Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 190
Trump Is Everywhere
Sen. Mark Kirk is on audio defending indicted Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) while accusing President Obama of targeting Menendez because of his stance on Iran, Politico reports.
Said Kirk: “And let me say something about Bob Menendez. I believe that Bob Menendez was indicted solely on the crime of opposing the President on Iran.”
“International inspectors confirmed Saturday that Iran had dismantled large sections of its nuclear program, as agreed in a historic accord last summer, paving the way for the lifting of oil and financial sanctions by the United States and other world powers,” the New York Times reports.
“The announcement came just hours after Iran said it had released four Americans, including The Washington Post reporter, Jason Rezaian, as part of a prisoner swap with the United States. American officials said the two deals were negotiated separately, but Secretary of State John Kerry had made it clear in recent weeks that he was engaged in behind-the-scenes talks on the fate of the Americans, and clearly wanted the issue cleared up before the nuclear agreement went into effect.”
“We shouldn’t have to swap prisoners. These Americans were taken illegally in violation of international law and they should have been released without condition, but you know, the Iranians have treated this president with disrespect for years and he continues to take it. I would not take it as president.”
— Gov. Chris Christie, quoted by the Washington Post.
Senate Democrats “blocked legislation meant to kill the Iran nuclear deal for a third time, securing perhaps the greatest foreign policy win of President Obama’s six years in office and clearing the way to implement the accord,” Reuters reports.
“By a 56-42 vote, the Republican-majority Senate fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance in the 100-member chamber. With no more Senate votes this week, the result ensured Congress will not pass a resolution of disapproval that would have crippled the deal by eliminating Obama’s ability to waive many sanctions. A resolution would have had to pass both the Senate and House of Representatives by midnight Thursday, and survive Obama’s veto, to be enacted.”
Politico: “Republicans are plotting to make Democrats pay dearly for backing an agreement the GOP argues hinges on an historic enemy of the United States playing nice. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to return to the floor next week to force Democrats to take more votes Republicans say they’ll regret as soon as Iran violates the terms of the deal or sponsors terrorist attacks, which critics believe is just a matter of time.”
“After that will come the attack ads, national GOP officials say. It’s expected to be a key cog of Republicans’ electoral strategy: some GOP senators are already comparing it to Obamacare in its scope and potential to damage Democratic supporters politically.”
“The Senate narrowly blocked a measure aimed at derailing the landmark nuclear accord with Iran, effectively ending a bitter, partisan fight in Congress over the two-decades-long deal,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The 58-42 vote clears the way for President Barack Obama to implement an agreement seen as the foreign-policy capstone of his second term without the embarrassing spectacle of a veto war with the GOP-controlled Congress.”
Sarah Palin blasted President Obama for living in a fantasy world on the Iran nuclear deal, the Daily Mail reports.
Said Palin: “Only in an Orwellian Obama world full of sprinkly fairy dust blown from atop a unicorn as he’s peeking through a really pretty pink kaleidoscope would he ever see victory or safety of America or Israel in this treaty.”
“Last week, I announced to the world if the House and Senate will treat Iran — the Iran treaty as a treaty, I will not run for my congressional seat again. It’s the only thing that I have left that our leadership wants beside my integrity.”
— Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), in an email to Glenn Beck.
First Read: “If you looked at all of today’s events, you’d think that we’re at some tipping point in the debate over the Iran deal. The Democratic and GOP frontrunners — Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump — are making dueling arguments regarding the deal. And Congress is equally fired up today. But much like the Battle of New Orleans, all of these rhetorical guns are being fired as the war over the Iran deal is essentially a done deal. The story is over, but the talking (or fighting) isn’t.”
