This morning, news broke confirming what conservatives have been dreading for weeks—Obama finally got his bad Iran deal, and is now threatening to veto any action by Congress that would derail it.
Iran is, of course, celebrating:
Israel, on the other hand, is predictably and justifiably furious about the west’s capitulation. PM Netanyahu’s tweets speak for themselves:
The deal still faces hurdles in Congress, but—as is the case with most breathtakingly reckless plans—the fact that it has already happened gives it an advantage over the efforts of the deal’s opponents. This nugget of news is crucial:
As NBC News senior political editor Mark Murray points out, the fact that Obama and Hillary have discussed the deal, and come out in full-throated support of it, means that it’s almost outside the scope of possibility that there will be enough congressional democrats ready to turn their coats and derail the thing.
Of note: Clinton’s initial reaction hedged against full-throated support…
…until it didn’t.
She also offered a statement:
“I think this is an important step which puts a lid on Iran’s nuclear programs. And it will enable us to then turn our attention as it must to doing what we can with our other partners in the region and beyond to try to prevent and contain Iran’s other bad actions.”“So all in all, we have to look at this seriously, evaluate it carefully but I believe based on what I know now that this is an important.”
Still, Republicans in Congress have been preparing for this moment, and are coming out in waves against the deal. House Speaker John Boehner revealed today that he believes the agreement will not only provide excessive sanctions relief, but pave the way for Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. Still, he and his staff are actually reading through the deal for confirmation that it is indeed as bad as everyone thinks it is, so look for specific attacks coming from the House caucus.
Presidential hopeful Jeb Bush has taken a similar tack, committing to reading the deal before launching specific attacks on the text. Is this a hedge? Maybe—but I also appreciate the optic. His primary opponents offered something a little more spicy:
Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, who launched his campaign Monday, said “President Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran will be remembered as one of America’s worst diplomatic failures.” He was echoed by Florida senator Marco Rubio.Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee issued a typically fiery statement, proclaiming “Shame on the Obama administration for agreeing to a deal that empowers an evil Iranian regime to carry out its threat to ‘wipe Israel off the map’ and bring ‘death to America.’”
…the left-handed caucus, of course, can always be counted on to prop up a bad situation (credit to Schumer for at least pretending to be skeptical):
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders was even more positive about the deal on Tuesday, saying “[The deal] is a victory for diplomacy over saber-rattling and could keep the United States from being drawn into another never-ending war in the Middle East.”Senator Chuck Schumer, slated to become the next Senate Minority Leader, said he intends “to go through this agreement with a fine-tooth comb … Supporting or opposing this agreement is not a decision to be made lightly, and I plan to carefully study the agreement before making an informed decision.”
So, what’s the takeaway? First, this:
Obama “exceeded expectations,” and still managed to make a mess.
Sounds about right.
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