Arizona Senator Jeff Flake is known by his constituents as someone who likes to avoid tough choices and when cornered, he issues flippant answers. Flake did surprise Secretary of State John Kerry though on Tuesday when he complained about the administration’s decision to seek congressional authorization to bomb Syria.
Flake, who has taken heat recently for constantly backing Senator John McCain’s various plays, was hoping to avoid responsibility for the unpopular incursion.
Flake baffled everyone when he asked Kerry how he could assure constituents that the incursion “isn’t political” when the administration “comes to the Congress to ask for authorization to take action that the president clearly has said he has authority to take?”
The proposed incursion is strictly political and not intended as anything other than a political statement.
Flake complained that the Obama administration intervened in Libya without an explicit up-or-down vote from Congress. Flake implied that the administration was seeking congressional approval on Syria to put Republicans on the spot.
“Well, Senator Flake,” Kerry responded. “It’s somewhat surprising to me that a member of Congress, particularly one on the Foreign Relations Committee, is going to question the president fulfilling the vision of the Founding Fathers when they wrote the Constitution and divided power on foreign policy.”
One member of Congress, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), welcomed the opportunity to fulfill that vision at first. “When I first heard that the president was gonna come to Congress, boy was I proud,” Paul said. “And then I heard, ‘But well, if I lose the vote I’ll probably go ahead and do the bombing anyway’ … You’re making a joke of us.”
Although Paul and Kerry argued about constitutional war powers, Kerry eventually told Paul that Obama was only asking members of Congress to “stand up and be counted” on their position on intervention in Syria.
Flake asked Kerry what the administration would do if Congress voted down a strike on Syria. Kerry said that he did not know, but said that the administration still had the authority to take military action without congressional support.
“The president, as you know, retains the authority, always has the authority, had the authority to strike before coming to Congress and that doesn’t change,” Kerry said confirming that the move was strictly political once again.
Flake implied that he resented being asked to go on the record which would force him to take yet one more position to which his constituents widely oppose.
According to the Washington Post, while Flake attempted to avoid going on the record, and Paul argued the finer points of the Constitution, John McCain played poker on his phone. When called out for his inattention, McCain noted that he lost the game.