Page 23 - Wayne Morse News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

When the war drums beat in washington, again and again, people do say no. sometimes they're all alone when they say it. sometimes it is wayne morse and senator greening from alaska acting alone in 1964. sometimes it's barbara lee, alone in 2001. congresswoman barbara lee from california was the one vote in either house of congress in 2001 two voted against what turned into our 13-year-long war in afghanistan that we are still in now. in the first iraq war, the gulf war of 1991, we look back on now and think of as an easy call, right? one of the good wars. it was super clear what was going to h...

They got the chance to say no. but it also becomes a totally unpredictable next chapter. not for congress, but for the presidency. if congress says no, and right now it looks like congress is going to say no, will those military strikes happen anyway? president obama and secretary of state john kerry keep asserting over and over again that they believe they have the right to go on their own even if congress says no. are they right? what would that mean? and how uncharted are those waters for us as a country? joining us, nbc news presidential historian, michael beschloss. >> my pleasure, rachel...

Proves that you're wrong. in fact, history is going to record that senator greening and i voted in the interest of the american people this morning when we voted against this resolution. and i've held the remark, and people remember what this resolution really is. it's a resolution which seeks to give the president of the united states the power to make war without a declaration of war. >> oregon senator wayne morse. he was right about that. that was, that vote, right, was 88-2 and he was one of the 2. that vote was the closest that congress ever got to a declaration of war in the vietnam war ...

Are still there now. senator boxer, senator durbin, leahy, levin, mikulski, debbie stabenow, and the man who holds the seat of wayne morse's seat. ron wyden. he voted no on the iraq war. congress usually votes overall to authorize force when they get around to considering it, but people vote no. voting no is a thing that happens. even against the strongest possible prevailing winds. and right now in washington, there are not the strongest prevailing winds in favor of the u.s. military intervening in syr syria. quite the contrary. lots of different places are doing sort of informal whip counts ...

And that will be added to the fascinating and pretty poorly remembered history of members of congress saying no to war when they got the chance to say no. but it also becomes a totally unpredictable next chapter. not for congress, but for the presidency. if congress says no, and right now it looks like congress is going to say no, will those military strikes happen anyway? president obama and secretary of state john kerry keep asserting over and over again that they believe they have the right to go on their own even if congress says no. are they right? what would that mean? and how uncharted ...