In the wee hours of Saturday morning, President Trump launched Operation Epic Fury against military and political targets in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the members of the Long Island House delegation have all lined up to support the president.
“The demise of Ayatollah Khamenei enhances American and global security and delivers justice for the victims of Iran’s terrorism across the region, and for the Iranian people who have suffered at the hands of this brutal regime,” said Democrat Rep. Laura Gillen, who represents NY-04, the safest of the two seats held by her party.
Gillen’s embrace of Epic Fury confirms that Trump is on a streak after his successful State of the Union address—and the difficulty Democrats have criticizing an attack on a regime virtually all Americans have despised since it took power in 1979.
Democrat Rep. Thomas Suozzi, who represents NY-03, took an age-old tack: If you cannot win on the facts, criticize the process. “I agree with the President’s objectives that Iran can never be allowed to obtain nuclear capabilities,” Suozzi said. “The President must now clearly define the national security objective and articulate his plan to avoid another costly, prolonged war in the Middle East.”
Across the Long Island Sound, Democrat Rep. Rosa DeLauro spelled out the preferred response from her party’s progressive wing. “President Trump’s decision, along with Israel, to launch direct military action against Iran to achieve regime change is a disaster in the making,” she said. “He is risking the lives of American personnel and the stability of the entire region, without Congressional approval and without any articulated plan.”
New York Democrat and Senate Minority Leader Sen. Charles E. Schumer recognized the difficult situation: Trump did the right thing, but Democrats hate Trump. “When I talked to Secretary Rubio, I implored him to be straight with Congress and the American people about the objectives of these strikes and what comes next,” Schumer said. “Iran must never be allowed to attain a nuclear weapon, but the American people do not want another endless and costly war in the Middle East when there are so many problems at home.”
Schumer’s wind-up to his “but” could be heard all the way down the street, like galloping hooves on cobblestones. Like Suozzi, Schumer played the process card.
“The administration has not provided Congress and the American people with critical details about the scope and immediacy of the threat,” he said.
Then, Schumer made a huge mistake by criticizing the president personally: “President Trump’s fitful cycles of lashing out and risking wider conflict are not a viable strategy.”
Of all people, Schumer should know by now that people support Trump because they agree with him, not because they like him. Think about the worst possible thing someone could say about Trump, then ask yourself: “OK, now that someone has insulted Trump, do I want to open the border? Send our factories to China? Bring back federal funding to NPR?”
This is Trump’s secret sauce. The reason why the White House had to reboot immigration law enforcement in Minneapolis was that Democrats were gaining traction on actual issues.
House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a Democratic Long Islander representing Brooklyn and parts of Queens—usually a pretty aggressive critic of the president—also executed the sand dance. “Iran is a bad actor and must be aggressively confronted for its human rights violations, nuclear ambitions, support of terrorism, and the threat it poses to our allies like Israel and Jordan in the region,” Jeffries said.
Then came a “however” that rang like a thunderclap. “However, absent exigent circumstances, the Trump administration must seek authorization for the preemptive use of military force that constitutes an act of war,” he said.
Process! Process! Process! “Donald Trump failed to seek Congressional authorization prior to striking Iran. Instead, the President’s decision to abandon diplomacy and launch a massive military attack has left American troops vulnerable to Iran’s retaliatory actions,” Jeffries said. That last bit seemed to also suggest that if Iran hit U.S. forces, it would be Trump’s fault—not Iran’s.
Epic Fury is modeled after Operation Rough Rider, which was executed against the Houthis from March through May, which means we have another month or so to go.
Right now, our local Democrats in Congress are holding back. Let’s hope things go well enough that it stays that way.