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| Congressman Alan Grayson |
Ultraliberal Congressman Alan Grayson was interviewed on Thursday’s PBS NewsHour, and struck a fierce pose against missile strikes in Syria in a peace-sign tie. Anchor Jeffrey Brown repeatedly questioned how cavalier Grayson seemed in protecting a president of his own party.
From Obama’s corner, Brown began by asking what kind of message inaction would send to Syria. Grayson said “if you want to send a message, use Hallmark, not missiles.” It’s a lame joke, since Hallmark isn’t making cards for special occasions like chemical weapons attacks on civilians. Brown kept sputtering about how he could let Obama down:
From Obama’s corner, Brown began by asking what kind of message inaction would send to Syria. Grayson said “if you want to send a message, use Hallmark, not missiles.” It’s a lame joke, since Hallmark isn’t making cards for special occasions like chemical weapons attacks on civilians. Brown kept sputtering about how he could let Obama down:
JEFFREY BROWN: What about the prestige, the credibility of the United States and of the president himself? Do you worry about that?
ALAN GRAYSON: We don't -- no, we don't earn credibility by doing things that are stupid and counterproductive. We have to get over that whole idea. And if it were a question of our credibility, then, in fact, I think our credibility is stronger by making wise choices here. And I'll tell you this. We cannot go to war for the sake of anybody's, how shall I say this, credibility.
ALAN GRAYSON: We don't -- no, we don't earn credibility by doing things that are stupid and counterproductive. We have to get over that whole idea. And if it were a question of our credibility, then, in fact, I think our credibility is stronger by making wise choices here. And I'll tell you this. We cannot go to war for the sake of anybody's, how shall I say this, credibility.
BROWN: But this is your -- many people in your own -- of course, this is a president in your own party. He's talked about -- he said: "My credibility is not on the line. The international community's credibility is on the line." Is he wrong about that?
GRAYSON: Yes. The international community has spoken. We are the only ones who are contemplating anything like this. If we don't do this attack, no one else will. The British, on exactly the same evidence, decided against doing exactly this specific thing. The international community has decided that, when it works, it works multilaterally, and not simply by lobbing missiles and bombs into a war zone, with effects we cannot even possibly anticipate.
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