Well, not in so many words but the effect is the same.
One of the components of the Iran nuclear deal is that it gives Iran unconstrained access to well over $100 billion in cash. Another component of the deal is that even though Iran is on the State Department’s list of state sponsors of terror, Iran’s support of terror was not an item of discussion. In fact, eight GOP senators voted with the Democrats to defeat an amendment that would have made Obama certify Iran wasn’t engaged in terrorism against either the US or US citizens:
Senators on Wednesday blocked a Republican push to tie Iran’s support of terrorism to a final deal on the country’s nuclear program.
Senators voted 45-54 on the amendment from [mc_name name=’Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’B001261′ ] (R-Wyo.), which would have required President Obama to certify as part of a diplomatic deal that Iran hasn’t carried out or directly supported an act of terror against the United States or a U.S. citizen.
Republican Sens. [mc_name name=’Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’A000360′ ] (Tenn.), Dan Coats (Ind.), [mc_name name=’Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’C001071′ ] (Tenn.), [mc_name name=’Sen. David Perdue (R-GA)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’P000612′ ] (Ga.), [mc_name name=’Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’F000444′ ] (Ariz.), [mc_name name=’Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’G000359′ ] (S.C.), [mc_name name=’Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’H000338′ ] (Utah) and [mc_name name=’Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’M000303′ ] (Ariz.) voted with Democrats against the amendment.
Graham’s vote simply echoes my colleague, Dan McLaughlin’s post on his candidacy.
Anyway, on to Christie and Biden.
Via the Free Beacon:
Chris Christie laid blame on President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for “any deaths” that result from the Iran nuclear agreement.
The New Jersey governor and GOP presidential candidate responded to news that Obama had secured the crucial 34th Senate vote from [mc_name name=’Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’M000702′ ] (D., Md.) to uphold the Iran agreement during an appearance on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show Wednesday, labeling the deal “ridiculous.”
“Sen. Mikulski, [mc_name name=’Sen. Christopher Coons (D-DE)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’C001088′ ], [mc_name name=’Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’C001070′ ], the president of the United States, the secretary of state, and the former secretary of state are now all responsible for any conduct Iran engages in across the world–terrorist activity they sponsor, indirectly or directly, they’re responsible for any deaths that occur,” Christie said, referencing the final three Democratic senators who voiced approval of the deal.
Christie is really being too kind. [mc_name name=’Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’C001071′ ] worked hard for a place on that list and shouldn’t be cheated of it.
Meanwhile, America’s Rain Man was on the prowl in Florida, showing the flag for the administration and testing the waters for his own presidential bid. Incredibly, Biden managed to make Debbie Wasserman Schultz sound well informed and insightful by acknowledging that the charge that giving the Iranians $100 billion would probably result in more terrorism as “totally legitimate.’
Vice President Joe Biden told a roundtable in Davie, Florida on Thursday that it was a “totally legitimate argument” that sanctions relief will enable Iran to “do more of the bad things they’re doing now” like fund terrorism and destabilize the Middle East.
The relief as part of the nuclear agreement reached in July totals roughly $100 billion. Iran funds Hezbollah and Hamas, among other terrorist groups, and is the world’s leading sponsor of terror.
Biden, while defending the deal to [mc_name name=’Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)’ chamber=’house’ mcid=’W000797′ ] (D., Fla.) and a group of Jewish supporters, addressed the financial benefits for Iran as a result of the agreement.
“Well, Joe, even if I believed you were able to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, you’re going to give them a whole lot of money, Joe Boy!” Biden said with a laugh. “And they’re going to go out and do more of the bad things they’re doing now, do it more efficiently and threaten our friends in an existential way because they’ll have so much more money and capacity. Totally legitimate argument and concern.”
The Iran nuclear deal was a horrible bargain for the US and for the Western world. Not only did we take the brakes off Iran’s development of nuclear weapons but we divorced that agreement from the greater issue of Iran’s international behavior. Iran will continue killing innocent people and launching terror attacks against American interests while we acquiesce in them building a nuke so they can kill even more people and the fault of that lies squarely at the feet of Obama and Clinton and the gutless GOP leadership that went along with it.
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