“We found that out yesterday after the Obama White House got 42 Senate Democrats to support the deal — one more than what’s needed to filibuster a resolution of disapproval, which would prevent the president from even having to issue a veto. (Now all of these 42 Senate Dems might not be committed to a filibuster right now, but do they want to have to take additional votes? That’s the question they’ll be facing.) So consider today a day full of sound and fury signifying nothing. As for Obama, the Iran deal represents his biggest achievement of his second term. But like with his other wins, it’s never pretty or easy. He may be getting what he wants, but it’s hardly a victory lap when bipartisan majorities in Congress and in the public aren’t celebrating with you “
“I know of no nation in history that has agreed to guarantee that the means of its own destruction will be in the hands of another nation, particularly one that is hostile. Arming and funding Iran while simultaneously providing them a pathway to nuclear arsenal is not an act of peace. It’s not, as President Obama claims, the only alternative to war. It is madness.”
— Dick Cheney, quoted by MSNBC, arguing that nuclear deal will give Iran the means to launch a nuclear attack on the United States.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), one of a handful of undecided Democratic senators, said Tuesday he will vote to disapprove of the Iran nuclear deal, the Washington Post reports.
“Manchin’s decision comes on the day lawmakers are reassembling in Washington after a month long break, with the Iran deal at the top of a high-stakes list of September business. With 38 senators already publicly in favor of the deal — enough to sustain a presidential veto — Manchin is not expected to derail it. But it makes it more unlikely that Democrats will be able to cobble together the 41 votes necessary to prevent a disapproval resolution from reaching President Obama’s desk and forcing a veto.”
“I will make that agreement so tough. And if they break it, they will have hell to pay… Politically, and certainly for the nomination, I would love to tell you that I’m gonna rip up this contract, I’m going to be the toughest guy in the world. But you know what? Life doesn’t work that way.”
— Donald Trump, quoted by the Washington Post, breaking with most Republicans on the Iran deal saying you can’t just break a contract with someone.
President Obama “locked in enough support in Congress Wednesday to ensure he can overcome bipartisan opposition and implement a landmark nuclear accord with Iran,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“More than a month after global diplomats struck an agreement limiting Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief, the White House secured the backing of 34 Senate Democrats–the minimum needed to guarantee the deal can advance despite reservations in Congress. Even if Congress passes a resolution disapproving the deal later this month, Mr. Obama is expected to veto the resolution. Support from Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D., Md.) means there won’t be enough votes to override that veto.”
Sens. Chris Coons (D-DE) and Bob Casey (D-PA) “have decided to support the Iran nuclear deal, putting President Obama on the brink of a major diplomatic breakthrough that will allow him to fully implement the controversial deal over the objections of the Republican-led Congress,” the Washington Post reports.
“Coons’s decision… delivered a powerful blow to opponents of the plan because the Delaware Democrat had previously voiced some of the deepest skepticism about the controversial deal. It came as Casey announced support for the deal and left Obama needing just one more vote in the Senate to claim victory.”
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) told the Washington Post that he will support President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, ending speculation that he was waffling on the agreement.
Said Reid: “This is the best way, the only way, to keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.”
“The White House lit into Sen. Chuck Schumer on Friday for his decision to vote no on the Iran deal and suggested that he’s put his clear path to be the next Democratic leader in doubt,” Politico reports.
“And a person familiar with Schumer’s decision said the senator’s allies blame the White House for leaking news from a private call Schumer made to President Barack Obama on Thursday afternoon and breaking a direct request the senator made to the president to give him until Friday to put word out about his decision. The person also noted, with more than a little acidity, that Obama was the only person Schumer told of his decision before the news started to leak out.”
Politico: “People who have spoken with the senior New York senator believe the pressure campaign is having an effect: They say there is a growing sense inside and outside the Capitol that Schumer will vote against the deal when the Senate considers it in September. The bigger question many have now is this: How hard will he push against it?”
“Schumer is one of about 15 Democratic senators who will decide the fate of President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal in Congress. The president can afford to lose no more than a dozen Democrats on the Senate floor, and as the next Democratic leader, Schumer may be the most critical of them all.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran is essentially financing terrorism and didn’t back down after the president called his comments “outrageous,” Politico reports.
Said Cruz: “If this deal is consummated, it will make the Obama administration the world’s leading financier of radical Islamic terrorism. Billions of dollars under control of this administration will flow into the hands of jihadists who will use that money to murder Americans, to murder Israelis, to murder Europeans.”
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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