The House of Representatives, led by Speaker John Boehner, slapped President Obama in the face symbolically on Thursday by refusing to back the President’s intervention in Libya. Interesting, since we did not see the Republican House of Representatives refuse to back George W. Bush constantly in his interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But then when one realizes that the Republican House failed to back Bill Clinton in his intervention in Kosovo in 1999, for the same reason to prevent a total massacre of civilians, one understands this is all about politics.
But it also divides the party nationally, as John McCain and Lindsey Graham see it as a sign of isolationism in the party, in their mind a dangerous trend.
Also, the House acted as a “paper tiger” when they went ahead and refused to cut funding for the war effort against Moammar Gaddafi, but then again, NEVER has the House refused to support a President’s intervention in financial terms.
So it comes down to the reality that the War Powers Act is an ineffective way to deal with foreign policy, and the President of the United States, whoever he is, remains the Commander in Chief, with final control over decisions on committing troops overseas!