Did the war against Japan hurt the Republicans ?
He took the lead among Republicans in condemning President Harry S Truman 's handling of the Korean War and questioning the constitutionality of the war itself , saying : " My conclusion , therefore , is that in the case of Korea , where a war was already under way , we had no right to send troops to a nation , with whom we had no treaty , to defend it against attack by another nation , no matter how unprincipled that aggression might be , unless the whole matter was submitted to Congress and a declaration of war or some other direct authority obtained .