◼ Carney: Democrats flout Constitution, go on the warpath - Timothy P. Carney/Washington Examiner tpcarney
...Obama's 2011 military intervention in Libya was an applause line for John Kerry, who said Obama's Tomahawk strikes and bombing attacks -- none of which were authorized by Congress -- "made America lead like America again."
The Democrats' embrace of presidential war powers manifested itself in changes to the party platform.
Four years ago, Obama ran on a platform declaring, "We support constitutional protections and judicial oversight on any surveillance program involving Americans." That platform added, "We reject illegal wire-tapping of American citizens."
To borrow Biden's phrasing, those platform planks are dead, and illegal wire-tapping of Americans is alive....
When Democrats waved their flags in Charlotte and accused Republicans of insufficiently loving America, the subject was mostly bailouts and subsidies for domestic industry.
But there's a link: The roots of Obamanomics are nationalism and deep trust in the power of government. From those roots can spring hawkish jingoism. Biden made the point with his crowd-pleasing mantra: "Osama bin Laden is dead, and General Motors is alive."
Turns out the anti-war movement is dead, and the Patriot Act is alive.
