Monday, September 13, 2004
National Security and the Election
Kevin Drum has some interesting comments regarding this Michael Tomasky article from American Prospect. The questions I have after reading these two pieces are what exactly are the Dems policy differences with Republicans and why aren't they being articulted during this campaign?
I won't be able to give this question the answer it deserves right now (and I am not qualified to try and guess on the second question), but I think the discussion for the first should start here. Heather Hulburt's article is an excellent overview of the issue of why Dems are not trusted on national security policy. The short answer is Vietnam. From World War II to about the late 1960s, Democrats were seen as the "national security" party, while Republicans were either isolationists or liberal "Rockefeller Republican" internationalists.
The Vietnam War changed this. Anti-war liberals essentially destroyed those in the Democratic party who were seen as tough on national security. Those who remained democrats often supported Republicans' foreign policy (see, for example, here). For much of the 1970s and 80s "peaceniks" and "doves" dominated the foreign policy debate in the Democratic party.
To anyone who may be reading this, I would like to point to a new organization that is trying to rectify this situation. The Truman National Security Project is a group of young and mid-career policy professionals who are trying to forge new policy ideas for Democrats. Go check them out.
I won't be able to give this question the answer it deserves right now (and I am not qualified to try and guess on the second question), but I think the discussion for the first should start here. Heather Hulburt's article is an excellent overview of the issue of why Dems are not trusted on national security policy. The short answer is Vietnam. From World War II to about the late 1960s, Democrats were seen as the "national security" party, while Republicans were either isolationists or liberal "Rockefeller Republican" internationalists.
The Vietnam War changed this. Anti-war liberals essentially destroyed those in the Democratic party who were seen as tough on national security. Those who remained democrats often supported Republicans' foreign policy (see, for example, here). For much of the 1970s and 80s "peaceniks" and "doves" dominated the foreign policy debate in the Democratic party.
To anyone who may be reading this, I would like to point to a new organization that is trying to rectify this situation. The Truman National Security Project is a group of young and mid-career policy professionals who are trying to forge new policy ideas for Democrats. Go check them out.
# posted by N.D. Burnside @ 12:30 PM 
