Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Thursday accused Democrats of filibustering a resolution disapproving of the Iran nuclear agreement solely to spare President Obama from having to veto the measure, and protect a deal that polls say is deeply unpopular with the American people.
“We all know the amount of time the administration has spent up here asking all these guys over here to take a bullet for the team,” McConnell said. “And, of course, the team is ‘Team Obama.'”
Democrats last week secured enough votes to block an effort to override Obama’s veto of the disapproval resolution, so filibustering the deal would seem needless, but McConnell and many other Republicans have said the filibuster was meant to protect Obama.
“If the president is so proud of this deal, then he shouldn’t be afraid,” McConnell said. “I don’t know what they’re protecting him from.” He encouraged them to “own” the deal, “break out the champagne,” and celebrate their victory.
Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., ignored McConnell’s comments, and commented that it was “stunning, the non-reality of my Republican colleagues’ language.”
“Not once did anyone mention the worst foreign policy decision in the history of this great country, the invasion of Iraq,” Reid said. “So my friends can blame all the problems of the Middle East on the president, but they’re blaming the wrong person.”
When McConnell countered that the issues of the Iran deal and the 2002 Iraq vote were distinct and reminded Reid that he voted for the war, Reid responded that he regretted that vote more than any other in his career.
McConnell closed by noting that the Iran deal was a “metaphor for all the mistakes Obama has made,” and citing a recent bleak assessment of the world under Obama from former President Jimmy Carter, exclaiming: “Jimmy Carter!”
He warned that American Sunni Arab allies were seeking new partnerships with Russia as a result of this agreement, and noted the fragility of Israel’s security situation.
“Israelis need every reassurance,” he said.
