming to be one or the other.
You must be Rip Van Winkle
If only Mrs. Swiz, could give you the time and attention you deserve. Or not.
That'd be an idyllic distinction. But somehow I'm guessing that you believe your home team won (Celtics? Buckeyes?), and then you imagined you found the right lawn to TP. Did you?
“Your comment must be approved by the site admins before it will appear publicly.”
How about saying that up front instead of wasting peoples time, scumbag.
[moderator’s note: Since it’s possible that you may not understand the concepts of things like spam filters, etc., I’ll give you a pass on the “scumbag” thing. But only one. We don’t owe you a microphone. Learn some manners or lose the privilege of using other people’s storage space and bandwidth – TLK]
The Colorado vote tells me there is a NSA-Diebold connection.
The pain must increase for a change; there is not enough of it yet.
A "longest day" in Syria, a strike on Iran, a clash with the bear in Ukraine and a hot naval battle in the China Sea?
Yes, we can!
Yes THEY can
In our name…
The current and previous administration had no problem turning wars on and off without Congress getting involved. So, what's changed?
Um… now no one's acting like they have any intention of doing anything else?
Maybe some potential for them to at least spend time fighting each other over who to bomb…? …there was a congress last year that backed down to their mail when the prez was ostensibly sore over a 'red line' …curious if this batch will be reading mail, or whose.
Maybe we'll go over the cliff before Hillary takes the helm of the USS Doomed.
One thing both R's & D's agree on, they both like a large and powerful Ship of State…so long as it's their hand on the tiller.
It's hopeless…the dumb American electorate that is.
I used to think that all it would take was a national crisis to get things back like it used to be when Americans were worth looking up to and respected around the world. But, I believe now that things would devolve further into chaos: Congress at each other's throats because of ideology and neighbor shrieking at neighbor because they believe differently.
If space traveling aliens came out the stars and studied the people of this world, I believe they'd come to the conclusion that the planet buster/terraforming solution is appropriate – excise the cancer before they escape into space.
Take heart, gentlemen, it’s only freedom, liberty and a clear conscience for all that our voting majority has thrown under the bus.
Look at the history, there is a pattern from democrats padding over the senate to republican and vis versa, due to the either side bad politics or economic decisions making, this time is democrats turn to do the bad job electing the baddest of them all to rule the country if not ruin what is left of it, but don't worry, republicans will return the favor in next election by doing the same bad decisions as democrats been doing in last twenty five years, virtually demolishing democratic values.
I give the WARMONGERS & INSANE MCAIN 6 months TOPS before we are in A MAJOR WAR…I hope i am wrong…
Oh, don't worry Mike, you won't be wrong. Your country would have been better off electing a bunch of teabaggers who haven't got the intelligence to manipulate the situation into another fullscale war. Those hawks will do it easily and Obama won't dare to drag his feet again.
As if presidents consult or ask Congress for authorization for war anymore.
"I am only afraid that at the last minute some swine well produce a plan of mediation" …. Adolph McCain to Hermann Graham concerning the possibility of there being a workable peace with Iran in the coming year.
lets not kid ourselves. The opposing Democrats who lost were the Elizabeth Warren mode of warmonger just as the winning Republicans were Lindsey Graham types.
Will they be happy when much of the world (including the place they dwell) is a smoking slag heap? Will these bitter and impotent little psychopaths be happy THEN??