The Democrats’ Epic Fury Over Iran Strikes
It was hardly necessary to consult Nostradamus to predict that the Democrats, who profess to abhor oppressive authoritarian theocracies, would denounce President Trump’s decision to topple the government of Iran — the very definition of such a regime. Nor was it a surprise that they downplay or simply ignore the obvious elation with which the Iranians themselves greeted the long overdue demise of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It is striking, however, that the Democrats fail to see that their reflexive attacks on Trump for taking action against such a dangerous regime and indifference to the response of the Iranian people reinforces the public perception that their party is weak and out of touch.
The last two Democrat Presidents have already damaged their party’s credibility where Iran is concerned by coddling the Khamenei regime with financial, diplomatic, and political concessions. Nonetheless a key architect of the Obama administration’s disastrous 2015 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), Ben Rhodes, had the unmitigated audacity to post the following on social media: “Trump lied about being against forever wars, he broke the most basic promise he made to his own supporters.” Rhodes’ comments were not well received. Former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard A. Grenell responded, “You were part of the team who gave billions of dollars to the Iranian Regime … Once again, President Trump is cleaning up your mess.”
In the end, both history as well as precedent suggest that President Trump adhered to the War Powers Act when he ordered the Iran operation.
Meanwhile, the Democrats are again claiming that the President has violated the Constitution. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), for example, called Trump’s actions “illegal and unconstitutional.” This is nonsense, of course, as the only sane Democrat Senator pointed out to Dana Bash on CNN Sunday morning. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) “Have people ever read the War Powers Act? You know, what’s required of the president is to provide 48 hours of notification, and then he or she has 60 days, up to 90 days, to withdraw those troops, you know, before Congress approves that.” Legal scholar Jonathan Turley contributes historical context to Sen. Fetterman’s point:
Past presidents, including Democratic presidents such as Barack Obama and Joe Biden, have asserted the unilateral power to attack other nations when they believe that combat is warranted by national security. The War Powers Act was the response of Congress to try to curtail such unilateral authority. Overriding the veto of President Richard Nixon, Congress mandated that presidents must consult with them and cease all combat operations within 60 days if Congress has not approved the use of force. Presidents, and some academics, have long argued that the WPA is unconstitutional.
Nonetheless, the Democrats have continued to issue irresponsible statements. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) claimed, “Donald Trump chose to put American lives and national security at risk while threatening to draw us into yet another expensive, taxpayer-funded forever war without Constitutionally-required authorization, a defined end-state or a real plan to prevent the instability that could come next.” Likewise, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) felt compelled to parade his pervasive ignorance on BlueSky: “Donald Trump is once again sidestepping the Constitution and once again failing to explain why he’s taking us into another war. Americans asked for affordable housing and health care, not another potentially endless conflict.”
Inevitably, we heard from New York City’s socialist Mayor, Zohran Mamdani. Despite his widely-publicized inability to assure that the trash will be collected in the Big Apple, he is evidently a foreign policy expert: “Today’s military strikes on Iran – carried out by the United States and Israel – mark a catastrophic escalation in an illegal war of aggression. Bombing cities. Killing civilians. Opening a new theater of war. Americans do not want this. They do not want another war in pursuit of regime change. They want relief from the affordability crisis. They want peace.” And no Trump-ordered operation would be complete without a denunciation from that widely-respected foreign policy authority, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.):
This war is unlawful. It is unnecessary And it will be catastrophic … We learned this lesson in Iraq. We learned this lesson in Afghanistan. And we are about to learn it again in Iran. Bombs have yet to create enduring democracies in the region and this will be no different. In moments of war, our Constitution is unambiguous: Congress authorizes war. The President does not. I will do my part to uphold our Constitution by voting YES on Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie’s War Powers Resolution. Every member of Congress must join us in rejecting this aimless war.
You will note that AOC plans to vote with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) who has made it his mission in life to be a thorn in Trump’s side on virtually every issue, and insists he will work to ensure a Congressional vote on further conflict in Iran. He posted the following on social media: “I am opposed to this War … When Congress reconvenes, I will work with @RepRoKhanna to force a Congressional vote on war with Iran. The Constitution requires a vote, and your Representative needs to be on record as opposing or supporting this war.” They will be joined in opposing President Trump’s Iran operation by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), an interesting ménage à trois that corroborates the venerable proverb that “politics makes strange bedfellows.”
In the end, both history as well as precedent suggest that President Trump adhered to the War Powers Act when he ordered the Iran operation. But the Democrats, and the odd Republican publicity hound, have little interest in the law and less in the Iranian people. The former have their eyes on the midterm prize, and the latter are focused on the headlines. They don’t object to regime change in Iran based on genuine principles. It’s about money and power.
READ MORE from David Catron:
Who Cares If Democrats Boycott Trump’s SOTU?