This is not a quote about the current war on Iran, except in hindsight/foresight. I want to quote California's own former Congresswoman Barbara Lee, now Mayor of Oakland. She might be my favorite politician. She was the only member of Congress with the courage to vote against the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists which gave W Bush sweeping powers to use the US military against the vague foe, "terrorism."
The quote I refer to I found in a press release on Ilhan Omar's page. It was made in 2020 after Trump 45's assassination of Qasem Soleimani:
"For far too long, Congress has been missing in action on matters of war and peace," said Rep. Lee. "Make no mistake: the assassination of Qasem Soleimani places us on the brink of war with Iran. Trump's reckless military actions, without Congressional approval or authorization, have caused this crisis. We have been down this dangerous path before in Iraq, and we cannot afford another ill-advised, destructive, and costly war in the Middle East. It's past time for Congress to reassert our Constitutional authority and return to diplomacy with Iran and our allies."
I love Barbara Lee, my parents’ long-time Congresswoman. The contrast between 2020 and 2026 is stark, because six years ago there were more “mainstream” Republicans criticizing Trump. Now we’ve got Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Megyn Kelly, and — most bizarrely of all — Erik Prince as the GOP doves. This will be a test of their influence, and their resolve. (I put “mainstream” in scare-quotes there, because I really have no idea how to define the GOP’s mainstream now.)
This is not a quote about the current war on Iran, except in hindsight/foresight. I want to quote California's own former Congresswoman Barbara Lee, now Mayor of Oakland. She might be my favorite politician. She was the only member of Congress with the courage to vote against the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists which gave W Bush sweeping powers to use the US military against the vague foe, "terrorism."
The quote I refer to I found in a press release on Ilhan Omar's page. It was made in 2020 after Trump 45's assassination of Qasem Soleimani:
"For far too long, Congress has been missing in action on matters of war and peace," said Rep. Lee. "Make no mistake: the assassination of Qasem Soleimani places us on the brink of war with Iran. Trump's reckless military actions, without Congressional approval or authorization, have caused this crisis. We have been down this dangerous path before in Iraq, and we cannot afford another ill-advised, destructive, and costly war in the Middle East. It's past time for Congress to reassert our Constitutional authority and return to diplomacy with Iran and our allies."
I love Barbara Lee, my parents’ long-time Congresswoman. The contrast between 2020 and 2026 is stark, because six years ago there were more “mainstream” Republicans criticizing Trump. Now we’ve got Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Megyn Kelly, and — most bizarrely of all — Erik Prince as the GOP doves. This will be a test of their influence, and their resolve. (I put “mainstream” in scare-quotes there, because I really have no idea how to define the GOP’s mainstream now.)