A War Powers Act House Democrats want to hamstring Trump, not the Iranians.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-war-powers-act-11578615012?mod=opinion_lead_pos2
Fans of the movie “Animal House” will recall the scene when the brothers of Delta House declare that it’s time for a “really futile and stupid gesture.” House Democrats chose to do something similar with their vote Thursday to block President Trump from using military force against Iran.
“Last week, the Trump Administration conducted a provocative and disproportionate military airstrike targeting high-level Iranian military officials,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday in announcing the floor vote. “Today, to honor our duty to keep the American people safe, the House will move forward with a War Powers Resolution to limit the President’s military actions regarding Iran.”
The five-page resolution declares that Mr. Trump must first get the permission of Congress if he wants to take up arms against Iran. But get this: The resolution is nonbinding, which means it won’t even go to the President’s desk. “This is a statement of the Congress of the United States. I will not have that statement be diminished by whether the President will veto it or not,” Mrs. Pelosi explained.
Mrs. Pelosi prefers to diminish the House statement by making it irrelevant by her own design. Democrats don’t even have the courage to vote on a binding resolution under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which says Congress must authorize the use of force within 60 days after hostilities begin. Democrats want to go on record against war with Iran as long as their vote doesn’t mean anything. They’re conscientious objectors to their own conscientious objections.
Mrs. Pelosi’s political goal may be to mollify her left flank, but what a message this sends to the country and the world. Mr. Trump used military force, precisely targeted with no collateral damage, to kill an Iranian terror master who was responsible for the deaths and maiming of hundreds of Americans. Iran then fired missiles at Americans at bases in Iraq. Yet the response from the Speaker of the American House, the third person in line to the Presidency, is to hold a vote saying Congress should hamstring the President’s ability to respond to the next attack on Americans.
The vote Thursday evening was 224-194, with eight Democrats voting against it and three Republicans in favor. We hope the other Democrats elected from swing districts in 2018 appreciate how their opponents are likely to use this vote in the coming election campaign. The Middle East isn’t Faber College.
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