Nevada delegation lacks experience with questions of war
By Karoun Demirjian, Las Vegas Sun
WASHINGTON — Asking Congress whether the U.S. should strike Syria put President Obama in an unusual position among U.S. presidents, who have usually engaged in military conflicts first and asked lawmakers for their opinions later.
It’s also put the Nevada delegation in an awkward position. Thanks to the presidential history of asking Congress’ forgiveness instead of permission, few of Nevada’s representatives have ever had to decide to authorize a military strike before.
“No one knows how to do it. No one wants to do this,” said David Damore, UNLV political science professor. “But the president throwing this back to Congress is forcing them to answer the question: Hey, you want me to do all this stuff, now let’s see what you have to say.”
That Nevada’s delegation would be green when it comes to this once-in-a-blue-moon issue is hardly surprising: Four of its six members haven’t even logged three years in Washington yet.