President Obama just secured the 34th Senate vote needed to protect his Iran deal from congressional disapproval, but national Republicans hope the agreement could provoke a rejection of Democrats at the ballot box next year.
“By protecting the Clinton-Obama Iran deal and its secret side agreements, Democrats have reaffirmed their status as a party that cannot be trusted to keep America safe,” said Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus. “The Clinton-Obama Iran deal not only falls short of the Administration’s own goals, it empowers the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism while never ultimately blocking Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon.”
Obama conceded that point last week during a webcast from the White House. “Is it possible that at the end of 15 years, they now start introducing some more advanced centrifuges and at some point they feel comfortable enough, cocky enough, to say now’s the time for us to break out, we’re going to kick out all the IAEA inspectors, we’re going to announce that we’re going to pursue a nuclear weapon?” he said. “Absolutely. Just as it’s possible that they could have done that next week if we hadn’t had this deal.”
Clinton has been credited with laying the foundation for negotiations during her tenure as secretary of state, but she’s taken a cautious approach to the resulting deal all summer. With Obama’s victory in sight, she’s expected to speak in favor of the deal next Thursday, the same day that Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas) hosts a rally against the agreement at the U.S. Capitol.
#share#“Voters overwhelmingly want Congress to vote down this deal, rightly believing it will make the world less safe,” Priebus said. “Since Democrats in Congress won’t listen, voters will have no choice but to hold Hillary Clinton accountable for her central role in forging this dangerous agreement.”
#related#Recent polling data on the deal has been split, with some surveys showing widespread opposition and some showing support. “When people hear a fair description of this agreement they support it,” Jim Gerstein, a Democratic pollster working on behalf of the deal’s supporters, said last month. “In absence of that, [if] they just hear ‘Iran nuclear deal’ without any description — that’s not going to lead to a positive connotation.”
That could be a problem for Clinton, if Republicans are able to make their message stick.
— Joel Gehrke is a political reporter for National Review.