Boehner Changes Course On Iran

As Americans rallied on Capitol Hill demanding more resistance to the Iran nuclear deal, Speaker John Boehner changed course late [Wednesday]. There is a growing consensus that President Obama failed to meet his legal obligations under the Iran Nuclear Review Act, so the speaker scrapped plans for just one vote.

The House will reportedly vote on three resolutions:

• A resolution to approve the deal. This vote forces lawmakers to go on the record for or against the deal and will show how little support it has in Congress. This is an important distinction because recent polling found that 66% of likely voters believe that the deal should not go into effect unless Congress approves it — and it won’t.

• The second resolution will reportedly rebuke President Obama for failing to submit the secret side deals between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

• The final resolution would stipulate that U.S. sanctions against Iran are to remain in place. 


One reason for this new approach is that if President Obama ignores the will of Congress, as he is likely to do, this series of votes provides the foundation for a legal challenge to stop the deal. The House is effectively stating that the president’s deal is unenforceable because he violated the terms of the Iran Nuclear Review Act. 



Crazy



[Wednesday], I had the privilege of addressing that major rally on Capitol Hill against the Iran deal. I reminded the audience of President Obama’s remarks after he returned from his vacation at Martha’s Vineyard. Obama said he was feeling “renewed and a little feisty” and ready to “deal with the crazies” who oppose his Iran deal.



I reminded the audience of the veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who were wounded by Iranian-made bombs and oppose the deal. They are not crazy. They are heroes. 


What is crazy is giving the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism more than $100 billion.



What is crazy is negotiating with a regime that denies the first Holocaust while it plans a second.



What is crazy is cooperating with a regime that wants to do in ten minutes what it took Hitler ten years to do — murder six million Jews. 


Turning to the Capitol Building, I pointed out that it was really crazy for United States senators to follow Obama off that cliff by putting party loyalty ahead of our national security.



Any senator or representative who votes for this deal will become the ayatollah’s hostage. Whether it is next week or next year, when Iran does what it always does — launches attacks against Israel and America — politicians who support this deal will bear responsibility for those attacks. 


While I was on Capitol Hill, I also did a live interview with Neil Cavuto on the Fox Business Network. Watch my interview here.




National Security Scandals



As bad as the IRS and VA scandals are, history may ultimately judge that the scandals related to our national security are the greatest blemish on this administration. From Benghazi and our retreat around the world, to Russian and Chinese hacking and the Iranian deal, we have been misled time and time again with potentially catastrophic results.

Now, here’s the latest scandal: More than 50 intelligence analysts are accusing the administration of manipulating intelligence data on ISIS. The Daily Beast reports that military leaders deliberately altered intelligence reports in order to “adhere to the administration’s public line that the U.S. is winning the battle against ISIS” and Al Qaeda.

This is the Benghazi scandal all over again!

Throughout the 2012 campaign, Obama insisted that Al Qaeda had been decimated and was “on the run.” Then our consulate in Benghazi was attacked. The Obama team couldn’t tell the truth because it contradicted their spin, so they concocted a false story about spontaneous riots over a video.

Now, as a massive refugee crisis confronts Europe, we are learning that the war against ISIS, such as it is, isn’t going nearly as well as we have been led to believe. And if this administration is giving us bad intelligence on ISIS, how can we trust its intelligence on Iran?



By the way, Al Qaeda is threatening to disrupt the U.S. economy by assassinating several high-profile billionaires. It has produced a “hit list” with names like Charles and David Koch, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Michael Bloomberg, Jim Walton and Sheldon Adelson. They can get off the list by pulling their money from U.S. banks and denouncing Israel.

Poll Position



Two new polls show just how unsettled the 2016 presidential campaign is.



A national CNN poll finds Donald Trump expanding his lead by eight points and breaking into new territory. Trump continues to defy conventional wisdom and now stands at 32% — becoming the first candidate to break the 30% threshold. Dr. Ben Carson is second at 19%. No other candidate received double-digit support.



A new Quinnipiac poll finds Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders surging against Hillary Clinton among Iowa voters. While his lead is insignificant (41% to 40%), the trend line is unmistakable: In July, Clinton led Sanders 52% to 33%. In the weeks since, Sanders has gained eight points, while Clinton has lost 12.