Last night during the Republican debate Marco Rubio and several other Republican candidates argued for a no fly zone over Syria. Part of the context of the no fly zone was standing up to Putin. Imagine this conversation between President Rubio (or Hillary or any of the candidates supporting a no fly zone) and Putin.

Rubio: Hi Putin, we’re going to establish a no fly zone in Syria

Putin: OK…?

Rubio: Please remove any air support you have been giving the Syrian Army. From now on, coordinate with American forces if you want to bomb ISIS

Putin: We will continue flying our planes

What does Rubio do? Does he threaten to shoot them down? Does he actually shoot down Russian planes? Does he back down? Rubio is leading in the prediction markets for the Republican nod. Hillary is leading for the Democratic nod. The people most likely to be president next year are saying they would enforce a no fly zone in Syria, implying they would shoot down Russian planes to do so. This should scare you.