Conner: The Democratic strategy of allowing President Trump to absorb domestic backlash against an unpopular war so Team Blue can pretend to be anti-war is not only distasteful, but may also be based on flawed logic because it assumes an election will take place.
In the wake of Sunday’s mass shooting in Austin, Texas, that killed two people and injured 14 others, allegedly carried out by a man conveniently wearing a hoodie that read “Property of Allah,” there are new efforts across the country to scare Americans about Hamas and Iranian “sleeper cells.”
Daily Mail Headline. February 28, 2026
Do people understand that this is expanding Patriot Action Era surveillance and moving to martial law? https://t.co/ZlaHNEp95s
— Debate (@PalmTreesnGz) March 1, 2026
An attack or two, martial law, and canceled elections are not surprising. Especially since the ICE architecture is already in place to address any objections.
And then there’s Whitney Webb, another connection to Epstein with the possibility of martial law being declared.
On a related note, another company associated with Israeli intelligence (and believed to be a front company) conducted simulations with U.S. security agencies detailing how hacks and malfunctions of 911 and other systems could be used to declare martial law or cause a shutdown.
— Whitney Webb (@_whitneywebb) February 27, 2026
Now, to the Democratic Party.
By Jake Johnson, Common Dreams staff writer. Originally published in Common Dreams.
The top Democrats in Congress, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, faced a backlash on Saturday over what critics called a lukewarm and vague response to President Donald Trump’s illegal attack on Iran and slow efforts to stop a war before the bombing began.
Both Democratic leaders criticized President Trump for not seeking Congressional approval and not fully briefing lawmakers on the details of Saturday’s attack, but neither fully condemned the military attack that has so far killed hundreds of people, including dozens of children, and thrown the Middle East into turmoil.
Schumer (D-N.Y.), who infamously helped tear down the 2015 nuclear deal that President Trump later abandoned during his first term and set the stage for the current crisis, said he had “begged” Secretary of State Marco Rubio to “speak frankly to Congress and the American people about the purpose of this attack and what happens next.”
“Iran must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon,” he added, “but with so many problems at home, the American people do not want another endless, costly war in the Middle East.”
“Iran is the bad guy and we must aggressively confront its human rights abuses, nuclear ambitions, support for terrorism, and the threat it poses to our allies in the region, including Israel and Jordan,” Jeffries (D-N.Y.), a beneficiary of AIPAC’s campaign funds, said in response to the massive U.S.-Israel attack.
“The Trump administration must immediately explain its position to the American people and Congress, provide a firm justification for this act of war, clearly define its national security objectives, and articulate a plan to avoid another costly and protracted military quagmire in the Middle East,” Jeffries said.
The responses from Democratic leaders reinforced the view that President Trump’s opposition to attacking Iran is based on procedure rather than opposition to war.
This is a disgusting and mean statement dealing with the need for process and briefing.
No, you idiot. This war is a horror and a disaster and must be opposed head on. Democratic Party members, especially leaders, who cannot say this need to resign. https://t.co/CdZoEyNkOy
— Crystal Ball (@krystalball) February 28, 2026
“Senator Schumer and Congressman Jeffries’ coughing and criticizing the process will only serve Mr. Trump and the war machine as we plunge headlong into another devastating war,” said Claire Valdez, a New York state representative running for Congress.
“Democrats must speak with one voice and speak out against the war,” Valdez added.
Mr. Schumer and Mr. Jeffries have both pledged to force a swift vote on the war powers resolution in their respective chambers. But a report last week by Capital & Empire’s Ida Chavez showed that Democratic leaders were working behind the scenes to slow the resolution’s momentum, helping to prevent it from coming to a vote before Trump started the war.
“According to a senior foreign policy aide to Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, the desired outcome for many AIPAC-allied Senate Democrats is for President Trump to act unilaterally and weaken Iran while absorbing domestic opposition ahead of the midterm elections,” Chavez wrote.
Neither Mr. Schumer nor Mr. Jeffries supported legislation last year that would have led to U.S. military intervention in Iran in forestry.
Democratic leaders’ response to Saturday’s U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran, which President Trump said would continue “uninterrupted” after the killing of the country’s top leader, was in sharp contrast to statements from rank-and-file lawmakers and even some members of the leadership who accused the president of abrogating the Constitution and leading the United States into a new deadly war that the American people oppose.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who has been floated as a potential challenger to Schumer in 2028, said Saturday that “Americans are once again being dragged into a war they don’t want by a president who doesn’t care about the long-term consequences of his actions.”
“This war is illegal. It’s unnecessary. And it will be devastating,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “This was a deliberate choice to invade when diplomacy and security were within reach. Stop lying to the American people. Violence begets violence. We learned this lesson in Iraq. We learned this lesson in Afghanistan. And we are learning it again in Iran. Bombs have not yet produced lasting democracy in the region, and this is no different.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was more blunt.
“Congress must stop the bloodshed by immediately rebuking this use of war powers and stopping this deranged president,” she said. “But let’s be clear: warmongering politicians from both parties are supporting this illegal war, and it will take a massive anti-war movement to stop it.”
