‘Common Cause’?

President Obama’s Extreme Rhetoric Is Masking A Weak Case For His Iran Deal

PRESIDENT OBAMA: “In fact, it's those hardliners who are most comfortable with the status quo. It's those hardliners chanting ‘Death to America’ who have been most opposed to the deal. They're making common cause with the Republican Caucus.” (President Obama, Remarks At American University, 8/5/15)

Does The President Think These Dems Are ‘Making Common Cause’ With Iranians Chanting ‘Death To America’?

DENNIS ROSS, Former Special Assistant To President Obama: “The bad news is that the vulnerabilities of the deal — and some of its more worrisome implications — remain as well. First, because the Iranians are not required to dismantle their enrichment infrastructure, are allowed to continue at least limited research and development on their five advanced models of centrifuges and will be permitted to build as large an industrial nuclear program as they want after year 15, the deal, at that point, will legitimize the Islamic republic as a threshold nuclear state. The gap between threshold status and weapons capability will necessarily become small, and not difficult for the Iranians to bridge.” (“Iran Deal Leaves U.S. With Tough Questions,” Washington Post, 7/14/15)

REP. JUAN VARGAS (D-CA): “I intend to stand up and vote against this deal. This is not a partisan issue. This is an issue of our national security, and the security of our allies and I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this deal and press for a better deal that will truly end Iran’s nuclear weapons program and make the world safer.” (“Why I Oppose The President’s Nuclear Deal With Iran,” San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/24/15)

REP. STEVE ISRAEL (D-NY): “‘I tried very hard to get to 'yes.' But at the end of the day, despite some positive elements in the deal, the totality compelled me to oppose it,’ Israel said in a telephone interview.” (“Rep. Steve Israel Opposes Iran Deal,” Newsday, 8/4/15)

REP. NITA LOWEY (D-NY): ‘I cannot support this agreement before Congress’ “Congress’s role has been invaluable, in partnership with the Administration, in implementing the crippling sanctions that brought Iran to the table. I remain hopeful that the Administration and Congress, in concert with our P5+1 and regional allies, can prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. However, I cannot support this agreement before Congress.” (Rep. Lowey, Press Release, 8/4/15)

“In my judgment, sufficient safeguards are not in place to address the risks associated with the agreement. Relieving UN sanctions on conventional arms and ballistic missiles and releasing billions of dollars to the Iranian regime could lead to a dangerous regional weapons race and enable Iran to bolster its funding of terrorists. The deal does not explicitly require Iran to fully disclose its previous military work to the IAEA’s satisfaction before sanctions relief is provided, and inspectors will not have immediate access to the most suspicious facilities. There are no clear accountability measures regarding punishment for minor violations, which could encourage Iran to cheat.” (Rep. Lowey, Press Release, 8/4/15)

REP. GRACE MENG (D-NY): “I strongly believe the world could and should have a better deal than that set forth in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which I will therefore oppose… the deal before us now is simply too dangerous for the American people. I have every confidence a better deal can be realized.” (Rep. Meng, Press Release, 7/29/15)

REP. TED DEUTCH (D-FL): “‘After a decade in public life working to stop Iran from ever acquiring nuclear weapons, I cannot support a deal giving Iran billions of dollars in sanctions relief — in return for letting it maintain an advanced nuclear program and the infrastructure of a threshold nuclear state,’ Mr. Deutch, the senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Middle East, wrote in The Sun Sentinel.” (“Obama Begins Campaign In Congress For Iran Nuclear Deal,” New York Times, 8/5/15)

REP. ALBIO SIRES (D-NJ): “I am opposed to the current proposed nuclear agreement with Iran, I do not feel the agreement will prevent them from acquiring a nuclear weapon.” (Rep. Sires, Press Release, 7/31/15)

SEN. BOB MENENDEZ (D-NJ): ‘The bottom line is: The deal doesn’t end Iran’s nuclear program – it preserves it’ “I’m concerned the redlines we drew have turned into green-lights; that Iran will be required only to limit rather than eliminate its nuclear program, while the international community will be required to lift the sanctions, and that it doesn’t provide for anytime-any-place inspections of suspected sites. The bottom line is: The deal doesn’t end Iran’s nuclear program – it preserves it.” (Sen. Menendez, Press Release, 7/14/15)

MENENDEZ: “You know, I have to be honest with you. The more I hear from the administration and its quotes, the more it sounds like talking points that come straight out of Tehran. And it feeds to the Iranian narrative of victimization, when they are the ones with the original sin. An illicit nuclear weapons program going back over the course of 20 years, that they are unwilling to come clean on.” (U.S. Senate, Foreign Relations Committee, Hearing, 1/21/15)

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): “With the security of the United States, Israel, and our allies on the line in the P5+1 negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, I believe that no deal is better than a bad deal. In any agreement, Iran must fully submit to intrusive inspections of its illicit nuclear program, fully disclose its past military work, and dismantle any capacity to develop and build a nuclear weapon in the future. If Iran and the P5+1 reach a comprehensive agreement, it must definitively close all pathways toward an Iranian nuclear weapon.” (Sen. Coons, Press Release, 11/20/14)

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Related Issues: Iran Nuclear Deal, Iran, Senate Democrats

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