Hillary Clinton Endorses Iran Nuclear Deal; Here Are the People Who Hate It
First things first, prohibitive Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton praised the Iran nuclear deal, finally settled in Vienna Tuesday morning:
Clinton tells Democrats she applauds negotiations and result of Iran deal, per source
— Jonathan Allen (@jonallendc) July 14, 2015
Which matters:
Obama + Hillary in support of the deal means it's EXTREMELY unlikely there will be enough cong Dems to derail it https://t.co/aAk4z8RtwI
— Mark Murray (@mmurraypolitics) July 14, 2015
The deal would significantly restrict Iran’s development of uranium toward nuclear bomb in exchange for the phasing out of international sanctions, and has been a major goal of the Obama administration for more than a year.
But no sooner did President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry extol the diplomatic victory in twin statements than the 2016 GOP field, Israel’s Prime Minister, and a host of others take to Twitter and television to denounce the deal as weak appeasement masquerading as nuclear regulation. Here’s a list.
Senator Tom Cotton (R-AK), who sent a letter to the Iranian leaders warning them off the deal, a highly contestable move, denounced the deal to Morning Joe:
.@SenTomCotton on #IranDeal: A terrible, dangerous mistake, I believe Congress will kill the deal http://t.co/uB1NDTBK3E
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) July 14, 2015
House Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) promised to fight the deal; Obama has vowed to veto any congressional legislation endangering its implimentation:
Number 3 Republican in the House @SteveScalise on Iran nuclear deal: "We will fight hard to reject this deal using every tool we have."
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorpNBC) July 14, 2015
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) agreed, saying Republicans “would do anything we can” to stop the deal:
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has been the highest-profile Democrat to criticize the deal so far. “The deal ultimately legitimizes Iran as a threshold nuclear state,” he told MSNBC. “The deal doesn’t end Iran’s nuclear program, it preserves it.”
Chief hawk Lindsey Graham (R-SC) warned that the deal would inaugurate a “decade of chaos,” and warned it would pose an existential danger to Israel.
Bill Kristol and the Weekly Standard Singers chimed in the way you might predict:
Let us act so historians will say "July 14, 2105, was the bottom, the nadir, from which America went on to recover."
http://t.co/fTsXodHypZ
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) July 14, 2015
Former Fox News host and current 2016 contender Mike Huckabee tweeted a quick response, and even sent curious tweeters to his petition denouncing the deal, complete with a “Daisy”-like ad:
Shame on the Obama admin for agreeing to a deal that empowers an evil Iranian regime to carry out its threat to "wipe Israel off the map."
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) July 14, 2015
As president, I will stand with Israel and keep all options on the table, including military force, to topple the terrorist Iranian regime.
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) July 14, 2015
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R), whom Obama recently told to bone up on foreign policy, added:
"President Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran will be remembered as one of America's worst diplomatic failures." – @ScottWalker
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) July 14, 2015
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, called the deal an “historic mistake” in a statement this morning.
“Sweeping concessions were made in all of the areas meant to block Iran from the ability to arm itself with nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu said. “We have made a commitment to block Iran from arming itself with nuclear weapons, and that commitment stands.”
Senator and 2016 contender Marco Rubio (R-FL) rounds it out:
It will be left to the next President to return us to a position of American strength and re-impose sanctions on this despicable regime.
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) July 14, 2015
Fellow 2016 presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) released a statement that accused the Obama Administration of agreeing to “not only legitimize and perpetuate the Iranian nuclear program, but also to further arm and enrich the brutal theocratic regime that has oppressed the Iranian people for more than thirty years”:
Congress must stop a deal that puts Iran on the path toward a nuclear bomb https://t.co/a8b6IqTimQ #IranDeal
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 14, 2015
2016 Republican frontrunner Jeb Bush used slightly less overheated rhetoric, but still condemned the deal and labeled it “appeasement”:
The nuclear agreement with Iran is a dangerous, deeply flawed, and short sighted deal. My full statement: http://t.co/sSftOAkyAM
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) July 14, 2015
Celebrity plutocrat Donald Trump weighed in as well, saying Obama “dealt from desperation”:
Long after the rest of the major Republican candidates, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) offered his reaction via Twitter:
The proposed agreement with Iran is unacceptable and I will vote against the agreement. 1/2
— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 14, 2015
The deal is bad because 1) sanctions relief precedes evidence of compliance
2) Iran is left with significant nuclear capacity 2/2
— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 14, 2015
It also lifts the ban on selling advanced weapons to Iran. Better to keep the interim agreement in place instead of accepting a bad deal.
— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 14, 2015
[Image via JStone / Shutterstock.com / Albert H. Teich / Shutterstock.com]
