Senator Santorum’s Iran Freedom Act is now on the floor. It passed the House yesterday by voice vote, but the Senate Democrats refuse to grant unanimous consent, and Harry Reid tried to scuttle it a few minutes ago by postponing consideration until after the elections.
The bill is pretty good, and little enough, given the real imperative of challenging the mullahcracy in Tehran. It is hard to imagine that any real American could oppose it. Perhaps the Dems are fighting it in order to deprive Santorum of a real victory–he is their major target in November. But it is alarming to see that the Dems are in cahoots with the appeasers in the State Department. The last time this bill came up in the Senate, Secretary Rice sent a letter to…Democrat Joe Biden, asking that it not be passed, thereby demonstrating a singular lack of political acuity as well as diplomatic shortsightedness (if you really believe you can negotiate with Iran, it can only help to have tough demands coming from the legislature). I’m given to understand that the administration has now backed off from its earlier opposition. Let’s hope it passes.