House Republicans have made much of their devotion to the Constitution, and on Friday they showed how wise the Founders really were. The House debate on Libya was a fiasco of evasion and posturing that vindicated the Founders for not trusting Congress with the power to run a war.

The most remarkable spectacle was the emergence of the Kucinich Republicans, who voted for Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich's resolution that would stop U.S. military action in Libya within 15 days. At least Mr. Kucinich is consistent in opposing U.S. force against dictators and other enemies no matter who sits in the Oval Office.

But what is the explanation for the 87 Republicans, including the likes of Indiana's Dan Burton and Wisconsin's Jim Sensenbrenner, who transform themselves into isolationists when a Democrat takes over the White House? Michele Bachmann, the Minnesota tea party favorite, also voted for the Kucinich retreat, which means she will start her campaign to become Commander in Chief by running to the left of President Obama and Nancy Pelosi. Teddy Roosevelt or Ronald Reagan, Mrs. Bachmann is not.

The Kucinich resolution failed, 265-148, but only after Speaker John Boehner offered his own alternative resolution that demanded no deployment of ground troops and rebuked Mr. Obama for failing to provide "a compelling rationale" for the Libyan conflict and giving him 14 days to provide one—or, well, nothing. Mr. Boehner's resolution passed 268-145, but it is little better than Mr. Kucinich's as a demonstration of House commitment to U.S. forces in the field.

As a spokesman for Secretary of Defense Robert Gates put it during the Libya debate, the vote "sends an unhelpful message of disunity and uncertainty to our troops, our allies and, most importantly, the Gadhafi regime." The esteemed Members want to vote against the war, without actually taking responsibility for stopping it.