WHICH IS THE WAR PARTY NOW?

Throughout most of the 20th Century, Republicans labeled Democrats "The War Party." Senator Robert Taft referred to our war in Korea as "Truman's War" and Senator Barry Goldwater called our war in Viet Nam, "Johnson's War. Neither president had asked Congress for a declaration of war.

The Goldwater campaign for the White House in 1964 printed photos of wounded American soldiers lying wounded on the battlefield. The message was that our wars were the result of international interventions or meddling in other nations' business. Vote Republican and get peace.

If Korea and Viet Nam were Democrat wars, then how about the two world wars? Democrat Woodrow Wilson meddled, for sure. He won reelection in 1916 by boasting that "He kept us out of war." A year later, Wilson chose to go to war and whipped the nation into a fervor about it. Senators who opposed the war were censured by the U.S. Senate. These included the great Wisconsin Senator Robert La Follette. Many peace loving Americans went to prison for resisting the war.

The situation leading into the Second World War was not much different. Democrat Franklin Roosevelt violated our neutrality laws, blockaded Japanese shipping, sent American volunteers (highly paid) to fly warplanes in defense of China, and ordered U.S. Navy destroyers to attack German submarines in the North Atlantic. We had taken sides and were militarily involved months before the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.

Since the Democrats led us into four big wars, we have had undeclared wars on Grenada, Panama and Iraq, twice. Let's not forget Afghanistan. Those were Republican wars. And maybe we should include Republican President Nixon's little wars on Cambodia and Laos.

Republican administrations blockaded a nation's food and medical supplies for years, sent CIA agents to stir rebellions and make maps of bombing targets in sovereign countries, and brandish two aircrafts carriers in the Persian Gulf to threaten Iran.

Modern Republicans are at least as warlike as the old Democrats.

As in 1918, you'll support our wars or be called unpatriotic and anti-American. You might even have your phone tapped and your mail opened.

It's all so simple.