Pick Your Poison Vol. 6: Will House Democrats choose Clinton or Sanders on Fighting ISIS?

May 12, 2016

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Hillary Clinton has failed in her quest to unify Democrats behind her, and now faces the prospect of a contested convention that will be decided by party insiders rather than voters. House Democrats now have a choice to make: Will they risk the ire of the liberal base and stand by unpopular FBI target Clinton? Or will they turn to socialist Senator Bernie Sanders and his extreme policies?

In this sixth of a series of pieces highlighting the pair of undesirable choices placed before Democrats, we will examine the Clinton and Sanders positions on combating ISIS.

  • President Obama’s failure to develop a coherent policy to combat ISIS has allowed it to expand its reach, both in Syria and Iraq and internationally.
  • Hillary Clinton has similarly been unable to lay out a coherent plan on ISIS.
    • In a November debate, Clinton stated that the fight against ISIS “cannot be an American fight.”
    • Yet just 5 days later she told the Council on Foreign Relations that her plan was an “acceleration” of President Obama’s strategy, and that the U.S. “must lead the world to defeat this threat.”
  • Bernie Sanders, on the other hand, has been very clear with his position that the United States should not take a leadership role in combating ISIS.
    • As early as 2014, Sanders went on the record with his belief that too much attention was being paid to the violent terrorist group.
    • Sanders has also called for Iranian troops in Syria, which has been called “another example of how little he understands foreign policy.”
  • As the Democrat primary heads to a contested convention, House Democrats have a choice to make on ISIS. Will they back Clinton and her plan to continue with President Obama’s ineffective and incoherent foreign policy that has allowed ISIS to thrive? Or will they turn to Bernie Sanders who would prefer the U.S. to allow Iran, a notorious state sponsor of terrorism, to take the lead in combating the dangerous terrorist organization as it expands its influence in the Middle East?

NRCC COMMENT: “Whether House Democrats stand with unpopular FBI target Hillary Clinton or socialist Senator Bernie Sanders, they will be forced to defend a set of policies that will further destabilize the Middle East and fail to defeat ISIS. Neither Hillary Clinton nor Bernie Sanders have a coherent plan to combat ISIS, and House Democrats will be forced to explain to voters their support for policies that will make America less safe.” – Bob Salera, NRCC Spokesman

Background:

Sanders: ‘It will be a contested convention.’ “Bernie Sanders predicted Sunday that Hillary Clinton would not win enough pledged delegates to claim the nomination ahead of the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, and he delivered his most forceful call yet for superdelegates in states he’s won to consider throwing their support to him. Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the Vermont senator argued that Clinton ‘will need superdelegates to take her over the top at the convention in Philadelphia. In other words, it will be a contested convention.’” (Daniel Strauss, Politico, 5/1/16)

Obama’s Problem with ISIS Isn’t an Incomplete Strategy – It’s a Failing One. “President Obama is under fire for explaining the lack of progress in the fight against the Islamic State on the fact that he does not “yet have a complete strategy.” This apparently candid concession echoes the one he made 10 months ago when he acknowledged that “we don’t have a strategy yet” to confront the Islamic State. Critics are understandably lambasting the president for the apparent dilatoriness, and I have some sympathy for the critique… Yet, in this instance, I think the critics and the president are both wrong. The problem is not an absence of strategy, it is that the strategy that does exist is failing and the administration is not yet willing to admit that fact.” (Peter Feaver, Foreign Policy, 6/9/15)

McCain: Obama’s failed leadership led to rise of ISIS. “Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says President Obama’s “failed policies” and lack of leadership have led to the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). ‘It’s because of the President of the United States’ failed policies, ‘leading from behind,’ which has led to this chaos and renewed influence and growth of ISIS,’ McCain told John Catsimatidis on “The Cats Roundtable” on New York’s AM-970 on Sunday.” (Bradford Richardson, The Hill, 11/15/15)

Hillary Clinton’s ISIS Plan. “Clinton described the plan she put forward in a speech before the Council on Foreign Relations as an ‘acceleration’ of the strategy being pursued by President Barack Obama, and many of her prescriptions mirror ideas put forward by her Republican rivals in the race for the White House.The former secretary of state also pointedly reversed her statement from five days ago during the Democratic presidential debate that the Islamic State group threat ‘cannot be an American fight.’” (David Catanese, US News and World Reports, 11/19/15)

Sen. Bernie Sanders: ‘I’ll be damned’ if Americans lead ISIS fight. “Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of the Senate’s leading doves, said Tuesday he doesn’t want the United States leading the fight against ISIS. Instead, said the Vermont senator, who is eyeing a 2016 presidential bid, the nation should be focused on helping the middle class… Sanders also joined 21 other senators earlier this month in opposing a resolution to train and arm 5,000 moderate Syrian rebels to combat ISIS.” (Jeremy Diamond, CNN, 9/30/14)

Hillary Clinton’s campaign: Do you think Bernie Sanders could defeat ISIS? “Others have called out some of Sanders’ questionable statements on ISIS (also known as the Islamic State, ISIL, or Daesh) and Iran. The Daily Beast declared on Sunday that Sanders’ suggestion for getting Iran and Saudi Arabia to cooperate on defeating terrorism in the Middle East ‘is just another example of how little he understands foreign policy.’” (Pamela Engel, Business Insider, 1/19/16)