House resolution honors Henry Hyde

The resolution passed unanimously last night (suspension of the rules, voice vote).  You can read the full text of the resolution here.

It’s sad to think of Hyde’s own passage; sadder still to contrast him with the rudderless party he left behind.  For purposes of Korea policy, we might as well be in a second Carter Administration with a 1975 Congress.  Yes, a few isolated Republicans (and one or two Democrats) take a principled stand here and there, but it seems doubtful that they can do much.  Functionally, we entered the third Clinton Administration a year ago.  The Korea Lobby and its friends in the State Department have the conversation all to themselves, and the extent of their confidence is such that they feel free to violate the law flagrantly and without a whimper of complaint from those self-proclaimed sentinels of our government in the media.  One has to wonder if someone of Hyde’s stature could have changed that, or whether he did, or for how long.

(Pause to swallow own bile.)

Republicans often sound depressed about the Democrats when they should be depressed about themselves instead.  Their party certainly hasn’t earned the donations or support of foreign policy conservatives this year, and no candidate in either party has yet said anything to pry dime one out of me.  And in the grander scheme, four years of Hillary Clinton — probably the least likeable politician of the last hundred years, save Spiro Agnew — could be just the thing to help the Republicans learn to stand for something and articulate some principle again.
One key lesson that this Administration will leave behind is the importance of not filling its top foreign policy slots with holdovers from the other party.  The GOP will never manage to carry out a successful foreign policy initiative until it purges the senior ranks in the State Department.