Ed Markey's 'present' vote on Syria sets off Twitter

Catalina Camia | USA TODAY

One of the first major votes of Democrat Ed Markey's Senate career has Twitter all excited — and not in a good way.

The Massachusetts lawmaker, sworn in to office in July after winning a special election, voted "present" on a resolution giving President Obama limited authority to use military force against Syria. Markey, a liberal who often votes with Obama, didn't vote "yes" as 10 of his Senate Foreign Relations Committee colleagues did.

He also didn't vote "no" with seven others, including two Democrats. The "present" vote means Markey was there, but didn't want to state which side he's on. It also makes it hard — at this point — to portray Markey as opposing Obama or siding with Republican hawks.

Boston Magazine summed up the reaction with this headline: "Ed Markey Annoys Literally Everyone by Voting 'Present' on Syrian Resolution."

"Profile in courage," reads part of the tweet from Brad Dayspring, communications director at the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Republican Gabriel Gomez, who was defeated by Markey, called his Senate rival's committee vote "embarrassing."

Markey's decades in the House and the time it took for him to get to the Senate wasn't lost on Steve Kornacki, a political writer at Salon. "So Ed Markey spent 37 years waiting to get to the Senate so he could confront a major issue and vote ... present," Kornacki tweeted.

In a statement, Markey says he has some concerns about the Syria resolution and wants to study "all of the relevant classified materials" about the use of chemical weapons by Bashar Assad's regime before deciding whether to authorize the use of force.

"I am concerned about the unintended consequences of a U.S. military attack on Syria and that such a strike could lead, over time, to the entanglement of our brave service men and women in an intractable Syrian civil war," he says.

The senator assured The Boston Globe that he'll be prepared to vote "yes" or "no" next week when the full Senate is expected to consider the resolution.

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