Thursday, December 12, 2013
From: Gary L. Bauer
The Dog That Didn’t Bark
It has been 24 hours since the Ryan-Murray deal hit Washington, and, as I feared, conservatives are forming their usual circular firing squad in attacking the deal. House Minority leader John Boehner lashed out at conservative groups with over-the-top rhetoric. Meanwhile, Texas Senator Ted Cruz called the deal “deeply concerning,” and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul called its increased funding “shameful.”
Indeed, the deal is far from perfect. But the only other option includes the prospect for another government shutdown, and you’ll remember how well that went for conservatives the last time.
There is little appetite among conservatives for another budget showdown, and, if I had to guess, I’d predict there will be enough House Republicans and Democrats who will grudgingly go along with the deal for it to pass. (By the way, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is under fire from some in the Tea Party, has indicated that he’ll vote “no.”)
Whether or not you like the deal, in the grand scheme of things, it is very small potatoes. What hasn’t received enough comment is how, after five years of the nastiest, most vitriolic politics this country has seen, a time when we couldn’t get bipartisan agreement on whether the sun rises in the West or East, Republican Representative Paul Ryan and Democratic Senator Patty Murray have come up with a deal that neither side loves but that will probably pass.
How did it happen? Is it their incredible negotiating skills? Probably not. I think it has a lot to do with the dog that didn’t bark – by which I mean President Obama. On the defensive over Obamacare, and falling to historic lows in every poll, Obama was unable to insert himself in the middle of the budget negotiations – and thus unable to blow them up. Over the last five years, whenever Obama has gotten involved, he has set conditions that no Republican could ever agree to, and they’ve almost always failed. This time, Obama wasn’t involved, and it’s no coincidence that Democrats and Republicans seem to have come to an agreement.
Americans Oppose Iran Deal
It’s been more than two weeks since the Geneva nuclear deal with Iran for a six-month moratorium on its nuclear program in exchange for a loosening of sanctions against the regime. When the deal was announced, the left and much of the media applauded. But polls show most Americans oppose the agreement.
A new poll finds that overwhelming majorities of Americans across the political spectrum distrust Iran and favor deepening sanctions against the Iranian government. The poll of likely voters, conducted by Luntz Global, also found that Americans fear the mullahs in Iran more than any other Middle Eastern regime.
Also, 77 percent of Democrats and 96 percent of Republicans surveyed would rather vote for a senator who favors sanctions, including “increased pressure on Iran until Iran accepts a final agreement that removes their ability to build nuclear weapons.” Another interesting finding: just seven percent of likely voters trust Iran’s claim that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful. Numerous other polls have also found strong bipartisan opposition to the deal and to the Iranian regime.
There is evidence that Iran is interpreting the agreement much differently than the White House. Dr. Emily Landau of the Arms Control and Regional Security Program at the Institute for National Security Studies told the Jerusalem Post’s Yaakov Lappin that Iran has rejected the White House fact sheet on the accord and announced that it may be flouting the agreement by testing its advanced new-generation centrifuge.
Landau said, “What we have seen so far, since the late November agreement, is Iran indeed demonstrating that it will continue to push the envelope with its interpretations, with statements and pronouncements that certainly do not indicate ‘good faith’ as far as its intentions to back down from military aspirations.”
Meanwhile, Landau said, the Obama Administration isn’t responding to these new developments and is instead preoccupied with preventing Congress from passing more sanctions against Iran.
The White House and its media allies portrayed the agreement as a groundbreaking peace deal. But it wasn’t. Obama seems to think the Iranian’s can be coddled, an approach that has clearly emboldened the Iranian regime. This is another issue that conservatives shouldn’t be afraid to confront Obama on.
Now’s The Time
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