Which 39 Democrats Want a War That Never Ends--and Voted Against Sunsetting the AUMF?

During the defense appropriations amendment process, Adam Schiff (CA-28) proposed an amendment that would sunset the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) with the end of our combat role in Afghanistan, i.e. December 31, 2014.

Here's Barbara Lee (CA-13), the sole vote against the AUMF back in 2001, on why it needs to be repealed:

The AUMF is an overly broad, deeply concerning law that gives any president the authority to wage war at any time, in any place, for nearly any purpose. It has reportedly been invoked dozens of times around the world, including to deploy troops in Ethiopia, Yemen and the Philippines.

The law allows for a state of perpetual war, which we cannot and must not sustain. Our troops, our nation, and our reputation around the world depend on it.

But the AUMF is about more than war. The AUMF has reportedly been used to justify wiretapping and Gitmo, and the recent revelations about domestic and international surveillance have reignited this conversation. These leaks not only underscore the need to ensure a better balance between our privacy and national security, but also the urgent need for debate on these issues.

This time, we need the kind of full debate we did not have in 2001. We can't just tweak the authorization — we have to fully repeal it. For that reason, I have introduced legislation to repeal the AUMF, but I have also introduced amendments calling for the AUMF to sunset at the end of the war in Afghanistan or by January 1, 2015, whichever comes first. Both of those efforts have the same goal: the end of the AUMF.

For the integrity of our Constitution, we must ensure that we have full accountability and transparency in our nation's war powers.

Schiff's amendment failed 185 to 236.  155 Democrats and 30 Republicans voted in favor of it.  39 Democrats and 197 Republicans voted against it.

Nancy Pelosi and Chris Van Hollen, who both embraced limitless surveillance in their vote against Amash-Conyers, at least opposed limitless war, voting in favor of this amendment. Steny Hoyer, the most conservative member of the Democratic leadership, voted for limitless surveillance and limitless war.

Which 39 Democrats voted for limitless war?

Rob Andrews (NJ-01)
Ron Barber (AZ-02)
John Barrow (GA-12)
Ami Bera (CA-07)
Sanford Bishop (GA-02)
Julia Brownley (CA-26)
G. K. Butterfield (NC-01)
Matt Cartwright (PA-17)
Jim Costa (CA-16)
Henry Cuellar (TX-28)
Susan Davis (CA-53)
John Delaney (MD-06)
John Dingell (MI-12)
Tammy Duckworth (IL-08)
Eliot Engel (NY-16)
Bill Foster (IL-11)
Marcia Fudge (OH-11)
Pete Gallego (TX-23)
Joe Garcia (FL-26)
Steny Hoyer (MD-05)
Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01)
Jim Langevin (RI-02)
Dan Lipinski (IL-03)
Jim Matheson (UT-04)
Bill Owens (NY-21)
Scott Peters (CA-52)
Cedric Richmond (LA-02)
Dutch Ruppersberger (MD-02)
Bradley Schneider (IL-10)
Allyson Schwartz (PA-13)
David Scott (GA-13)
Terri Sewell (AL-07)
Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01)
Brad Sherman (CA-30)
Krysten Sinema (AZ-09)
Adam Smith (WA-09)
Juan Vargas (CA-51)
Filemon Vela (TX-34)
Tim Walz (MN-01)

I was disappointed to see Allyson Schwartz's name on this list because she is running for governor in my home state of PA.  I hope that the new representative of PA-13 will be more progressive.  The district has gotten bluer over the years, so there's hope.

30 out of the 39 were also opponents of the Amash-Conyers amendment. However, nine supporters of the Amash-Conyers amendment—curbing surveillance power—opposed Schiff’s amendment.  They are opposed to limitless surveillance, but not to limitless war.

Those 9 Democrats are Matt Cartwright, John Dingell, Marcia Fudge, Bill Owens, Cedric Richmond, Carol Shea-Porter, Brad Sherman, Filemon Vela, and Tim Walz.

That gives us 102 Democrats against both limitless surveillance and limitless war, by these votes.

And which 30 Republicans supported sunsetting the AUMF?

Justin Amash (MI-03)
Michele Bachmann (MN-06)
Dan Benishek (MI-01)
Paul Broun (GA-10)
Vern Buchanan (FL-16)
Michael Burgess (TX-26)
Mike Coffman (CO-06)
John Duncan (TN-02)
Chris Gibson (NY-19)
Louie Gohmert (TX-01)
Tom Graves (GA-14)
Morgan Griffith (VA-09)
Tim Huelskamp (KS-01)
Walter Jones (NC-03)
Raul Labrador (ID-01)
Tom Massie (KY-04)
Tom McClintock (CA-04)
Mick Mulvaney (SC-05)
Richard Nugent (FL-11)
Tom Petri (WI-06)
Ted Poe (TX-02)
Bill Posey (FL-08)
Tom Price (GA-06)
Dana Rohrabacher (CA-48)
Thomas Rooney (FL-17)
Mark Sanford (SC-01)
David Schweikert (AZ-06)
Jim Sensenbrenner (WI-05)
Steve Stockman (TX-36)
Rob Woodall (GA-07)

26 out of these 30 Republicans also voted in favor of the Amash-Conyers amendment, expressing opposition to limitless surveillance and limitless war. Four of them opposed Amash-Conyers: Bachmann, Benishek, Rooney, and Woodall.

68 of the Republicans against limitless surveillance voted for limitless war, a strange mix indeed.