Senate Vote On Syria Delayed In Wake Of Russia Initiative
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has delayed an initial vote on the Syria resolution in light of yesterday’s developments out of Russia:
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is holding off on taking steps toward a first vote on whether to authorize a military strike against Syria over alleged chemical weapons use. The decision follows Russia’s proposal that Syria relinquish its chemical weapons stockpiles to international control.
An aide said that the Russia proposal is serious and fluid enough that members do not want to lock themselves into a position on Syria just yet. An initial Senate vote on the issue had been expected on Wednesday.
Clearly, Russia’s move has significantly changed the game vis a vis Syria in a very short period of time. Late yesterday, for example, the French announced that they would be introducing a resolution in the U.N. Security Council related to the proposal, and President Obama seemed very open to the proposal in his appearances on the news networks last night. Presumably, these developments will also bring about changes to the President’s speech tonight. More importantly, it seems likely that this could lead to an indefinite delay on voting from Congress, or significant changes to what they’d be voting on.
Harry Reid delayed the vote because he was going to lose. Kerry’s statement that it would be an “unbelievably small response” turned off half the Democrats and all of the GOP senators.
Stupidity has its upside.