September 04, 2013 09:50 AM UTC

Colorado Congressional Delegation Continues to Ponder Syria

•  
• by: Colorado Pols

As The Denver Post reports:

Colorado's members of Congress were universally uncommitted Tuesday on whether to take any military action in Syria, saying they want more time to gather information before casting a vote probably next week.

When Congress officially reconvenes next week after its August recess, it is Colorado Republicans who will initially be in the spotlight thanks to House Speaker John Boehner's public support of President Obama on military intervention in Syria. As TPM explains, Boehner's move has D.C. in a bit of a tizzy:

“I appreciate the president reaching out to me and my colleagues in the Congress over the last couple of weeks. I also appreciate the president asking the Congress to support him in this action,” the Speaker said. His remarks were backed by his deputy, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), who also announced his support for Obama’s mission shortly after the morning meeting at the White House.

Boehner’s support changes the politics because scores of lawmakers in both parties have remained skeptical of military intervention in Syria despite the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack in the suburbs of Damascus. Republicans, in particular, are deeply divided between the foreign policy hawks and a growing strain of isolationists within their tent. (Democrats are also split between war-weary progressives and humanitarian interventionists.)

This sets up a potentially nasty debate between GOP leaders and conservatives like Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), who have been making the case against intervening. The debate will also test the instincts of 2016 presidential contenders like Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) to remain on the opposite side of Obama.

This puts Colorado Republicans such as Rep. Cory Gardner in a tight spot; Gardner has been a committed foot soldier for Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who stood behind Boehner in his support for intervention in Syria.