Kaine vs. Obama on War Powers

“In June, after he had written a scorching opinion article seeking to constrain the president’s unilateral power to make war, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), one of Barack Obama’s earliest supporters, buttonholed the commander in chief at the White House for what he called ‘a spirited discussion,'” the New York Times reports.

“The militants of the Islamic State were pouring across the Syrian border into Iraq, and seizing cities where so much American blood and treasure had been spilled. But Mr. Kaine said he told the president in no uncertain terms that if he intended to go to war, he would have to ask Congress’s permission. President Obama politely but firmly disagreed. They have been battling ever since.”