The year was 2007, the Iraq War was in full swing, and Congress was struggling to exercise its oversight. Despite a Democratic blowout in the midterm elections driven by public opposition to the war, then-president George W. Bush wanted to "surge" thousands more U.S. troops into Iraq. Democrats proposed a resolution condemning the plan.
A freshman representative from Minnesota, a retired Army master sergeant named Tim Walz, stood up in support of the resolution. "Some have said that this debate sends a message to our enemies, and I would agree. The message our enemies are hearing this week is that democracy in America is alive and well," he said. "The geniuses of the founders of this country are on display right now," Walz added, praising Congress' constitutional role in overseeing war.
