Republicans Block Venezuela War Powers Check, Media Cheers 'Checks & Balances'
Republicans, traditionally champions of legislative checks on executive overreach (when convenient), have apparently found a new principle: unchecked presidential power to intervene in Venezuela. The NYT frames this as a partisan squabble, omitting decades of US-backed coups and destabilization efforts in the region, from Chile in '73 to Nicaragua in the '80s. This isn't about Trump's unique brand
of recklessness; it's the bipartisan tradition of 'democracy promotion' (read: regime change) that's been in the playbook since the Monroe Doctrine. One might ponder why 'democracy' is always better served by bypassing Congress when a new target emerges. We saw this same manufactured outrage and unilateral action playbook used against Iraq, Libya, and Syria. The 'threat' from Venezuela,
conveniently amplified by media, appears less about security and more about control over resources and political alignment, echoing previous interventions that destroyed nations while enriching defense contractors. How many times does a sovereign nation need to be 'liberated' before the process itself is questioned?