Congressional to-do list
The debate on the Iran nuclear deal is among the first items on a busy agenda facing Congress this fall. House leaders on Wednesday delayed that debate, as well as the vote on whether to approve the agreement.
Another key item on the agenda is consideration of a stopgap spending bill that would keep the government open beyond Sept. 30.
Outside the Capitol, a couple of thousand protesters waved American, Israeli and tea party flags, cheering Republican presidential hopefuls Donald Trump and Ted Cruz as they decried the international nuclear deal with Iran in apocalyptic terms.
Inside the dome, Republicans clashed on how to move forward on a “motion of disapproval” that appears doomed to a filibuster by Senate Democrats.
President Barack Obama and the deal’s supporters say it delays Iran’s ability to acquire nuclear weapons and is the best — perhaps only — alternative to war. Trump not-so-politely disagreed.
“I’ve been doing deals for a long time,” the real estate tycoon began. “Never, ever, ever in my life have I seen any transaction so incompetently negotiated as our deal with Iran.” He added: “We are led by very, very stupid people.”
The sweltering three-hour rally featured dozens of speakers, including U.S. Sen. David Perdue, a Georgia Republican. They agreed the deal is bad, but they disagreed on the tactics available to block it.
An aggressive White House lobbying campaign rallied enough Senate Democrats to block a “motion of disapproval” of the Iran deal with a filibuster. Even if both chambers of Congress were able to pass the motion, Obama could veto it.
“Thankfully, many in Congress who have taken the time to review the deal have concluded, as the president has, that diplomacy is the best way to cut off Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon,” White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz told reporters Wednesday. “I expect we’ll hear a lot of the same arguments today as we’ve heard for the past few months, but I don’t expect them to carry any more sway than they already have.”
This was the process set out by Congress itself in May when it passed a bill to allow a congressional review period. Many conservatives sought to derail the process, claiming the Obama administration violated the review law by not showing Congress alleged side agreements between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“We’re fed up with the Washington cartel,” Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, told reporters. “We are fed up with empty show votes, whether it’s a show vote on Iran, a show vote on Planned Parenthood, a show vote on amnesty, a show vote on Obamacare. No more show votes.”
Perdue, who helped negotiate the review bill, told The Atlanta Journal Constitution that “it’s not a show vote.”
“If we hadn’t voted for (the review bill), we wouldn’t be here today,” he said. “The Iran deal would already be implemented. …
“Do we want to go into the courts and debate this over the next six months or whatever, or do we want to have a vote right now?”
U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, a Cassville Republican who made the rounds at the rally but did not speak, told the AJC that he supported delaying the vote.
“We have to use the nuclear option to stop the nuclear deal,” said Loudermilk, who said Congress should show the world how Obama is “doing this rogue” with the side agreements.
After a delay, House Republicans on Wednesday moved toward holding multiple votes on the deal, one of which would weigh in on the side agreements.
The process has become infused with presidential politics.
Wednesday’s rally was put on by the Tea Party Patriots, and Cruz invited Trump to speak. Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore, languishing in the back of the presidential pack, also spoke.
Cruz and Trump have developed a campaign trail partnership of sorts. While other candidates attack Trump, Cruz praises him, hoping down the road to woo away his mad-as-hell supporters. Trump reciprocates, and the pair shared a brief chat and man-hug between speeches.
Wednesday’s speakers included former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and media impresario Glenn Beck. Five years ago, that duo drew hundreds of thousands to the Mall for a “Restoring Honor” rally at the height of the tea party wave.
Wednesday’s crowd was smaller than some of the major tea party rallies over the years challenging things such as the Affordable Care Act and the Internal Revenue Service. Once again the protesters’ agenda appeared stymied by Obama, who was called a “traitor,” among other things, by the crowd.
Tea Party Patriots co-founder and president Jenny Beth Martin of Cherokee County said the evidence of the movement’s continued power can be found in the anti-establishment candidates leading the presidential polls.
“Tea party values right now are winning within the Republican Party,” Martin told the AJC. “That holds true for Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson and also for Ted Cruz.”
It could also be found in the dozens of lawmakers and political figures lining up to speak Wednesday. Many were kept to a strict two minutes, after which the “wrap it up” music began as if it were an acceptance speech at an awards show.
Perdue said he was “very proud that (Tea Party Patriots) can claim their roots right in my home state of Georgia.”
The music rose to play him off as he vowed: “We have to stop this deal now. We have to keep working hard.”
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