On one hand, you have the NY Times lauding Obama for his “coordinated strategy” in obtaining the 34th Democratic Senator’s support in order to make sure that any vote in favor of defeating the Iran deal can be squashed by veto. On the other you have the NY Post, in which their Editorial Board calls this a hollow victory
Obama’s political win on the Iran deal is a hollow victory
By enlisting Barbara Mikulski as the 34th Senate vote for his disastrous nuclear deal with Iran, enough to sustain his veto of a resolution of disapproval, President Obama has scored a political victory — but a hollow one.
That’s because his agreement, the most important foreign-policy measure in decades, will take effect with the support of only a third of Congress — and a similar minority of the American people.
The president won’t win approval of his odious deal; a majority of Congress remains firmly opposed. He’s simply manipulated the process by demonizing his opponents as warmongers.
Yes, Obama’s rallied enough Democrats to back him in a show of blind partisan loyalty. But his “supporters†all stress their serious misgivings on the deal.
As the editorial notes, no one, save Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, and the rulers in Tehran are enthusiastic about it. Save perhaps a few clueless and blindly partisan Democratic Party supporters, who want to burnish Obama’s legacy, forgetting all the negatives which will kick in when Obama is out of office.
As House Speaker John Boehner noted, getting just enough Democrats to help him put over a bad deal, over the objections of a solid majority of Americans, is no victory.
If Democrats insist on this charade on the American people, Republicans have a duty to force them to debate the issue — and put themselves squarely on record.
Sadly, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell seems disinclined to acquiesce to the implementing the nuclear option, ie, requiring a simple majority vote on the issue, which would force the Democrats to either filibuster or engage in actual debate. The NY Post’s editorial board was among those who have already recommended McConnell implement the nuclear option for this issue. If Democrats did it when it came to Obama judicial nominees, it would be appropriate to implement the option for something as important as the Iran deal.
The People deserve a debate and a vote in the Senate.
Meanwhile, Jonathan S. Tobin says Democrats own this deal
But the most important point to be gleaned from Obama’s seeming triumph is that he and his party now bear complete responsibility for Iran’s good conduct as well as its nuclear program. (snip)
But what this means is that every act of Iranian terror, every instance of Hamas and Hezbollah using Iranian funds and material to wage war against Israel or moves against Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states must now be seen as having been enabled not just by Obama but also by his party.
If Iran cheats its way to a bomb before the deal expires or uses the wealth that Obama is lavishing on it to get them to agree to this deal to undermine regional stability it won’t be possible in the future for Democrats to say that this was simply Obama’s folly. No, by docilely following his lead for a deal that few of them were eager to embrace, the entire Democratic Party must now pray that the president is right and that Iran will seek to “get right with the world†rather than pursuing a religious and ideological agenda of conflict with the West and Israel.
Every Democrat in Congress needs to be put on record with a vote. Republicans have a duty to force a vote.
Crossed at Right Wing News.
Majority of Americans???
I don’t remember there being a ballot with this issue on it for the American people to vote on.
And let’s not forget that the “majority” of Americans don’t even vote anyways because they are so disenfranchised and not interested in government.
So I get really turned off when I ever hear someone claim to know what the “majority” of Americans want or believe.
As far as I can tell the “majority” of Americans want to be left alone and not bothered by the circus we call government.
Why don’t they just say the “majority” of those in government instead, that’s who they are really talking about. Those are the only ones with something to lose if the government shut down tomorrow. Those are the ones that lie, cheat and steal from the “majority” of Americans so they can live like royalty at the expense of others.
The poor getting crumbs off the table called welfare are not the ones sucking this country dry, it’s those who work in government and their cronies wanna be business owners who couldn’t run a successful company in a truly free market society. It’s those that can’t make it in the real world who are the problem and yet we keep following their ever word, whether republican or democrat, as if what they say means anything more than how much more do we have to pay…
Wake up people…. These people in government are your enemies more than anyone anywhere else in the world. They are the enemies of their countrymen because they are the leaches of society pretending to be important. Con artists…
Now that you know how I really feel I will end my rant.
The ones who are against this deal are the ones who want a war with Iran and are the same ones who suckered us into Iraq
The “unbiased” editorial called the agreement odious and disastrous.
And they complain that there are not enough Senate votes to override a Presidential veto. It’s the NY Post, so…
but still, they should probably read Article 1 Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution. But then, New Conservatives see the U.S. Constitution as an impediment to their objectives.
They claim that 1/3 of Americans favor the agreement. This is a dubious claim. More than one survey shows that over 50% favor an agreement that lifts economic sanctions in exchange for significant caps on the Iranian nuclear weapons programs.
Democrat after cowardly Democrat is making a political calculation – just as most did on the Iraq invasion/occupation authorization. No one can claim that any of our Senators are courageous. Senate Republicans never have to make tough choices as they just oppose all Democratic ideas and follow in lockstep all Republican ideas.
When the it became obvious that the Iraq invasion/occupation was a complete and utter disaster Democrats who supported it paid a price.