Constitutionally, only Congress can declare war. Congress has given up that power, and continues to affirm that they have given up their war powers.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday rejected a Democratic proposal to require congressional approval before the US can take military action against Iran.
Machiavelli has a dictum, “Good laws cannot save bad people; and good people can make bad laws work.”
The US constitution, despite American worship, is a flawed document. But it’s not its flaws that matter, because where it has virtues, such as putting war-powers in the hands of Congress and not the Presidency, Congress has refused to embrace it.
Likewise, as Pelosi twists in the wind, and is taunted by Barr when he refuses Congress’s subpoenas, there is a Congressional remedy: The Sergeant-at-Arms can arrest Barr. It would be constitutionally valid to do so. (And Congress runs DC, and DC has plenty of jails, so yes, there is somewhere to put him.)
The issue is that Congress members and leadership don’t want to use their power. They want an Imperial President. They want war, without the responsibility for it.
The Founders assumed that Congress members would want power and would protect their powers–they didn’t anticipate this debilitating weakness, this cowardice, on the part of Congress.
Bad people can’t even make good laws work.
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