Breaking down the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Syria vote

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted Wednesday (Sept. 4) to approve a resolution authorizing U.S. military action against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Editor’s Note: As usual we see no distinction between the two parties when it comes to corporate/Neocon imperialist policies, including, of course, the willingness to commit cowardly war crimes. But the treachery and unreliability of the Democrats is obvious, and should be remembered, as the majority of “Ayes” came from Democratic Senators, and that includes liberals like Barbara Boxer and Ed Markey, who simply chickened out and sat on the fence. Despicable.

The committee spent most of Wednesday debating the merits of a resolution behind closed doors and for about an hour in public.

So how did senators vote? Here’s a breakdown:

Final tally: 10 to 7, with one senator voting present.

Who voted yes?: Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) (by proxy — was absent due to the Jewish holiday), Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Christopher Coons (D-Del.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.). Ranking member Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Who voted no?: Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Christopher Murphy (D-Conn.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.)

Who voted present? : Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.).

Among senators facing reelection in 2014: Six senators on the committee — Shaheen, Coons, Durbin, Udall, Markey and Risch — face the voters next year. Shaheen, Coons and Durbin voted yes. Udall and Risch voted no, while Markey voted present.

Among senators mulling a 2016 presidential campaign:  Rubio and Paul are considered leading GOP contenders for president. Both of them voted against the resolution.

Vote notes: Just four days after President Obama asked Congress to formally authorize the use of U.S. military forces against the Syrian government, 18 lawmakers have now cast votes on the issue. The panel held two days of intense debate in public and behind closed doors and were generally complementary of each.

But the vote exposed deep schisms in both parties. Two of the committee’s most liberal members — Udall and Murphy — voted no, while Markey, another liberal champion, declined to take a position. Among Republicans, Corker, Flake and McCain — generally considered establishment party members who have supported other Obama administration policies in recent months — agreed with the Democratic majority, while five of their GOP colleagues, including two considering presidential campaigns, voted no.