The anguish on U.S. Rep. David Scott’s face was plain when asked whether he would vote to authorize a military strike on Syria.
“I just don’t know,” the Atlanta Democrat said, then he repeated the phrase twice. “I’m praying on it.”
President Barack Obama’s request to Congress to affirm a strike put all members in a bind, but the Congressional Black Caucus appears particularly torn.
They are some of Obama’s staunchest supporters, and the president personally made his case to the group for an hour Monday, while also taking questions.
But the caucus – all Democrats, most on the liberal end of the spectrum – has an antiwar streak and, like most members, they are hearing strong denunciations from their constituents.
Russia’s offer to put Syria’s chemical weapons under international control to avert a military strike and flagging Congressional support have made the timing of a vote uncertain. Obama told senators at luncheons on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that he wants to delay a vote on authorizing force in Syria until a diplomatic solution has a chance to play out.
If the House does vote on a strike, the outcome might hinge on the black caucus’ approval.
Despite support by leaders in both parties, many rank-and-file members are resisting a new military campaign. Any House vote would probably need a big majority of Democrats to pass.
Georgia has four members in the Congressional Black Caucus, and none had declared an ironclad position on the Syria strike before Obama’s high-stakes address to the nation on Tuesday night. The state’s nine Republicans, meanwhile, either are leaning toward voting “no” or have firmly stated their opposition.
U.S. Rep. John Lewis, an Atlanta Democrat, said he had made up his mind “and I’m locked in” but was waiting for Obama’s speech to reveal his choice.
Lewis, who built his life around nonviolent protest in the civil rights movement, hinted that he was a “no” Monday evening as he left the Capitol, telling The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “You know my history.”
For members of Congress returning from their August break, this week has been a blur of Syria briefings, with Obama administration officials tromping through the Capitol and members heading up Pennsylvania Avenue by the busload for White House meetings.
Rep. Hank Johnson, a DeKalb County Democrat, skipped the black caucus White House trip for a classified Armed Services Committee briefing. He is urging a diplomatic way out of the Syrian morass, and he sees the recent movement from Russia as an option worth exploring.
Johnson said Obama’s public push for a strike forced Russia’s hand, but he does not intend to vote for a strike just to strengthen the administration.
“If I had to vote today, I would vote no,” Johnson said Tuesday.
He is still not convinced that Syrian president Bashar Assad or someone close to him ordered the chemical attack outside Damascus on Aug. 21, and Johnson said his vote is not related to his personal feelings about Obama.
“My constituents who love the president are in great numbers opposed to a strike,” Johnson said. “All of them are against striking Syria. All of my conversations with people out in the community, I have not heard from anybody that is pro-striking Syria.”
Rep. Sanford Bishop, an Albany Democrat, declined to be interviewed but a spokesman said Bishop remains undecided after several briefings.
The chairwoman of the caucus, Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio, urged black caucus members to stay quiet on the issue last week according to news reports, as various members of Congress started giving their views on the conflict.
Fudge remained noncommittal after the caucus’ meeting with Obama and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice. Fudge said the Syria resolution “is also a vote of conscience and I encourage members of the Congressional Black Caucus to be extremely deliberate and thoughtful.”
Deliberations for Scott included speaking at his church on Sunday and a chat with Hugh Bayley, a member of the British parliament who serves with Scott on the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
Scott said Bayley told him the Brits could stage another vote on the issue after the first one failed. Scott told Obama that more nations need to join America in Syria to prevent the appearance of the U.S. going it alone.
Scott said Obama leaned back in his chair as he spoke and seemed to be listening to all the black caucus members’ concerns. In Scott’s case, the plea for peace was sprinkled liberally with praise for Obama.
“I really love the president and I’m a very good friend of his, very supportive of him,” Scott said.
“My heart aches for the position that he finds himself in. But he can come out of this, as I said, in an extraordinary leadership position because he has brought the issue to the brink. And sometimes you have to get to that brink and everybody knows you’re serious and just give a little moment. And sometimes it takes others to come around.”
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