U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Congress in September 2013 that the United States should intervene in Syria, following the evidence of a chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government on its own people. “This is not the time for armchair isolationism. This is not the time to be spectators to a slaughter,” Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
 
The term “armchair quarterback” originated as someone in an armchair following a football game, able to make the best decisions from the comfort of a safe distance from the playing field. “Armchair isolationist”—cited on Twitter almost immediately after Kerry used “armchair isolationism”— intensifies “isolationist” and means someone who likes to take it easy and remain uninvolved.
 
     
The Raw Story
John Kerry: This is not the time for armchair isolationism
By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, September 3, 2013 15:44 EDT
The United States must “stand up and act” to punish the Syrian regime and cannot resort to isolationism in the face of “slaughter,” Secretary of State John Kerry told lawmakers Tuesday.
 
“This is not the time for armchair isolationism. This is not the time to be spectators to a slaughter,” Kerry told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
 
“Neither our country nor our conscience can afford the cost of silence,” Kerry said, according to prepared remarks.
     
Twitter
NOW English‏
@NOW_eng  
AFP: #Kerry says no time for ‘armchair isolationism’ on #Syria #NOW_Eng #NOW_Syria #US
12:01 PM - 3 Sep 13
   
Twitter
T. Nelson MacThuuris‏
@athodyd  
I’d like to thank John Kerry for coining the term “armchair isolationist,” one of the most enjoyable stupid political slurs in a long time
3:00 PM - 3 Sep 13
 
Washington (DC) Examiner
Beltway Confidential
John Kerry: This is not the time for armchair isolationism
By ASHE SCHOW | SEPTEMBER 3, 2013 AT 4:42 PM
Secretary of State John Kerry told senators Tuesday during a Senate Foreign Relations committee hearing on U.S. military involvement in Syria that “this is not the time for armchair isolationism.”
 
Kerry expanded on that remark by saying “this is not the time to be spectators to slaughter. Neither our country or our conscience can afford the cost of silence.”
   
Twitter
Ashe Schow‏
@AsheSchow  
The new term to describe anti-war peeps? “Armchair isolationists,” says @JohnKerry. Kind of like #justablogger http://washingtonexaminer.com/john-kerry-this-is-not-the-time-for-armchair-isolationism/article/2535115 …
7:51 PM - 3 Sep 13
 
Twitter
Morlock Publishing‏
@MorlockP  
You say “armchair isolationist”, as if that’s a bad thing, and not the entire point of the US Constitution.
6:54 AM - 4 Sep 13