MOSCOW, October 31 (RIA Novosti), Ekaterina Blinova – The GOP will most likely gain control over the Senate after the midterm elections in 2014 and expand its majority in the House, experts say, stressing that the new balance of power will eventually affect US foreign policy.
"In fact, the election may turn out to be something of a national GOP landslide, with a few pundits predicting the Republicans will reach an historic number of seats in state legislatures across the country, leading to control of more chambers and states that at any time since the 1920s. With that kind of representation, the GOP becomes the national majority party and, after a fashion, reduces President Barack Obama to a sort of irrelevance, at least in terms of his ability to set the agenda for the nation," underscored Peter Roff, a political writer and contributing editor at US News & World Report.
The GOP has a 99 percent to gain the majority, according to the Washington Post's Election Lab, and is most likely to get the additional eight to ten seats. Meanwhile a national wide survey, conducted by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News has indicated that the Republicans "now hold an 11-point lead among likely voters on the question of which party should control Congress." According to the poll, some 52 percent of the US respondents claimed they wanted the GOP to lead Congress, while only 41 percent said they would prefer Democratic control.
Remarkably, proponents of a tougher foreign policy have already expressed their satisfaction with the expected victory of the Republicans. "The members of the president’s own political party [Democrats] have been largely silent and ineffective in stopping Obama's false threats in Syria, weak reactions to Russian aggression in Eastern Europe and slow responses to ISIS and other terrorist acts," claims Richard Grenell, an American media commentator and former diplomat in his article "The midterm elections and Iran," published in the Washington Times. Mr. Grenell expects that the Republicans will bolster anti-Russian policies as well as stop "a disastrous Iran [nuclear] deal" with the US.
Assessing the impact of the midterm 2014 elections on US foreign policy, the Brookings Institution, a US nonprofit public policy organization, insists that both Republicans and Democrats should "be seriously worried about Russia as a major threat to international security and as a daunting challenge to US leadership." Strobe Talbott the President of the Brookings Institution and an expert on US foreign policy, considers the midterm 2014 an important milestone which will trigger changes in Obama's Russia policy. The expert believes that Russia poses a serious threat to peace in Europe, and may spark confrontation with NATO "and therefore with the United States." Since the GOP is most likely to maintain control over the Congress, it may give the momentum for a "successful Russia/Ukraine policy," deems the expert. The GOP victory "could elevate to leadership positions senior senators, such as John McCain and Mitch McConnell, who are likely to support forward-leaning American engagement," Strobe Talbott underscores.
Indeed, senators John McCain and Mitch McConnell were the co-sponsors of the S.2277 bill, "Russian Aggression Prevention Act of 2014." Although the act has not passed the Senate, some of its provisions have already been implemented, particularly, anti-Russia's sanctions. However, the bill also contained the plan for further expansion of NATO, military assistance for Kiev and granting major non-NATO ally status for Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova along with some substantial preferences to US private fracking firms in the region (section "European and Eurasian energy independence," S.2277 bill).
It is likely that John McCain, Mitch McConnell will take the opportunity to push their agenda forward after the midterm 2014, the expert believes. However, Mr. Talbott notes that the "isolationist" stance of the libertarian wing of the Republican Party could become a certain obstacle. The right wing strongly opposes the US involvement into foreign affairs of other countries praising the idea of the American "isolationism." The Tea Party may apparently make an adjustment to the Republicans' foreign policy. "That could translate into legislative opposition to beefing up NATO for a return to containment of a Russia that is breaking bad," the expert emphasizes.
