Arkansans to 5 of theirs in Congress: No Syria hit

WASHINGTON - Arkansans are speaking out against U.S. intervention in Syria, inundating congressional offices with thousands of emails, phone calls and Facebook comments.

All members of the Arkansas congressional delegation besides U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton say they’re encountering major opposition to a military strike proposed by President Barack Obama to punish the Syrian government for its reported use of poison gas on Syrian rebels.

“It’s overwhelming,” said U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin of Little Rock, a Republican representing the 2nd Congressional District. He estimates that 85 percent of the people contacting him oppose an attack on Syria.

“I have never, since I’ve been in Congress, seen an issue unite so many disparate groups - conservatives, liberals, Tea Party folks, independents, moderates, fiscal conservatives, social conservatives, social liberals. It is incredible,” Griffin said in a telephone interview Monday.

In Northwest Arkansas, U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, a Rogers Republican, has heard a similar message.

“Congressman Womack’s office has received nearly 1,500 calls and letters, with all but a handful opposing military intervention in Syria, and his conversations and town hall meetings have yielded the same results. It is clear that Arkansans are overwhelmingly opposed to military intervention,” said Womack spokesman Claire Burghoff.

Womack of the 3rd Congressional District released a statement late Monday in which he said his constituents have “clearly spoken” against intervention.

“Therefore,” he said, “I cannot and will not support military action in Syria.”

Womack said in the statement that he attended a classified briefing, evaluated the administration’s intelligence, and concluded that intervention was not in the best interests of the United States.

In Northeast Arkansas, U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, a Republican from Jonesboro, found little appetite for military action.

Last week, Crawford said that “barring a major change in events,” he would vote against authorizing President Obama to strike Syria.

That decision was well-received, according to Crawford spokesman Jack Pandol.

“The response from folks back home has been overwhelming and united across ideological lines,” Pandol said in a written statement. “Prior to the Congressman’s announcement, our offices in D.C .and in the [1st Congressional] District fielded hundreds of calls, and our tally put the numbers at over 99% against [authorizing an attack on Syria.] Once we made the announcement on social media, the positive feedback was overwhelming - our Facebook post has nearly 350 likes and 75 shares and continues to rise. Our Twitter feedback was 60x our normal reach, as well.”

U.S. Sen. John Boozman, a Republican from Rogers, is also being bombarded with anti-war messages - an avalanche of opinion that hasn’t been topped since Congress was debating whether to authorize a strike on Iraq, spokesman Patrick Creamer said.

“We’ve received 2,400 emails on Syria and only 19 of those have supported military action. The rest of those were all in opposition,” Creamer said, adding that a “sizable amount” had arrived over the weekend and would drive up the tally.

When they’re not reading emails about Syria, Boozman staffers are fielding phone calls about the subject. “It’s pretty much the only thing folks are calling about,” Creamer said, estimating that Boozman’s receptionists receive 250 phone calls a day on Syria. “They’re only getting one or two calls a day that are supportive of military action - the rest are all in opposition.”

U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, a Democrat from Little Rock, is also finding little appetite for another military undertaking. He’s heard from opponents of a Syrian strike online and in line.

“Whether I was checking out at the grocery store or visiting a local business while traveling our state, I heard from thousands of concerned Arkansans about the President’s plan to take military action against Syria,” Pryor said in a written statement. “Like folks back home, I do not support the President’s proposal because the Administration has failed to prove a compelling national security interest, clearly define a mission that has a definitive end-state, or build a true coalition of allies that would actively participate in any action we take.”

While the five other members of the Arkansas congressional delegation are encountering massive opposition to a Syria strike, the response is harder to gauge in the offices of Tom Cotton of the 4th District, the one delegation member who supports empowering the president to intervene. Cotton, of Dardanelle, is seeking the GOP nomination to oppose Pryor in 2014.

Cotton’s spokesman, Caroline Rabbitt, said she couldn’t say how many calls and emails that Cotton has received, and she couldn’t say whether most of them favor or oppose military action in Syria.

“I don’t really have an exact number for you unfortunately because we have multiple people who answer our phones and respond to constituents,” she said via email. “We’ve heard from people in favor and people opposing.Most interestingly I would say we’ve had a significant number of callers who are also simply looking for more information on the topic before [they] form an opinion. They feel the President hasn’t properly explained the situation in Syria and are looking for a leader amongst their elected officials.”

Asked whether most of Cotton’s callers and emailers favored or opposed military intervention, Rabbitt responded by email: “I can’t really say a majority is in one camp or another. They are all across the board.”