The headline is a phrase you may hear in the run-up to the 2024 general election and during the election season itself. It is a forecast of the likely inevitable.

That’s why both sides of the aisle in the House, to try and dodge responsibility in case Taiwan does fall to the Chicoms, created a committee that will make big noises and do nothing much else. McCarthy led off the hoopla on Tuesday.

“We spent decades passing policies that welcomed China into the global system,” McCarthy said. “In return, China has exported oppression, aggression and anti-Americanism. Today, the power of its military and economy are growing at the expense of freedom and democracy worldwide.”

It didn’t start under this administration, but the current administration has clearly made it worse,” he continued. “Its policies have weakened our economy and made us more vulnerable to the threat of the CCP…There is bipartisan consensus that the era of trusting communist China is over,” McCarthy added. Why now, when Beijing has been at this quite a while? Because they’ve very recently stepped up their game.

Fox, “At least eight Chinese military aircraft and three naval ships were detected near Taiwan Tuesday, the fourth such incident over the past week amid increased tensions in the region.

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense tweeted Tuesday that eight aircraft and three naval vessels of the People’s Liberation Army were detected around 6 a.m…Tuesday marked the third consecutive day – and fourth over the past week – that the Chinese military has crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait…At the end of December, China sent a record 71 planes and 7 ships toward Taiwan, the largest such scale exercise in 2022.”

Why have the Chinese increased pressure on Taiwan over the last couple of months? Because there is a Republican House, thus giving the GOP a louder bully pulpit, and the Chinese hope that if they invade American politicians will be so divided in debate and proposed response it will create paralysis and allow Taiwan to lose the war before we get around to doing anything about it. And what could we do anyway?

The naval forces we have in the area can hold up an invasion, but only hold it up. That’s if we decided to commit to a war in the first place. American forces in Japan and Korea could also be deployed, but that would create holes that could be exploited by the Chinese, Russians, and Norks.

So, basically we’re screwed if the Chicoms move. Congress knows this and doesn’t want a repeat of the 1950 and 1952 Republican campaign slogan, “Who Lost China?” Thus they’ve decided to share the blame, inoculate themselves, and make a loud clatter hoping voters will mistake that for an actual strong response to China. Coming to a political theater near you.