Posted on 04/15/2015 5:41:39 AM PDT by xzins
Traitor is strong language, but in the aftermath of Tuesday’s vote on a bill that was supposed to reaffirm the Senate’s constitutional power to consent to President Obama’s as yet still undefined and undisclosed nuclear treaty with Iran there is no other way to describe the actions of Senator Bob Corker, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
The bill Corker rammed through the Foreign Relations Committee is worse than no bill at all.
What Corker’s bill does is, in its post-markup form, require the president to submit for congressional review the final nuclear agreement reached between Iran, the U.S. and its five negotiating partners. The bill does maintain the prohibition on the president waiving congressionally enacted sanctions against Iran during the review period.
However, the review period in the measure has been shortened from 60 days to an initial 30 days. If, at the end of the 30 days, Congress were to pass a bill on sanctions relief and send it to the president, an additional 12 days would be automatically added to the review period. This could be another 10 days of review if the president vetoed the resulting sanctions bill.
Corker’s legislation in effect lowers the threshold for approving the Iran deal from 67 votes to 41 – a craven betrayed of the Senate’s constitutional role as the final word on whether or not the United States agrees to a treaty.
As the editors of The Wall Street Journal analyzed it, “The majority could offer a resolution of disapproval, but that could be filibustered by Democrats and vetoed by the President. As few as 41 Senate Democrats could thus vote to prevent it from ever getting to President Obama’s desk—and 34 could sustain a veto. Mr. Obama could then declare that Congress had its say and ‘approved’ the Iran deal even if a majority in the House and Senate voted to oppose it.”
Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) made his disappointment with his party’s concessions clear. “It is a very limited role, it is a role with very little teeth,” he said of the modified oversight bill. “It is a far cry from advice and consent.”
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA), at the request of Corker, agreed to withdraw an amendment to provide compensation for American victims of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis from fees collected for violations of Iran sanctions.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who planned to introduce an amendment that would have required the president to certify to Congress that Iran recognizes the state of Israel, wilted and settled for language asserting that the nuclear agreement would not compromise U.S. support for Israel’s right to exist.
Affirmation of Israel's right to exist is of course is a foundational principle of American foreign policy that was never questioned until Obama became president and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill became not so much the leaders of an opposition party, as a collection of craven cowards who wish only to avoid the unpleasantness actually having principles and standing for them would entail.
More importantly, Corker betrayed American interests and the interests of our allies in the greater Middle East; from Israel, to Saudi Arabia, to India no nation now within the range of Iran’s fast growing missile technology is secure from the threat of a nuclear armed Islamist Iran.
And make no mistake – it is the combination of Iran’s expansionist Islamism and nuclear weapons technology that is the threat.
We don’t fear a nuclear armed United Kingdom or France, because they share our values, but we should fear, and do everything we can to prevent the emergence of a nuclear armed Iran precisely because the Islamic Republic of Iran wishes to impose upon the entire world a set of values totally inimical to ours – and to do so by force when they think they can win.
With Obama evidently withdrawing his opposition, Corker's bill is almost certain to become law. In the delusional state in which he apparently lives, Corker took this as a sign of Obama’s weakness; “The White House came to the deal when they saw the numbers of people, the growing support that was here,” Corker said.
The “growing support” for Senator Corker’s information, was not for him to cave-in to Obama, but for the Senate to exercise its real constitutional role in the approval – or disapproval – of Obama’s treaty to legitimize Iran’s nuclear weapons program. And that means “advice” while the treaty is negotiated and “consent” after the President concludes the agreement.
Bob Corker has betrayed that constitutional principle and the world will be a much more dangerous place for his inexplicable failure to grasp the existential threat a nuclear armed Islamic Republic of Iran poses to the United States and in that willful blindness he has in effect betrayed all peoples who share the values of freedom of conscience, freedom of religion and freedom of speech and will be threatened by a nuclear armed Islamic Republic of Iran.
We urge you to call your Senators TODAY (the Capitol Switchboard is 1-866-220-0044) and demand that they oppose the Corker bill – tell your Senators the Corker bill is worse than no bill at all and is a betrayal of the Senate’s constitutional role in approving treaties, a betrayal of America’s interests in the face of the existential threat of a nuclear armed Islamic Republic of Iran, and a betrayal of all peoples across the globe who share the values of freedom of conscience, freedom of religion and freedom of speech.
George Rasley is editor of Richard Viguerie's ConservativeHQ.com. A veteran of over 300 political campaigns, he served on the staff of Vice President Dan Quayle and as spokesman for now-Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Mac Thornberry. He has served as a staffmember or consultant to some of America’s most recognized conservative political figures. He is a member of American MENSA and studied international relations at Worcester College, Oxford.
Chairman, Bob Corker, Republican - Tennessee
James E. Risch, Republican - Idaho
Marco Rubio, Republican - Florida
Ron Johnson, Republican - Wisconsin
Jeff Flake, Republican - Arizona
Cory Gardner, Republican - Colorado
David Perdue, Republican - Georgia
Johnny Isakson, Republican - Georgia
Rand Paul, Republican - Kentucky
John Barrasso, Republican - Wyoming
You are correct. If this were a piece of legislation, it wouldn’t go forward with the House of Representatives having input.
Not a peep out of them so far.
Obviously, the fix is in.
Where are the senators crying out about this being a betrayal of their advise & consent role?
I haven’t heard of a single one yet. Have you?
Easy, they just do away with the Constitution. They do not announce this is what they are doing. They merely ignore it. That way it is just as effective and when they can use it[the Constitution] to serve their purposes,it is there. And when it no longer serves their purposes, they go back to ignoring it.
