Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said President Obama has labored hard to “unite the world” against ISIS and Republicans need to get behind whatever strategy he presents tonight.
“The Congress has to hold together and back the president on this. I think the president has been working very hard to put together a coalition to go against ISIS,” Boxer told MSNBC. “Now, let’s — you know, we forget sometimes who ISIS is, and what they believe in. They believe, if you don’t see the world as they do in terms of this very strict interpretation of Islam, OK? That you either convert or they kill you, I mean, this is an incredible terrorist organization.”
“We’ve seen the way they act. The way they have treated people who are just innocent, freelance journalists, beheading two Americans. Our president is the commander-in-chief. ISIS is an imminent treat. We ought to be backing the president. He has got nine nations now to help us. He’s got NATO to help us. He’s going to the U.N. to get them to help us. The Arab League has said we have to take actions.”
With Obama “pulling together the world,” she continued, “you would think that the Republicans would be heart of that world coalition because no one will be left — faith in this world if we don’t bear down on this group.”
Boxer charged that all Republicans care about is making Obama look bad.
“Trying to defeat him in his last election. That’s what they care about and now, all they care about is taking back the Senate. That’s all they care about,” she said.
“So, if there’s one point in history — and it’s coming… when this president is going to go out to the American people and I can tell you, he has worked hard to get the world united here. The people of this country are going unite behind him, and frankly if [Republicans] don’t act as if they’re part of this fabric of this nation against ISIS I think they will suffer. I hope they will suffer because this is a time for us to put aside the D label, the R label, the I label, whatever label we hide behind and be Americans who want to stand up to this threat, but not do it the way we did Iraq, with walking into the middle of the civil war.”
Calling Obama “deliberative,” Boxer then acknowledged the president “does wear a tan suit once in a while.”
“But let me tell you, he is decisive once he has all the facts on his plate and I want a deliberative president,” she added.
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