Killing the Iran deal could backfire

If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu succeeds in getting Congress to kill President Obama’s deal with Iran, “it may be a Pyrrhic victory, said Ben-Dror Yemini in Yedioth Ahronoth (a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel). Of course the agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear programs in exchange for lifting of sanctions is terrible. The draft deal is full of loopholes and will lend legitimacy to the Islamic Republic’s repressive and dangerous theocracy. Most Arab countries are against the deal and privately support Netanyahu’s position rather than Obama’s. But America is still our most important ally and an even more open rift with the Obama administration could hurt. “Humiliating the president of the United States could evoke anti-Semitic blast waves” by seeming to give evidence to those who argue that rich Jews manipulate world events.

Even in the U.S., there is “an anti-Zionist coalition radical left and radical right” that would ramp up its anti-Semitic propaganda to frightening heights.” Instead of publicly defeating Obama by lobbying Congress, Netanyahu do far better to persuade the president to “climb down,” perhaps by pointing out that Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khomeini is already backtracking from the deal as framed. Netanyahu needs to remember that while “Obama is wrong, he isn’t an enemy.”

The Next Two Years at America’s Capital

Sadly both the president and the congress have decided that the next two years will not be about passing laws that will improve the quality of life for most Americans.

President Obama started the ball rolling with his threat to veto the Keystone XL pipeline. His contention is that there will be a consequential impact on the environment and in addition only 35 jobs will be created. He is talking about the additional jobs that will be added to already functioning refineries. He overlooks the hundreds of construction jobs that will be created in building the pipeline. He overlooks the fact that the refined oil could be used in the United States if needed. He overlooks the fact that oil sands will be transported by rail tanks cars and trucks.

Just as the Republicans are gaining support for the pipeline they distract everyone by attempting to pass an anti-abortion law that would prohibit government subsidized abortions if the woman is more than 20 weeks pregnant and had not reported being raped immediately after it had occurred. It was a large block of moderate female Republican congressional members that refused to vote in favor of the law. It was another prefect example of men deciding laws regulating women.

The other priority for the GOP is the stop Obama’s decision to not deport illegal aliens who have had no brushes with the law. Politico’s column GOP seeking Plan B on immigration suggests a few avenues the Republicans might take but none address the question surrounding the 12 million illegal aliens now in the United States.

Google “new GOP legislation” and all you find is discussion about the failed abortion law and efforts to stop Obama’s executive orders pertaining to illegal aliens.

So where is the unity among Republicans to prove to America’s voters that they can do more than say “No”? Senator Ted Cruz’s “GOP will fight Obamacare until the end of time” position is the best example of Republican philosophy.

Where are the unifiers in the Republican Party? Neither Speaker John Boehner nor Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have sufficient respect to lead the party. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus on Wednesday criticized President Obama’s State of the Union address as “aloof” and “detached from reality.” But Priebus has not been a unifying force in his party.

President Obama told us about his dreams in the State of the Union address. That will be part of his legacy. The Republican legacy for the next two years will be “We said no to Obama.”