Attention, Republican legislators: let the Democrats vote FIRST.

As I have said, many times: I do not know what the right answer is when it comes to intervening in Syria.  Every option is bad, with negative consequences and poor results.  If  I was a Member of Congress I would be frantically trying to go through what information I have available, in order to determine the least-worst scenario and vote for that.  Because of all of that, I cannot in good conscience call for Members of Congress (Republican AND Democrat) to do anything except vote their consciences: if I don’t have the right answer myself, I shouldn’t try to second-guess a legislator’s own sense of morality.

But I will so totally give tactical advice on when to vote.  Glenn Reynolds’ advice here is spot-on:

If I were the GOP — in both the House and Senate — I wouldn’t let a single Republican vote be cast until all the Democrats have voted.

Do this, please.  Make the Democrats sweat this vote.  They’re the ones who decided to run for the last decade on a ‘peace’ platform – and then elect a guy whose natsec strategy is to do everything that the Left thought that George W Bush did, only incompetently.  They’re also the ones who have to choose between heeding the desires of the leader of their party, and the desires of the American people; my sympathy for the average Democratic legislator caught in this cleft stick is somewhere below nil right now.  So I think that now is a marvelous time to encourage a little long-term thinking in the American Left, using a time-honored educational principle:

Negative reinforcement.

Moe Lane (crosspost)

PS: For non-legislators reading this… you can encourage our legislators to do this, or you can encourage our legislators not to do this.  I am utterly uninterested in doing the latter; how about you?

17 thoughts on “Attention, Republican legislators: let the Democrats vote FIRST.”

  1. Can we at least all agree that attempting to unwind the Sequester by authorizing force in Syria is a terrible, terrible idea and that the GOP idiots proposing such should be flogged within an inch of their lives with wet newspapers?

  2. My advice would be different, I’d go home to my district. Find out the thoughts of the people that live there, know that unquestionably and vote that. When “Every option is bad, with negative consequences and poor results”, I’d just vote my district and save my vote of political courage for a situation where the angels are somewhere to be seen.

    1. The only problem there, TNFriend, is whether the mood of the district could change within the next year, especially if – as a Rep – I have to start attending funerals featuring flag-draped-coffins back home.
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      November 2014 isn’t that far away.
      .
      Mew

      1. Yeah, that is my point. Is my district such that I could withstand that in a year. Situation is such where doing nothing is bad and doing something is worse. Really a situation where I honestly don’t envy any congressman this vote.

  3. I’m against intervening in Syria. The saying “lesser of two evils” has always been bandied about…but in aiding the Syrian rebels, I see the “greater” of two evils occurring.

    1. Agreed, Lady P.
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      What is to be gained by plunging Syria into the same chaos, rage, and bloodshed that Libya and Egypt are currently enduring?
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      If Obama has an actual *reason* for doing so, let him make the case, otherwise let him shut his piehole and go play the back 9.
      .
      Mew

      1. Giving authorization is a bet that Obama will suddenly become competent.
        Intervening would do us no good without that very critical piece of the puzzle.
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        And that is very nearly the ultimate is sucker bets.

        1. Since it’s about even odds about which side used gas and given that the rebels make Saddam seem reasonable, I say we do nothing.

          If we must do sometime, let’s follow this sage advice: “I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.”

          1. So far, the best response I’ve encountered involves sending the entire congress to Syria to fact-find.
            .
            Mew

  5. Let them vote first in keeping with our new special forces slogan: “Progressives lead the way! Whores!!!”

  6. The only half-decent idea I’ve seen is to arm the Iraqi Kurds and let them deal with the problem, with the promise of supporting carving off the NE part of Syria and giving it to them.

  7. Pingback: Ed Driscoll » Begun, The Air War Has

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