The War Party: The Politics of National Defense is written to challenge the widely held misconception that the Republican Party is the party to trust on issues relating to National Defense. As the author makes clear, for most of the last century, the Democrats were the Party the nation turned to when it became necessary to face the realities of international threats to our freedom and our survival as a great military power. It explores how the first six democratic Presidents in the 20th Century made strengthening the military their primary focus, while six Republican Presidents worked to weaken national defense. Finally it critiques the current administration?s national security policies and finds areas of serious deficiencies.