Now that the White House is accusing some Senate Democrats of wanting war with Iran instead of peace, it is tempting to welcome those Dems to the Abused-by-Obama Club. They are getting the “enemies” treatment the president routinely dishes out to Republicans, journalists and anyone else who fails to see Dear Leader’s absolute brilliance.
But the moment passes and the temptation to sympathize is resisted. Having helped to create the Obama juggernaut and joined in the shaming of all who dared to resist for the last five years, the wayward Dems deserve a dose of their own medicine.
They were worse than silent when Obama smeared others. They were full participants in the my-way-or-the-highway presidency that has polarized Washington and the nation.
They passed the incomprehensible ObamaCare legislation without a single GOP vote. They never condemned Obama’s lie that people could keep their health plans and doctors.
They approved the nearly trillion- dollar “stimulus” that stimulated only the national debt clock. They were silent when four Americans were killed in a terrorist attack in Libya and the administration concocted a lie to cover it up.
They did nothing but cheer as the IRS went after conservative groups. They raised their hands in support of every tax hike, bailout and regulation the administration wanted.
They watched without protest as millions of Americans went from work to unemployment to disability. They fought harder for food stamps than jobs.
They saluted as Obama usurped congressional power by amending, waiving and delaying any provision of any law that was politically inconvenient.
They changed the Senate rules to limit dissent. Presidents managed to govern with the filibuster rule for generations, but Barack Obama’s agenda was too pure for the traditions of bipartisan consensus, so the 60-vote rule was scrapped.
Against that backdrop, the Democrats’ revolt over Iran is the revolt of puppets against their master. It has the same chance of success and for the same reason: a lack of backbone.
Don’t get me wrong. In theory, adding more sanctions if the nuclear agreement collapses could be an incentive for Iran to live up to the deal.
Unfortunately, the legislation is too little and too late to make a difference. The Iran train left the station a long time ago.
That’s because, despite his vow to prevent an Iranian nuke, Obama effectively has settled on a policy of containment. You don’t need to hear the celebrating in Tehran to know that the agreement cements the mullahs’ nuclear program, and makes America and the other Security Council members partners to it. An Israeli military strike is now next to impossible.
Moreover, a new Iranian trade deal with Russia and plans for a French business delegation to visit Tehran are the death knell for existing sanctions.
Before our eyes, the final obstacles are being cleared away for Iran to join the nuclear club.
Obama, of course, doesn’t have to decency to admit that truth. Instead, he sends out his goon squad, and has an aide say that any sanctions bill amounts to a “march to war” and that those who support it favor military action.
Naturally, too, the president paints himself as the smartest man in the room and the only good one. “My preference is for peace and diplomacy,” he said, a clear suggestion that his critics prefer war. Smears don’t get any more odious.
With Republicans in both houses ready to approve additional sanctions by a large margin, reports suggest that enough Senate Democrats are ready to break with the president to make a veto-proof majority.
It won’t happen. The fever will pass, the intimidation will work and the Dems will fall back in line.
Their next sound will be a squeal as they feign shock and outrage when Iran approaches the “breakout” stage, where a nuke is a mere turn of the screw away. That moment will be a game changer in the Mideast, and potentially in the world.
Chalk it up to another part of the Obama legacy, and to the Democrats who put their loyalty to party above their duty to America.
Cop foes go for ‘broke’
That didn’t take long. Mayor de Blasio is getting his first test on his policing policies.
It comes from far-left groups determined to bend the NYPD in their direction. Their aim seems to be to stop police from enforcing the laws. Period.
The challenge started when new top cop Bill Bratton, who said he supports the broken-windows theory of policing, announced plans to hire George Kelling, who developed the theory.
Kelling, of the Manhattan Institute and Rutgers University, argued persuasively a generation ago that inattention to small crimes and quality-of-life offenses leads to more and bigger crimes. Bratton, working under Mayor Rudy Giuliani, became devoted to the idea, and it has been a mainstay of New York policing since.
Yet capitalnewyork.com reports that Bratton’s plan is ruffling the feathers of the New York Civil Liberties Union and similar groups. They gave Bratton a 10-page document outlining their demands that the department reduce the number of arrests for low-level crimes like trespassing and disorderly conduct.
One critic, Alyssa Aguilera, the political director for VOCAL-NY, told the Web site, “The tenuous logic linking crime prevention and broken windows policing tactics, more accurately described as zero-tolerance policing, is both misaligned with the reality in New York City today and incredibly biased against low-income communities of color.”
Here we go, and don’t say you weren’t warned. This is the result of de Blasio’s rancid campaign against the cops. We will know soon whether he defends Bratton or those who favor anything-goes on the streets.
Horse sense is lacking
A friend is confounded by Mayor de Blasio’s determination to do away with the iconic horse-drawn carriages because, the mayor insists, the business is cruel to the horses.
“What am I missing?,” she writes. “The horses and their drivers are governed by 140+ pages of regulations and have had three accidents in the last 30 years. Meanwhile, bike lanes block snow plows, ambulances, truck deliveries, serve less than .01% of the population and a microscopic slice of the 55 million tourists. They have accidents daily, and the bike lanes cost millions to create and maintain. And the mayor is focused on horses?”
Her confusion recalls a great Mark Twain line. In “Following the Equator,” Twain visits India and concludes its inhabitants are “a curious people. With them, all life seems to be sacred except human life.”
By Twain’s standards, New York is going backwards.
Talk about a fowl bawl!
Two thoughts after reading the overwhelming evidence against Alex Rodriguez. First, he’s the dumbest man in the world to think
he would get away with his clumsy doping scheme. Second, his records are so tainted and his victimization act so tired that he should be banned for life.