The 27th District unanimously opposes involvement in Syria – why I will vote “No” on approving a U.S. military strike
Texas Insider Report: WASHINGTON, DC – This week marked the end of a productive Constituent Work Period. Over the last several weeks, I traveled the 27th District to hear your concerns and gain your input on the issues important to you and your family. The message was loud and clear: Don’t go to war in Syria, defund Obamacare, fix our broken immigration system without rewarding unlawful behavior, and get runaway government spending under control. Syria was overwhelmingly the largest concern I heard about, and opinions expressed to me in person, via telephone and through mail and e-mail were overwhelming opposed to American intervention.
According to an unscientific survey I conducted, 93% of respondents oppose U.S. military intervention in Syria. Didn’t have a chance to take my poll? Join the conversation here.
Following reports of Syrian President Bashar Assad and his forces carrying out horrifying chemical attacks against civilians in their civil war, President Obama announced that the U.S. would retaliate by undertaking a military strike against Syria. Shortly thereafter, the President announced his decision to ask for Congressional approval first. President Obama is urging the American people’s support and is calling on Congress to grant his request to authorize a U.S. military strike against Syrian forces. While I’m glad President Obama chose to follow the War Powers Resolution and go through Congress, his call for a military strike has still left me and the majority of people I’ve spoken with seriously concerned.
Since the President’s announcement, folks have stopped me everywhere to express their disapproval with U.S. involvement in Syria. My office has been bombarded with an overwhelming number of calls, e-mails, Facebook messages and Twitter posts – the vast majority of which expressing opposition to a military strike (nearly 400 against Syria involvement and less than 10 in support). My response has been that I, too, have serious concerns and intended to vote no to a military strike. But I wanted to see what the Administration presented at this week’s classified Syria briefing with Congress. After hearing the classified briefing, I am even more convinced to vote no.
Here are some of the reasons I’ll be voting against U.S. military action in Syria, as well as the concerns I have that weren’t addressed by the Syria briefing:
- Our country’s involvement could further destabilize an unstable region.
- There is no clear mission or desired outcome articulated to Congress or the American people.
- We should not be doing this alone. If we were to get involved, it should be as part of a large coalition of our allies and with the support of the U.N.
- Proceeding with military action in Syria could lead to another war on par with Iraq or Afghanistan.
I was elected by the people of the 27th District to represent their views in Congress. While some issues can be dividing, the response to this issue is unanimous: Texans don’t want to get involved in Syria. That said, I’ll be representing the views of the 27th District by voting against U.S. involvement in Syria’s civil war.
