The Republican Party has a very rigid set of rules about their politics. Among them are:
1. Never let President Obama win on anything, even if we agree with him
2. The campaign never, ever stops, even for a foreign policy issue
3. In campaigning you can never cross the line, because there are no lines
Surprise, surprise - even when it comes to the decision to commit military action to fight ISIL/ISIS/the lunatics in Iraq because Bush started an unnecessary war there, here comes the GOP attempting to blunt any success President Obama may have by pre-emptively going for the political score and win that midterm election.
Now this is not to defame people on both the right and left that are asking legitimate questions about whether or not this new policy makes sense or will work. That's fine.
What I'm talking about is this:
1. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-Shrieky) goes on television, screaming and yelling, that we need troops on the ground and we need them now before we are all killed at home (or something very close to that).
2. Sen. John McCain (R-TV Celebrity) more than once - and including today in the Senate hearing - declared that this policy was all a mistake because arming moderate Syrian rebels to fight ISIL is not what THEY want (they want Assad's head), and he should know because he is in touch with them (or hangs out with them, or they are pen pals or whatever).
3. Sen. James Inhofe (R - Fracking World) in statesman-like tones droned on about how all of this from the President was too little too late, and it was about time, and - by the way - the President was weak on Middle East policy because he lost Iraq (???).
4. Sen. Bob Corker (R - Pretend Moderate) was on Hard Ball waxing poetic about how the only thing President Obama was good at was reading the polls, so the entire military action was because - you know - midterms. Oh, the irony.
5. Fox News (R - Propoganda Machine) spent hours on clearly phony and unsubstantiated rumors that ISIL terrorists were hanging out in Mexico, and just waiting to cross that unguarded border to set off truck bombs. That's the trifecta you know: Illegal immigration & border politics, Islamic terrorists, and that useless guy in the White House. Too bad they can't find a way to work in - wait for it - Bengazi!
So, what does this mean? Well, when Presidents take military action, they tend to move their poll numbers. And, if you believe most analysts, the Republicans are in better shape the lower the President's approval ratings are.
This is all an attempt to blunt effective policy, deny him any success, and help their mid-term election effort. At least that's how I see it.
We can analyze what this does to the left's vote in the election (good question), what happens if there is a spectacular success on the field of battle for the US, or what happens if there is a failure. Of course - what I something else comes up?
But regardless of all of those questions, the GOP is doing the same thing they keep on doing - playing to the base. Of course, it might behoove them to actually act like legislators and vote on the question of the war instead. But that's not going to happen, at least not until after Election Day.