Analyst: US Congress sees Russian attack as an opportunity

The US Congress, like much of America, loves “a good war” - and Russia is their favorite bogeyman, according to American political analyst and activist Myles Hoenig.

Hoenig, a former Green Party candidate for Congress, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Thursday after a group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers told US President Joe Biden that he must seek authorization from Congress before sending in troops or launching military attacks.

In a letter to Biden on Tuesday, the group of 43 lawmakers acknowledged that the US president previously said he would not send troops into Ukraine but noted the decision could change following the escalation of tensions between the US and Russia.

"If the ongoing situation compels you to introduce the brave men and women of our military into Ukraine, their lives would inherently be put at risk of Russia chooses to invade," the letter reads. "Therefore, we ask that your decisions comport with the Constitution and our nation's laws by consulting with Congress to receive authorization before any such development."

Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), among others, signed the letter which was shared by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) on Twitter.

US lawmakers: Biden must ask Congress before sending troops to Ukraine

A group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers told Biden that he must seek authorization from Congress before sending in troops or launching military attacks.

“A letter to Congress asking to deploy troops in a war situation is not the same as agreeing to send them. However, Congress, like much of America, loves a good war and who better than to take on the Russians. It is required by the US Constitution and federal law for such approval and as is usually the case, it’s what’s needed for a green light to engage militarily,” said Hoenig.

“Congress has never stopped a war from happening; it has restricted funding continuing wars but never prevented one. The War Powers Resolution has been abused by every president since its inception in 1973, when the Vietnam War was winding down. It has been rarely enforced and Biden might relent just so he can show bi-partisan approval of his belligerence,” he added.

“The situation today is a reverse of the Cuban Missile Crisis, with the US being the aggressor. Ukraine is a red line for Russia and with the US pushing for its membership in NATO, it is crossing it. Nowhere in mainstream media is an analogy being made that if the Warsaw Pact had troops in Mexico or Canada the US would react. This would seem to be common sense but the media relies on revenues from advertisers, who are from the arms industry themselves. Further, the media would lose access to their State and Pentagon contacts, which means they’d actually have to do some investigating, rather than serve as their stenographers,” he stated.

“Some of those lawmakers sending the letter appear to be progressive, as others are on the fringes of the far right. Each has a political, likely electoral, motive to have Congress involved. Former President Trump has intervened and thrown his support behind Putin, without giving any reason whatsoever. If his minions in Congress go along, it would be very interesting to see how Congress would vote on such a resolution or legislation for sending in the military. Will ‘support our troops’ mean our country right or wrong, or no more sacrifices for others’ conflicts?” the analyst said.  

‘Democrats likely to suffer catastrophic losses in November’

Elsewhere in his remarks, Myles said Democrats are likely to suffer catastrophic losses in the midterms in November but things can change with the COVID crisis fading out and a US-Russia war looming.

Hoenig was commenting on a statement by former New York City Mayor and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg who predicted a gloomy election for the Democrats in November.

Bloomberg wrote in an op-ed on Tuesday in Bloomberg News that he was "deeply concerned" the Democratic Party was "headed for a wipeout in November."

He cited the recent loss of three school board members in San Francisco as proof of losing popularity.

"The political earthquake that just occurred in San Francisco should be a dire warning to the national Democratic Party," he wrote.

"Coming from America’s most liberal city, those results should translate into a 7 to 8 on the Richter scale, because the three main factors that drove the recall are not unique to the Bay Area," Bloomberg argued.

Bloomberg says Democrats are headed for 'wipeout' in November

Former New York City mayor Micahel Bloomberg says Democrats are headed for a "wipeout" in November.

“Historically speaking, the party in power in the White House loses big in the midterms,” Hoenig commented.

“There really isn’t anything on the horizon that would change coming up in 2022. How cataclysmic it will be is a guessing game right now. But the more there is talk of catastrophic losses, usually that prevails,” he added.

“What the Democrats need to stem this expected tide is to actually deliver on what it promised in the campaigns. Student debt relief, better control of COVID, a more professional White House, etc. There needs to be a sea change of attitude regarding whether the Democrats can govern or not. Even when out of power, it is often the Republicans that set the agenda and the Democrats either play defense or willingly go along,” he stated.

“Things can change, however. By the Fall of 2022 COVID could be a thing of the past. Or not. Americans love a good war. Maybe the Russian involvement in Eastern Ukraine will escalate or US aggression in expanding NATO will become more obvious. This usually helps the party in office. Empty grocery shelves might return to the days of dozens of brands of toothpaste, available cat food, and prices coming down due to available supplies. Gas prices could even fall,” he said.

“All of these could set a tone of improvement in our day-to-day lives, which is what most Americans vote on. There are also social issues that may or may not affect the outcome in November. How strong will school book burnings and censorship take hold by then? Will racial tensions exacerbate the fight over Critical Race Theory and more and more people wanting fewer and fewer students to know what really is in our history?” he asked. 

“What will happen in 2022 is all conjecture. We don’t know. 9 months is a lifetime in politics,” he noted.

“But what is assured is that if nothing changes dramatically for the Democrats, it will be a colossal loss for them in the House and Senate,” he said.

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