McConnell tried to threaten Senate Democrats into supporting the resolution of disapproval of the Iran deal, and Democrats responded by handing the Senate Majority a second humiliating defeat.
Before the vote, McConnell
a.k.a. The Great Obstructor demanded that Democrats stop blocking the
Iran deal resolution of disapproval, “This debate should not be about a
President, who will leave office in 16 months. It should be about where
our country will be in 16 years….This is an important moment for the
Democrat Party. But more importantly, it’s an important moment for our
country. Let’s stand up for the people we represent. Let’s allow them a
vote on one of the most consequential foreign policy issues of our age.”
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that
nothing is going to change. The Senate vote from last week was going to
stand, “The outline he just gave has nothing to do with intellectual
credibility. The agreement that was finalized last week dealt with one
subject and one subject only. Whether or not Iran should have a nuclear
weapon and the answer was resoundingly no.”
McConnell thinks that he is scoring
political points by getting Democrats on the record as supporting the
Iran deal, but the reality is that McConnell was grandstanding while the
clock continues to tick towards a government shutdown. Democrats had
shown no signs of division. No one was changing their mind.
McConnell’s second Iran disapproval resolution vote
was a complete waste of time. The Senator from Kentucky could not muscle
the resolution through the first time, and he only made Democratic
support for the deal more resolute.
After McConnell had made his announcement, Harry
Reid returned to the Senate floor and listed all of the times that
McConnell required 60 votes for legislation to pass. Reid said that
McConnell forced Democrats to file cloture more than 600 times by
blocking final votes on legislation.
McConnell’s next move is going to be to file an
amendment that would prohibit President Obama from removing sanctions
until Iran recognizes Israel’s right to exist and releases American
prisoners that are being held in Iran. While the nation has no budget,
McConnell continues to worry more about saving his failing majority in
2016 than passing real legislation.
Democrats stood up to McConnell’s threats and sent a strong message that they will not be bullied by Senate Republicans.
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