National Security Politics-Winners and Losers Posted by Heather Hurlburt

Losers
Islamophobes: Rep Bill Pascrell, who faced Islamophobic attacks in his primary, won in NJ. A sharia-fearing Senate candidate lost in FL. Romney adviers' efforts to subtly channel Islamophobia don't seem to have helped.

Pentagon spending scare-mongers:  The McCain-Graham-Lieberman-Ayotte sequester tours, and the misleading Romney rhetoric about the source and likelihood and severity of the Pentagon's share of sequestration don't seem to have hurt downticket candidates in Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine. Someone's leak today of a dialogue between the UAW and legislators in Ohio about M-1 tank production which the Army doesn't want didn't do the trick in Ohio.

Those tempted to play the Israel card: Obama's Jewish vote, it seems, stayed the same or declined about the same proportion the overall vote did. It didn't turn the tide in Pennsylvania (Florida still hangs in the balance as I write). Certainly the effort to use Iran-Israel as a surrogate for leadership to counter Obama's record on terrorism failed. The Perhaps one could argue that Romney's Israel-Iran rhetoric helped fire up the Christian Zionists and kept him close... but I haven't seen anyone arguing that yet. So, what will that next conversation between Obama and Netanyahu be like?

Winners

The national security establishment: Obama hugged the Pentagon, the homeland security community, the intelligence community, hard. They have hugged him back. They will get in return a President who is solicitous and centrist on their concerns.

Democrats: it's official -- Obama has now exploded the security gap that bedeviled Democratic politicians for 40 years. What are you going to do with that strength, Democrats?

Military families: they get an Administration that funds the VA and doesn't engage in adventurism. and doesn't tolerate prejudice against servicemembers who are immigrants, or gay... or others who are, for that matter