California Democratic politicians have predictably condemned President Donald J. Trump for ousting Venezuelan Communist strongman Nicolas Maduro, though they struggled to criticize the attack beyond toothless procedural complaints.
In a statement, Governor Gavin Newsom stated, “Maduro is a thug and a criminal. But Donald Trump proposing to ‘run’ Venezuela without a coherent long-term plan beyond an oil grab is dangerous for America.” Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made similarly qualified comments, labeling the Maduro regime as “illegitimate,” but criticizing Trump for not seeking war authorization powers from Congress.
Similar to their after-the-fact criticism of the Iraq War in 2004, few Democrats have come out and flatly opposed the attack, choosing instead to quibble with how it was carried out. The difference, of course, is that the Iraq War resulted in a protracted occupation of the country, while Trump’s actions in Venezuela have been relatively bloodless so far. Pelosi has been unconcerned with Congressional war approval under Democratic administrations, now feigning concern when it can be used against Trump.
The Democratic base in San Francisco, meanwhile, was less delicate in their opposition to the conflict. Protesters in the city recycled well-worn tropes about neo-colonialism and international law, with some openly defending Maduro’s trainwreck of a regime. One speaker praised Maduro by saying, “[…] he’s a fighter only he has a much greater role of standing up for his people, standing up for Latin America, standing up for us.” Deluded, to be sure, but much less equivocal than the current approved Democratic talking points.
Some Congressional Democrats were privately critical of their party’s response to the conflict, with one swing-district congressman commenting that “everything Trump touches must be bad according to the base.” The bottom line, though, is that complaining about Congressional authorization isn’t exactly likely to excite anti-war sentiment. If you’re going to oppose a war, go all in. But much like the previous strikes on Iran, don’t be surprised when this doesn’t result in Iraq Part 2.
