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Four Senators file legislation to stop Barack Obama from arming Syrian “rebels”

June 23, 2013

 After Syria supposedly used chemical weapons against the rebels (we still don’t know if it was the regime or the rebels who used the chemical weapons, all we really know at this point is that chemical weapons were used by someone in Syria) Barack Obama announced that the United States would begin active support of the rebels by supplying arms to the region.

  Two Republicans and two Democrats have now filed a bill to defund the arming of these rebels. Here is what Rand Paul had to say:

The President’s unilateral decision to arm Syrian rebels is incredibly disturbing, considering what little we know about whom we are arming. Engaging in yet another conflict in the Middle East with no vote or Congressional oversight compounds the severity of this situation. The American people deserve real deliberation by their elected officials before we send arms to a region rife with extremists who seek to threaten the U.S. and her allies.

  I could not agree with this statement any more than I already do but what can we actually expect to come from this? After all; this is the same Congress who took Barack Obama to task over supporting the Libyan and Egyptian rebels without Congressional approval but when push came to shove did nothing to stop it, and this is the same Congress who holds one symbolic vote on repealing Obamacare after another but refuses to defund the legislation, which is what they would do if they were serious about it.

  So while I support this effort I am not expecting anything to come from it because it seems to me as if too many members of the Congress feel as if they can gain more support by opposing these issues than they can by actually acting on them. If the Congress were to repeal Obamacare or stop funding these wars it would take these wedge issues off the table in the next election and they want these issues alive and well when voters head to the polls next year.  They feel they can gain more politically from continually opposing these issues than they can by actually doing something about them.

  Don’t get me wrong, I feel this is a sincere effort by these four men, I just do not think that there is enough sincerity in the Congress to actually get anything done on this. Maybe I am wrong, we will have to wait and see how this plays out. I apologize for my cynicism but I simply no longer trust most of our elected officials to do the right thing because above all they are really only interested in protecting themselves and the power they crave.

 

8 Comments leave one →
  1. lou222's avatar
    lou222 permalink
    June 23, 2013 4:43 pm

    You know Steve, I am getting very tired of “waiting to see” what this Congress does. Of course they could defund anything they want, we have that ABILITY, yet it is never done. So few in Congress are in the trust worthy category in my estimation. I think they put on a good show, but in the end, they are all buddies/pals and walk away laughing at us. There are a handful, we know this, but they will not get anything done. I think we are pretty much screwed. We have Reid/Schumer/McCain shoving the Amnesty bill thru, yes Amnesty for ILLEGALS. Guess our opinion does not count when WE will be picking up the tab…but what gripes me the most is that we are being sold out by OUR OWN PARTY. We know what this Administration is and how they act, but we put these sorry asses in office to represent us and they just act like we do not have the ability to think for ourselves and they make the decisions for us. Correct me if I am wrong, but aren’t they there to do OUR bidding?

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    • Steve Dennis's avatar
      June 23, 2013 7:24 pm

      I could not agree with you more Lou. The Republican are not serious about anything or they would defund what they claim they are opposed to, but they do not because the Republicans and the Democrats are simply two sides of the same coin. Nothing will change until we vote all these people out of office, and that is why you should check out what the New Federalist Party is doing. (Sorry for the self-promotion but I feel strongly about this.)

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  2. Chris's avatar
    Chris permalink
    June 23, 2013 10:23 pm

    You are right nothing will come of this. Paul has to many irons in the fire. I think his involvement in every issue will be a detrement to him and he will lose his value. Udall is an uberliberal who is positioning himself. We have been debating international affairs since the Barbary pirates. Our international affairs record is terrible. In recent history the Congress has been impotent in affecting foreign affairs or curtailing a President use of the military.

    We now have 400 troops in Jordan and an unknown number of CIA personnel in Syria. And we only have 4 Senators speaking out. The President has a verbal treaty with an unknown group to supply this unknown group with arms. Again so much for following the Constitution.

    Article 2 – The Executive Branch
    Section 2 – Civilian Power Over Military, Cabinet, Pardon Power, Appointments
    He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur

    But this should be expected when you deal with lawyers.

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    • Steve Dennis's avatar
      June 24, 2013 5:53 am

      Paul has his hand in so many place because there is so much going on that needs to be taken care of. I often say there are too many issues happening for us to follow and that is they way Obama wants it, and I suppose that he is using that strategy with the Congress as well.

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  3. Petermc3's avatar
    Petermc3 permalink
    June 23, 2013 10:48 pm

    Yeah, they’ll hold back funds for arms to Syrian rebels- read Al Quada- right after they defund Obamacare, the EPA, green stuff and the research into why crickets don’t mate with bumble bees.

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  4. bunkerville's avatar
    June 24, 2013 12:46 pm

    Our narcissist got his fingers slapped by Russia recently. It will be interesting to see how he handles this as well as his sinking poll numbers. But then again, he just may prefer to plan vacations and campaign. I thought originally he would like a war to change the subjects.

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    • Steve Dennis's avatar
      June 24, 2013 7:12 pm

      This has been a disastrous European tour for him and yet while much was made in the media about Romney saying Britain might not be ready for the Olympics this same media remains silent about Obama’s gaffes.

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