Posted on 04/14/2015 6:59:04 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
It may be as soon as today when the Iran Bill finishes its journey through the Senate and comes to a vote. If enacted, the bill will give Congress the right to review any agreement with Iran made by John Kerry and the White House and either approve or deny the lifting of any sanctions imposed on that country by Congress. (How it was ever a question as to how sanctions imposed by Congress wouldn’t be lifted by Congress is a question for another day.) From the sound of things, Bob Corker is hopeful that things may be wrapped up this afternoon.
Despite a veto threat from President Barack Obama, there is strong bipartisan support on Capitol Hill for Congress to have a say in any deal that the U.S. and five other nations are able to negotiate to keep Iran from being able to develop nuclear weapons in exchange for easing sanctions crippling the economy of the influential nation in the Middle East.
The White House doesn’t want Congress to take any action that could upset the delicate negotiations that are supposed to wrap up with a final agreement by the end of June.
Sen. Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said a vote is likely on Tuesday, possibly on a new version still being crafted Monday night.
“There have been some tweaks,” said Corker, R-Tenn. “I’m hopeful that we’re going to be successful tomorrow.”
Corker originally introduced the bill with Bob Menendez, but it might be nice if the latter pulled his name out of mix given his rather, er… complicated personal situation these days. Even without Menendez there are plenty of other Democrats who are onboard with this or at least making noises along the lines of signing off when they see the final version. Senators Chris Coons and Ben Cardin, both Democrats, are ready to move forward. And assuming they get a completed package which is at all palatable to the GOP, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has already said he’ll bring it up in the House almost immediately.
The problem is that the President has been saying since January that he’ll veto the bill if it reaches his desk. How much support would there be in the Democrat caucus to override? It’s one thing to cast a vote which simply reaffirms the power of Congress as a coequal branch of the government, but it’s another matter entirely to ask them to essentially poke their collective finger in the eye of the titular leader of their party. This would be a major defeat for the President, particularly given how hard he’s been trying to sell the idea that Congress should lay low and let Kerry handle this. But the Republicans don’t need all that many defectors to override and they’ve been given cover by their leadership to do so. I think this is the one, rare case where they could actually do it.
Meanwhile, Obama spent part of yesterday in meetings with the leaders of prominent Jewish groups trying to keep them from attack him on yet another front. That rowboat is leaking to the point where it’s taking on a lot of water and the President’s list of allies grows thin.
I will be the first to admit that Corker has surprised me.
My understanding is that Barky has already lifted most of the sanctions. So basically they should be impeaching him. Unfortunately it looks like that won’t happen.
NOTHING less than absolute sovereignty is acceptable ... without it, scrap the whole idea and go to war against the white mosque ... mF this ****** bastard ... period.
The only people who are going to vote against this are the true Jew haters. No one in their right mind should vote against this, especially knowing that Obama is gone in less than 2 years and they will have this pig of a deal thrown back in their faces come election time.
I’m thinking AIPAC must be burning up the phone lines today with the Democrats, and rightly so.
If the congress says no, he’ll do the deal anyhow. He has a pen and a phone don’t you know. The media will applaud his political fortitude.
He knows the feckless Republicans in congress won’t ever impeach him. From Obama’s perspective, there is no reason to be concerned about them. He has already run all over them without paying any consequences whatsoever.
Not a big worry at all. Democrats still have their votes.
You can bet that these "tweaks" will effectively neuter the bill. Corker is an opportunistic a$$hole who likes to play the bipartisan card. He is pro-amnesty for illegals and was part of the Gang of 8.
We are witnessing another kabuki dance with the politicians making believe that they are holding the WH accountable. The fix is in.
+1. Congress is being manhandled by the executive branch.
Right, we’ve seen this movie many times before. They put on a show of defiance, but its just that. All smoke no fire.
I am quite familiar with that position. I prefer to hold out hope that enough good faith remains for our Congress to actually do the right thing. Your seeming certainty leads only to despair and I just can't roll with that.
If the Republicans had any backbone they would have put Obama’s phone and his pen where the sun don’t shine. We should already be well into impeachment by now.
I live in the real world, not fantasy land. I don't know how familiar you are with the machinations going on behind the scenes on negotiations for changes. From what I have read, the Dems are busy weakening the bill to make it meaningless. Coons and Cardin are not our friends. Corker wants a bill so bad, he will make whatever concessions are necessary to get a bill passed. Sound familiar?
Because the Senate is full of morons.
What are the details of this Iranian nuclear deal, have the details been posted anywhere?
Agree completely. There is more than enough evidence to impeach by now but they will never do it. Republicans are looking to just ride out the next 19 months just like they ride out everything else.
But very serious trouble is brewing, especially abroad. Our foreign adversaries know this timetable too and will take full advantage of it. Things are going to get very ugly IMO.
You have to approve it to find out what’s in it.
Changes...weakening...concessions. That is exactly what is going on. Good post.
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