The Senate Nearly Ended The War In Yemen... But 10 Democrats Decided To Stick With Trump

Tuesday evening 5 Republicans joined the Democrats to end the US role in Yemen-- so it could have passed-- but 10 Democrats crossed the aisle in the other direction and killed Bernie's joint resolution, 55-44. These were the Republicans who voted to end the war:

• Susan Collins (ME)
• Steve Daines (MT)
• Mike Lee (UT)
• Jerry Moran (KS)
• Rand Paul (KY)

And these were the Democrats who voted with Trump to keep the resolution locked up in committee:

• Chris Coons (DE)
• Catherine Cortez Masto (NV)
• Joe Donnelly (IN)
• Heidi Heitkamp (ND)
• Doug Jones (AL)
• Joe Manchin (WV)
• Robert Menendez (NJ)
• Bill Nelson (FL)
• Jack Reed (RI)
• Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)

At least every senator was forced to take an on-the-record vote so that their constituents will know, beyond the bullshit, where they stand on this catastrophic war. The Washington Post noted that the vote came just as Trump was feting the Saudi dictator, architect of the devastation in Yemen.

Jared Golden joined the Marine Corps in response to 9/11 and combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now he's running for Congress in the sprawling Maine district (ME-02) where he was born and raised. "Senator Sanders," he told us this morning, "is right: Congress doesn’t take its responsibility to authorize war seriously, and members of Congress fail the country and our service members when they don’t do their duty and take responsibility for putting troops into combat or getting our country involved in conflicts like Yemen, and so many others. As a congressman I will demand that my colleagues show just a modicum of the courage that our service members have and take the vote to authorize war, instead of looking the other way and leaving it to the President and the Pentagon."

Levi Tillemann is the progressive Democrat running in the suburban Denver congressional district seat (CO-06) held by conservative Republican Mike Coffman, a GOPer who tends to make a lot of noise and then go along with Trump and Ryan on everything anyway. We reached Levi on the campaign trail and he didn't seem any happier about the Senate Yemen vote than Jared Golden.

"A few nights ago Bernie Sanders spoke on the floor of the Senate about the continued unconstitutional presence of U.S. forces in Yemen. Our military is currently involved in supporting the war efforts of the Saudi government. Sen. Sanders stated that both chambers of Congress over the past 2 decades have abrogated their constitutional role to declare war and have yielded that authority to a string of presidential administrations. That's dangerous and unconstitutional. The people's representatives in the House and Senate must reassert their authority over American military intervention in Yemen (and elsewhere). Unless and until Congress reasserts this sacred authority, I'll oppose further U.S. military involvement overseas. I oppose the human toll borne by enlisted men and women and the financial toll borne by our citizens. Here at home, combat veterans aren’t getting the medical care they need when they return home. And as Sen. Sanders said during the his 2016 presidential campaign, 'a nation that cannot afford to care for its veterans when they return home... cannot afford to send them to war.' Senate Democrats had the opportunity to stand up and vote against the continuing U.S. military involvement in Yemen and to reassert Congress’ authority to declare war. I am disappointed that many of my fellow Democrats sided with the administration and the Saudi government by not supporting Sen. Sanders’ joint resolution."