Local chapter head of ‘Republicans for Ignoring the Constitution’.
When Syrian President Bashar al-Assad first gassed civilians in 2013, Obama condemned Assad for violating the chemical weapons ban. He asked the Republican Congress for military authorization. There wasn’t an imminent threat to the United States, and none of the existing authorizations included Syria, so the Constitution requires Congressional approval: an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF).
Republicans fell over each other to not do anything. They didn’t even pretend to try. They didn’t want their fingerprints on it. They wanted Obama to fail, and seemed unconcerned if they hurt America on the way.
Obama stepped back. The Republicans still didn’t authorize force. And after a five second delay, Republicans started condemning Obama both for not being forceful enough, and for overstepping his authority. Both at the same time. Republicans are still using that two-faced response.
Republicans remain unchanged. Maybe it’s the ‘invertebrate’ thing. On Meet the Press today, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) insisted that the President didn’t really need Congressional authorization or an AUMF. Even after Chuck Todd clearly laid Lindsey’s argument as simply wrong, and (worse?) in the minority, Graham still insisted that Assad’s violation of the Chemical Weapons Ban was all Trump needed.
Cowards.
