In a fit of hypocrisy, Senator Mitch McConnell called on President Obama to retract his description of Congress members who are opposed to the Iran Nuclear Deal. President Obama said in a speech on Wednesday:
“In fact it’s those hardliners who are most comfortable with the status quo. It is those hardliners chanting ‘Death to America’ who have been most opposed to the deal. They’re making common cause with the Republican caucus.”
Republicans took great offense to having the truth stated so simply. Republicans are on the same side as the Iranian hardliners, at least on this issue. Apparently, this is very hard for them to accept. You would think the idea of conservative right wing extremists living in Iran would have occurred to them as a possibility. The Iranian hardliners “are” the political equivalent of our Republican extremists.
Consider some of the comments made by Republicans and what it says of their priorities:
On Oct. 29, 2010, Mitch McConnell stated:
“The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”
(This was their stated highest priority at the beginning of President Obama’s first term, and has been a part of their “work ethic” ever since.)
More recently, Governor Mike Huckabee said:
“President Obama is marching Israelis to the door of the oven by agreeing to the Iran nuclear deal.”
Rep. Todd Akin stated:
“If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways of shutting that whole thing down.”
Rep. Isaac Latterell, comparing ISIS beheadings to abortions, wrote:
“Planned Parenthood abortionists in Sioux Falls are similarly beheading unborn children during dismemberment abortions.”
(For the record, completely untrue.)
On immigration, Rep. Michelle Bachman told reporters that the White House “would bring millions of illiterate immigrants, who would end up as voters.”
The American public should be outraged, but not by President Obama’s comments. They should be outraged by the arrogant, deceitful behavior of Republicans in the House and Senate. Numerous Republicans have proudly stated they have “not” read the Iran agreement, but that they strongly oppose it. (Ignorance must be bliss.) Dark money has been spent on ads designed to appeal to our emotions, but provide no hard evidence for the argument the Iran agreement is a bad one.
We get a nuclear-free Iran for a minimum of 20 years, in exchange for removing an international embargo that was about to fall apart, anyway. Mitch McConnell’s stated goal, for President Obama to be a one-term president, is the root cause of their outrage on this issue. The other comments are simply “other” expressions of their ignorance and poor thinking skills.
Featured image via wikipedia.org
