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Good. It is the right thing to do. He could have used the War Powers Act, but most Americans think the Congress should decide, and I agree.
The "right" thing to do? Which Military-Industrial Complex company are you a lobbyist for?
Or perhaps you're a proponent of "gigantic bloated overgrown Big Government, paid for by the working class, while funneling wealth to Big Business and the Ultra-Wealthy?" After all, without foreign wars the American worker would never have been subject to INCOME TAX (thanks, WWI) or WITHHOLDING OF INCOME TAX (thanks, WWII). Our Founding Fathers and our Constitution PROHIBITED income tax because it makes the working class slaves to an aristocratic class--but most importantly because allowing an income tax open the floodgates to endless government growth. Add on the ability of government to BORROW, and all limiting factors are gone.
Liberals will argue: what's wrong with endless government growth? Here's what's wrong: government is an OVERHEAD cost to the economy; the bigger it gets, the more depressed the economy becomes. Government increasingly burdens the productive economy with ever-increasing taxation (primarily on the working class), and ever more burdensome regulation (primarily on lowly citizens and businesses too small to buy politicians' votes). The few dollars Big Government dribbles back to citizens hides the fact that it is the Working Class who PAYS for Big Government--both the bureaucracy itself, and all the trillions of dollars of dollars it redistributes to pay for political support. No wonder so many taxes are imbedded in every transaction, period of time, measurement, or value, that the average American is suffering under a tax load that amount to working over 4 and a half months of the year (Tax Freedom Day® 2013 is April 18, Five Days Later Than Last Year | Tax Foundation).
With the working class continuing to decline as Big Government endlessly grows, many people think they're not paying for it--so they don't care. The problem is, everyone pays a TON of taxes, even if they never leave the house. And the tax drain isn't bad enough--we also have a federal debt of over $17 trillion dollars, with $370 BILLION dollars a year paid JUST IN INTEREST on the federal debt. It's crushing the nation, and the economy. We can't pay it back. We can only devalue our dollars and keep interest rates locked at zero--WHICH MEANS RETIREMENT IS GONE.
We need to stop the most ludicrous waste of money--Foreign Wars and foreign aid, both of which are 100% protected from ANY budget limitations or cuts.
Let's all support a separate "Fun Foreign Wars and Foreign Aid" fund, paid for entirely by the voluntary contributions of those people willing to send at least $500 of your own money to Washington. All those who contribute money can vote for which nations they want to mess around in. And of course, we will need to hire military servicemen that specifically volunteer to be maimed or killed because they want to be a part of the Fun Foreign Wars that have nothing to do with America's interests. We'll need a catchy name since the services have "Army Rangers" and "Navy Seals"--I'm sure our military brass will think of something; they are certainly masters of manipulating young men and using their bravery (and loyalty to their peers) against them.
My fear is that there will be just enough support in congress to approve this syrian misadventure, expand it somewhat, and we will be in for another long drawn out fight we cannot get ourselves out of and hurry along our going broke as a nation.
Has he even considered that Congress may tell him that they will NOT approve of strikes against Syria and how much weaker he is going to look then? The UK and world press are all saying that the British Parliament humiliated David Cameron when they voted against him.
Zero knows Congress will vote 'no'. He can then blame the 'Pubs on all subsequent bad stuff that happens in Syria. I can already hear saying now "I would have taken military action but those on the opposite side of the aisle voted to stop me."
I actually support military action Syria. I happened to think the United States has the moral obligation to police the world in some respects (but not every). Using chemical weapons on one's own citizens is grounds for our military intervention. I believe Assad's military installations should be decimated. Every runway on every airfield destroyed. Every known weapons cache decapitated. I hope Congress approves such actions.
I will say, I didn't see this coming. While it's the right thing to do, I have to wonder about the effectiveness of what seems to be the world's most transparent campaign to bomb Syria. They've been signaling it so publicly by now that they may as well just include the date, time, and targets in that vote as well by now. Already, there are reports that the Syrians are moving weapons across borders, getting out of bases, mixing into civilian populations; now they know they have at least another month to protect their most valuable assets and blunt the effectiveness of any US military strike. How much more transparency do you want to give your enemy?
I wonder if Obama wishes to backtrack on his red line and is actually looking for a negative vote from Congress as an excuse not to follow through. He has to know that Congress would never approve anything he asks for these days, Syria-related or not.
I agree wholeheartedly. Something tells me that Barack Obama is secretly hoping that Congress bails him out by voting against intervention in Syria, lest he be called a liar and a warmonger by his base. I think the President just performed what I will term as the Grand Cop Out™.
I agree wholeheartedly. Something tells me that Barack Obama is secretly hoping that Congress bails him out by voting against intervention in Syria, lest he be called a liar and a warmonger by his base. I think the President just performed what I will term as the Grand Cop Out™.
Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. At least you guys are consistent.
President Barack Obama addressed the crisis in Syria on Saturday, saying he has decided the United States should take military action against regime targets, but that he will seek authorization from Congress before taking action.
"I will seek authorization for the use of force from the American people's representatives in Congress," Obama said during a press conference in the White House Rose Garden.
Obama said any action would "be designed to be limited in duration and scope."
I closed my eyes... and could have sworn Bush was speaking
Somewhere 4 years from now, Republicans will be the ones saying that "we were for it, before we were against it"
same as it ever was...
same as it ever was...
BTW, Obama has never let the Constitution, or Congress, get in his way. He's doing it "the right way" because he knows the reality of both Dems and Reps love of war mongering.
Could be the only 9% of public support for it too.
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