Mark Levin EXPOSES how US Senate just GUTTED constitutional treaty power and GAVE IT TO OBAMA
Posted by The Right Scoop on Apr 14, 2015 at 6:51 PM in
By The Right Scoop
Mark Levin exposes the treachery in the US Senate today, who he says just capitulated completely to Obama by gutting their own constitutional duty to approve treaties, giving it solely to Obama. So in short, Obama can make a treaty with the Islamo-Nazis in Iran without submitting it to the Senate and the Senate can only stop it if they can get enough nays to vote against it.
Levin explains below:
I haven’t heard of a single one yet. Have you?
Not yet, but I am hoping that some of them start stepping up against this today!
Washington DC
Washington, District of Corruption!
what an absolute disaster. oh how i wish the GOPe wasn’t in control.
Corker’s action is no surprise. He is being consistent.
In 2012, Corker won reelection with 64.9% of the vote. Apparently the voters of Tennessee were very happy with his performance. They also like the performance of Lamar Alexander who was reelected with 61.9% of the vote in 2014.
I can no longer make excuses for the government. We the people continue to vote for McCain, Corker, Alexander, Graham, Hatch, McConnell, Boehner, Collins, Murkowski, Dole, Romney, whichever Bush is running, etc., etc., etc. Those in power reflect the choices of the American citizens who vote. Those who don’t vote don’t care and those who do vote seem to be satisfied with what they get, otherwise they wouldn’t continue to vote for the same tired faces by wide margins.
Despite polls suggesting most people self identify as conservatives, in reality the number who truly believe in the concept of individual liberty espoused by the Founding Fathers is at most 30% of the electorate. Likely it is about the same percentage as existing in 1776 when about 1/3 favored revolution, 1/3 favored the crown, and 1/3 didn’t care.
Today we have about 1/3 who believe in the Republic, 1/3 who don’t care, and 1/3 who are committed socialist/collectivists. The latter are highly organized and committed. Of the 1/3 who believe in the Republic probably less than 10% are organized and passionate. Election after election tells the story.
Once again the GOP is rolling over and Congress is willfully ceding one more power to the imperial presidency. It seems the American people, through our elected representatives, are signaling we desire a king. Certainly there are no demonstrators in the streets opposing the advance of unchecked executive power.
Those who read the Bible remember the self governing people of ancient Israel wanted a king. God let them have one. In Republican Rome, the masses wanted a dictator and when the Senate demonstrated its impotence, Julius Caesar used his control of the military to seize dictatorial powers to the acclaim of the people. Impotent legislative bodies also enabled the assumption of power by Lenin and Hitler. Given the Republican representatives of the people in Congress have no desire to defend the institutional power of Congress, much less oppose the current president on policy, likely we will soon have our king.
Two thirds of our fellow citizens either will be delighted or indifferent. The good news for the indifferent is the Kardashians will still be on cable TV and featured in the supermarket tabloids. Life as they know it will continue.
What the hell is the matter with Tennessee? Sure, its voters elected Bill Frist and Fred Thompson, but among the clunkers they have sent to Washington in recent decades are Kenneth McKellar (New Dealeer), Estes Kefauver (liberal Democrat), Albert Gore, Sr. (segregationist liberal Democrat), Albert Gore, Jr. (left-liberal Democrat), and the four Rinos, Howard Baker and Bill Brock, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker.
The Republicans in the Legislative branch has rejected the power of the purse, the power to set immigration policy, the power of impeachment and now the power of treaties.
The Republicans in the Legislative branch, with a few exceptions, has neutered the Legislative branch and transferred the power from that branch into the Executive branch (mostly, some has gone to the Judicial.)
But hey, just keep voting Republican, they will fix it!
We need to nueter the GOP establishment and nominate an unabashed conservative to get us moving in the right direction again.
It's not just TN. The problem with the Senate is the 17th.
What’s wrong with these idiots? I know what’s wrong with the Dems, but what the hell is wrong with these idiots!
I’ve been saying for longer than I can remember as the Marxist’s took over the Democrat Party, they have also infiltrated with intent of taking over the Republican Party, and I do believe this an example of that.
The shortest answer that I can give at this point is: 17th Amendment.
I really don’t think this could have worked the way it has without coordination between president, republican senate, and the media. It’s just too unbelievable that the republicans would be pretending they need legislation when they have the constitution.
It is evidence of planning. This is a huge misdirection campaign being run against the American people.
.......................
There’s the answer as to why.
Not exactly. Anyone who doesn't see McConnell's fine hand here is brain dead; the sleaze maintains Corker in that position.
Corker is a gigolo and in this instance a monster, a death merchant.
Since yesterday I have watched him smirking and mugging before the cameras. This is what he lives for.
What he lives for is what many, many others will end up dying for.
You are so right: This is a terrible day for the U.S.A., Israel, and the world.
“Corker’s legislation in effect lowers the threshold for approving the Iran deal from 67 votes to 41 – a craven betrayed of the Senate’s constitutional role as the final word on whether or not the United States agrees to a treaty.”
Well now I see why Levin is so upset. But actually the argument here is whether this Iran deal is a treaty or an executive agreement. Obutt says executive agreement. The Senate is trying to contort it into a treaty so they can use advice and consent. I don’t think it guts the constitution but its just the wrong remedy.
The correct remedy for an out of control President is impeachment. Of course they don’t have the stomach or the votes for it yet. Probably in the next 21 mos Obama will do something so outrageous even the Dems will likely go along with impeaching or outright removing him.
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