It takes a lot to overshadow the looming fiscal battles in Washington, but President Obama’s decision to seek congressional approval for air strikes against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for using chemical weapons against his own citizens has managed to do it.
There are eight legislative days left to pass a continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown, and then seven more to avoid defaulting on Treasury bonds, so those issues would seem to trump any other—except attacking a foreign country. Members of Congress are coming back from their districts reporting that various constituency groups that never agree on anything are unified in opposition to an attack. The groups may each oppose the idea for slightly different reasons—or reach the conclusion through various paths—but they all arrive at the same place. [cont.]
Charlie Cook