Dennis Kucinich Republicans?
June 7th, 2011
Dennis Kucinich and Michelle Bachmann agree on something?
Ever since he was sent to Congress, Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), has made his mark as a hard-left legislator who would frequently call for more government intervention in the economy and impeachment trials for George W Bush. One position that tends to be lost in his rants, however, is his rigid anti-war stance, which has now begun to attract, of all people, conservative Republicans.
Last week, Mr. Kucinich presented a bill before Congress calling for an end to American involvement in Libya within 15 days of passage. This bill, criticized as “drastic” by the Washington Post, was one of the sharpest rebukes of President Obama’s foreign policy so far this Congress…and it came from a member of his own party! In fact, the bill seemed destined for passage, owing to a coalition of anti-interventionist congressmen from both sides of the aisle, until House Speaker John Boehner pulled the bill from the floor. The bill would not be reintroduced and discussed until Boehner put out his own rebuke of the President, which merely called for President Obama to prove he consulted Congress before authorizing the no-fly zone over Libya, and how his actions were not in violation of the War Powers Act. The Boehner proposal passed 268-145, while the Kucinich proposal failed 148-265 due to Republicans siding with the Speaker instead.
Where this story gets interesting is that Kucinich’s bill still picked up 87 Republicans, many of whom considered to be the most conservative members of the body, including Ron Paul of Texas and….interestingly enough…Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota, who sided with both proposals. Figure that? A left-wing stalwart teamed up with some of the most right-wing stalwarts in the House, and not the usual suspects either. This marks an interesting dynamic within the Republican Party, where nearly one-third of the caucus votes against military intervention, despite the dominance of neo-conservatism during the Bush administration. Had it not been for high-handed activity by Speaker Boehner, this supposedly radical bill would’ve been passed.
More politicians are waking up to the excesses of the executive, and are now putting the Constitution ahead of party allegiance. It’s a long road to freedom, but the Kucinich-Paul-Bachmann alliance on this one issue could be that big first step.
