This morning, the House voted, 268-161, for Barbara Lee's resolution to repeal the hated AUMF-- the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. Every Democrat but military-industrial complex warmonger Elaine Luria (New Dem-VA) voted for repeal. Even 49 Republicans disobeyed McCarthy and crossed the aisle to vote with the Democrats to repeal.
In fact, many of the Republicans who voted for repeal are far right extremists like Marjorie Taylor Greene (Q-GA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Mad Cawthorn (Nazi-NC), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Matt Gaetz (Predator-FL), Mary Miller (Q-IL), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Gym Jordan (R-OH), Michael Cloud (R-TX) and Lauren Boebert (Q-CO). 38 more Republicans voted for repeal today than last time it was voted on. Liz Cheney, of course, voted against repealing it but these MAGA-America First loons are part of this isolationism that sometimes sounds almost reasonable.
Bryan Osorio, mayor of Delano, and the progressive Democrat working to replace David Valadao in Congress noticed that Valadao wasn't one of the 49 Republicans to vote for repeal. "Once again, we see how Rep. Valadao’s claimed bipartisanship," he told me right after the vote, "is only a misleading campaign talking point and not an actual tool he uses in Congress. This morning, the House of Representatives passed a repeal of the 2002 Iraq AUMF used to justify the decades-long military intervention in Iraq without congressional approval. The constitution is clear: decisions on military intervention should be made by Congress. This should not be a partisan issue, which is why we saw 49 Republican votes in the affirmative, from dangerous Q-Anon Republicans like Rep. Matt Gaetz to the progressive sponsor Rep. Barbara Lee. They all agree that giving a president a blank check for military action is wrong and unconstitutional. Given his claimed bipartisanship, Rep. Valadao (CA-21) should have voted with the other 49 Republicans who crossed party lines, but he didn't. He has once again shown how he is not the bipartisan Republican he falsely promotes himself to be, but just another Republican who prioritizes his party over the American people. Given his vote on the AUMF, it is clear that if he were in Congress in 2002, he would have voted the party line and supported the endless war started by the administration of President Bush. A war that has hurt military and veteran families. We can not have him in Congress."
The House had also voted to repeal the AUMF last cycle, but McConnell didn't allow a vote in the Senate. He can't do that this time-- although no one doubts he will attempt to kill the repeal with the filibuster. Earlier in the week, a White House statement made it clear Biden will sign the repeal if it passes the Senate. "In working with the Congress on repealing and replacing other existing authorizations of military force, the administration seeks to ensure that the Congress has a clear and thorough understanding of the effect of any such action and of the threats facing U.S. forces, personnel and interests around the world. As the administration works with the Congress to reform AUMFs, it will be critical to maintain the clear authority to address threats to the United States’ national interests with appropriately decisive and effective military action."
A poll released today by Data For Progress found that likely voters blame Republicans for the failure to reach bipartisan agreements. The pollsters were asking specifically about new investments but voters are savvy enough to know who's blocking everything. Morgan Sperry and Ethan Winter from Data for Progress wrote that "We find that by an 8-point margin, likely voters blame Republicans in Congress over President Biden for the current gridlock. Democrats and Independents assign blame to Republicans in Congress, rather than President Biden, by margins of 69-points and 10-points, respectively."
