You can forget about Bernie running for President in 2020

[Jim Lane]

201. "Using Iran sanctions as an excuse" -- what complete bullshit

It is an undeniable fact that the bill you're discussing included Iran sanctions. Bernie faced a typical problem for a legislator: There's a bill that has parts I support and parts I oppose. He weighed the pros and cons and decided to vote Nay. Disagree with his choice if you will, but, unless you have some independent evidence for saying that his statement was pretextual, you have no basis (other than preconceived animosity) for dismissing his reasoning as a mere excuse.

The bill passed 522-5? That's nice. In 1964, the Gulf of Tonkin resolution passed by a combined vote of 504-2. In 2001, the USA PATRIOT Act encountered more opposition in the House (357-66) but only one dissent in the Senate (98-1, and thank you, Russ Feingold).

All these votes have two things in common. First, when the President goes on the warpath about an alleged foreign threat, and makes the eagle scream, "the men and women who represent us in Washington" can frequently be stampeded into going along with whatever he wants. Second, an overwhelmingly favorable vote in Congress doesn't prove that a bill is a good idea.