Page 3 - Authorization Vote News Today

So, depending on how long this goes. second thing on this point i want to make is that i have actually spoken to lindsey graham a couple of times over the past couple of days. what he says is just as jake was suggesting, its not that they expect president obama to just go have a massive military strike. what they are doing effectively is using this authorization vote as leverage to get the president to do what theyve been pounding him to do, which is to articulate a strategy. specifically to tra...

Here. when this whole -- when this press conference started, i was getting ready to say i thought it was potentially a seminole moment on a process and on a substantive reason. first process, because john mccain has proven in the past couple of months that if he wants to help the president, he can get it done for him. twist arms. he knows how to legislate. hes a veteran here. he knows how to kind of work deals. if he wants to work a deal for the president he can probably make it happen. he sound...

Defeated the united states of america. but i will say that if congress overrules a decision of the president of the united states on an issue of national securitied, that could set a catastrophic precedent in the future. it would be very dangerous precedent to be setting. >> fredericka, i thought what john mccain said was important and telling for a couple of reasons. number one, he has been somebody who wanted aggressive action by the united states with regard to syria and even he is skeptical ...

But -- this president has brought us together. will is bipartisan opposition to us taking military action in syria. we really have not had the information that we needed. the president boxed himself in by saying this red line cannot be crossed. now what? we are going to do these limited strikes and the day after those limited, people will be in this bloody -- bloodbath in syria. the president must seek congressional authorization. he is not going to. he must have a -- international coalition. he...

Authorization vote. they would embarrass the president. i got an e-mail from senator bob corker who had a classified briefing earlier today. he said he now, seeing what he saw with regard to intelligence, feels that he would support surgical military strikes against syria. >> thanks for reporting. joining me now is fouad ajami, fran townsend, christopher dicky, and john king. fouad, the president said the national security is at stake, when you have a country with a stockpile of chemical weapons...

Britain, just voted down military action. im curious what you think if congress were to come back now and take a similar vote, do you think the same thing would happen? >> reporter: yes. absolutely, i do. and its not just my analysis, its also top lawmakers who ive talked to and thats one of the reasons why congress isnt coming back. they are on recess. will be for a little short of two weeks. and, you know, youve heard some lawmakers saying we should come back, we should take an authorization v...

And take a similar vote, do you think the same thing would happen? >> reporter: yes. absolutely, i do. and its not just my analysis, its also top lawmakers who ive talked to and thats one of the reasons why congress isnt coming back. they are on recess. will be for a little short of two weeks. and, you know, youve heard some lawmakers saying we should come back, we should take an authorization vote. but you know what, what happened in the house of commons tonight is almost exactly what would lik...

To have that kind of result. for the most part, even though they are not happy, necessarily with the way the president is or isnt making the case they support the idea perhaps using surgical military strikes. they wouldnt want to put the u.s. in a position to have an authorization vote. i got a e-mail from bob kosher who had a classified briefing earlier today he was kir come spect before feels he would support surgical military strikes against syria. >> thanks for reporting. joining me senior f...

Think the same thing would happen? >> reporter: yes. absolutely, i do. and its not just my analysis, its also top lawmakers who ive talked to and thats one of the reasons why congress isnt coming back. they are on recess. will be for a little short of two weeks. and, you know, youve heard some lawmakers saying we should come back, we should take an authorization vote. but do you know what, what happened in the house of commons tonight is almost exactly what would likely happen in congress, too, ...

Out what i thought was old news, which was on march 1st, the united states senate voted unanimously to urge the united nations to create and enforce a no-fly zone in libya, and it was then treated as news. and i think it kind of was, even to the washington press corp that ignored what happened on the senate floor that day. thats one of the reasons we heard very little objection from the senate and most of the objection were hearing is coming from people in the house. >> we also heard the preside...