Remember when President Barack Obama put troops in Syria without Congressional approval? Remember when he droned a U.S. citizen and his family without Congressional approval?

Silence from the left. But now that President Donald Trump ordered an attack that killed Iran’s Qassem Soleimani, the architect behind the regime’s war on America and Israel, Democrats now care about the Constitution.

2020 Democratic Presidential Hopefuls

Michael Bloomberg

Statement on the killing of Qassem Soleimani. pic.twitter.com/NIiDJSOjZy — Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) January 3, 2020

Joe Biden

My statement on the killing of Qassem Soleimani. pic.twitter.com/4Q9tlLAYFB — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 3, 2020

Elizabeth Warren

Soleimani was a murderer, responsible for the deaths of thousands, including hundreds of Americans. But this reckless move escalates the situation with Iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and new Middle East conflict. Our priority must be to avoid another costly war. — Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) January 3, 2020

Bernie Sanders

When I voted against the war in Iraq in 2002, I feared it would lead to greater destabilization of the region. That fear unfortunately turned out to be true. The U.S. has lost approximately 4,500 brave troops, tens of thousands have been wounded, and we’ve spent trillions. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) January 3, 2020

Trump’s dangerous escalation brings us closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East that could cost countless lives and trillions more dollars. Trump promised to end endless wars, but this action puts us on the path to another one. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) January 3, 2020

Democrats in Congress

Now Sen. Murphy gives a damn about Congressional approval:

Soleimani was an enemy of the United States. That’s not a question. The question is this – as reports suggest, did America just assassinate, without any congressional authorization, the second most powerful person in Iran, knowingly setting off a potential massive regional war? — Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 3, 2020

The justification for the assasination is to “deter future Iranian attacks”. One reason we don’t generally assasinate foreign political officials is the belief that such action will get more, not less, Americans killed. That should be our real, pressing and grave worry tonight. — Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) January 3, 2020

Rep. Ilhan Omar is another that all of a sudden cares:

So what if Trump wants war, knows this leads to war and needs the distraction? Real question is, will those with congressional authority step in and stop him? I know I will. https://t.co/Fj9TMossEW — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 3, 2020

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi:

American leaders’ highest priority is to protect American lives and interests. But we cannot put the lives of American servicemembers, diplomats and others further at risk by engaging in provocative and disproportionate actions. https://t.co/o0R8YVJMNW — Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 3, 2020

The Trump Admin has conducted strikes in Iraq targeting high-level Iranian military officials and killing Iranian Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani without an AUMF against Iran. Further, this action was taken without the consultation of the Congress. — Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 3, 2020

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney

Soleimani is responsible for the loss of countless innocents. His death shouldn’t be mourned – but to order his killing is a dangerous gamble in Trump’s escalatory cycle w/ Iran. I’ll be seeking a classified briefing on Trump’s rationale & plan for the inevitable repercussions. https://t.co/jZQDlX1ORu — Sean Patrick Maloney (@RepSeanMaloney) January 3, 2020

Sen. Brian Schatz

The neocons are back on television with their magical thinking, their moral hectoring and their amnesia about Iraq. They could very well get us into another, even more catastrophic war. — Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) January 3, 2020

Sen. Tom Udall

President Trump is bringing our nation to the brink of an illegal war with Iran with no congressional approval. Passing our bipartisan amendment to prevent unconstitutional war with Iran is urgent. Congress needs to step in immediately. https://t.co/tBFRwQMp51 — Tom Udall (@SenatorTomUdall) January 3, 2020

Da Nang Dick Blumenthal

Trump Admin owes a full explanation of airstrike reports—all the facts—to Congress&the American people. The present authorizations for use of military force in no way cover starting a possible new war. This step could bring the most consequential military confrontation in decades — Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) January 3, 2020

The Left

Ben Rhodes, one of Obama’s national security guys, continues to prove he has no self-awareness. The man who helped pay off Iran with that dreadful nuclear deal whined about Soleimani’s death:

Congress has to assert itself and determine exactly what our Iran policy is. Did we mean to do this? Do we have any plan for what comes next? What is the legal basis for all this? — Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) January 3, 2020

There are real world consequences to having Trump as President. They are becoming increasingly clear and he is the one who is going to have to navigate incredibly complicated and dangerous messes of his own creation. This is not reality TV. — Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) January 3, 2020

Trump may have just started a war with no congressional debate. I really hope the worst case scenario doesn’t happen but everything about this situation suggests serious escalation to come. — Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) January 3, 2020

Vox’s Ezra Klein knows Solemaini was a bad guy, but ORANGE MAN BAD:

The question isn’t whether Solemaini was a bad guy. The questions are: 1. What are the likely consequences of his assassination? 2. Do you trust the Trump administration to have planned for those consequences and to manage what comes next? — Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) January 3, 2020



Let’s not forget the moral compass of Hollywood:

Dear #Iran, The USA has disrespected your country, your flag, your people. 52% of us humbly apologize. We want peace with your nation. We are being held hostage by a terrorist regime. We do not know how to escape. Please do not kill us. #Soleimani pic.twitter.com/YE54CqGCdr — rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) January 3, 2020

Trump in full fascist 101 mode-,steal and lie – untill there’s nothing left and start a war –

He’s so idiotic he doesn’t know he just attacked Iran

And that’s not like anywhere else — John Cusack (@johncusack) January 3, 2020

The Washington Post mourned:

Breaking news: Airstrike at Baghdad airport kills Iran’s most revered military leader, Qasem Soleimani, Iraqi state television reports https://t.co/NbZW4DaWvD — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 3, 2020

The hypocrisy is maddening. However, I wonder how many Republicans who did rightfully complain about Obama’s actions on Syria and droning will brush aside Trump’s actions.

[Featured image via YouTube]



