NC Congressman Walter Jones Hits Dick Cheney Over Iraq War

It's events like this that give me hope:

Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), an outspoken critic of the war in Afghanistan, said at a conference Saturday that former Vice President Dick Cheney would probably end up in hell for the Iraq War.

"Congress will not hold anyone to blame. Lyndon Johnson's probably rotting in hell right now because of the Vietnam War, and he probably needs to move over for Dick Cheney," Jones said at a Young Americans for Liberty conference in Raleigh, N.C. The group is a spinoff from former Rep. Ron Paul's (R-Texas) 2008 presidential campaign.

During his keynote address to the group, he praised Paul. "I want to give credit to the man who helped me understand if you're ever going to send young men and women to die, it needs to be with the Constitution and debated by the Congress," he said.

Elsewhere in his speech, he called the drone policy "absolutely unconstitutional," eliciting applause from the crowd.

Occasionally I'll get an email demanding to know why I get so worked up over the fate of Muslims in foreign lands. Depending on my mood, I may point out that it's immoral and decidedly un-Christian to stand silent while innocent lives are ruined or snuffed out with OUR tax dollars and implied consent. Or I may reply that the usurpation of power in foreign affairs INEVITABLY spills over into domestic policy - the same all-powerful chief executive that can unilaterally declare war and detain suspects indefinitely can launch gun-grabbing raids, or worse, here at home.

Jones's courageous dissent is inspirational. Let's hope it's also infectious.