Thursday, April 9, 2015
From: Gary L. Bauer
What Deal?
The Obama Administration has got the “pedal to the metal” selling the Iran nuclear deal to a skeptical public and Congress. It may as well be trying to sell disappearing ink because in reality there is no deal. After two years of negotiations, there is only a “framework” to serve as the basis for three or six more months of negotiations.
While Obama does a hard sell, Iran is not dismantling its nukes but instead is taking apart the framework of the elusive deal. Last night Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said his country “will not sign any deal unless all sanctions are lifted on the same day” they sign it.
But once sanctions are lifted the U.S. will have little leverage. Once European, Russian and even U.S. companies invest in Iran, sanctions will never get through the U.N. again.
Rouhani also spiked the football, bragging that “The Iranian nation has been and will be the victor in the negotiations.”
What about the “tough” and “unprecedented” inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities that Obama has trumpeted as a “win” in the talks for the U.S.? Brigadier General Hossein Dehgan, Iran’s defense minister, asserted yesterday that no inspections will be allowed at military centers. Seems basic doesn’t it? How can there be any assurance Iran is not developing a military nuclear program if inspections can only take place at “civilian” power plant sites?
Several weeks ago, an Iranian dissident group accused the regime of operating a secret nuclear facility at a military base in the Tehran suburbs. This group has considerable credibility as it exposed other secret sites in the past.
Obama said yesterday that “Iran will not get a nuclear weapon on my watch.” But Obama’s concessions will allow Iran to get nuclear weapons after he leaves office Jan. 20, 2017. (In fact, he even admits it.) At that point another U.S. president may have to take military action against a regime that will be more powerful.
Iran’s Left-Wing Lobby
The left is mounting a furious lobbying effort to kill legislation that would require congressional approval of any nuclear deal with Iran. The effort is being spearheaded by MoveOn.org and seems to be having an effect. In the past 24 to 48 hours, several senators began insisting on changes that would essentially gut the legislation.
It is unconscionable — albeit predictable — that the radical left is doing Iran’s bidding by trying to deny the American people a voice on such a crucial issue as whether the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism acquires nuclear weapons.
Americans overwhelmingly want Congress to weigh in.
- A March Rasmussen poll found that 60% of likely voters believe Congress should approve any deal with Iran.
- A Pew Research Center poll last month found that 62% of Americans believe Congress should have “final authority over approving any deal with Iran” versus 29% for President Obama.
- A Fox News poll found that 76% of registered voters, including 64% of Democrats, believe “Obama should be required” to get Congress’ approval for any deal with Iran.
TAKE ACTION: Call your senators now at 202-224-3121. Urge them to co-sponsor and vote for S. 615, the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015. Tell them that you demand a voice on any nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Pro-Life America?
When it comes to abortion, the Democratic Party is completely pro-choice. It is close to impossible to conceive of a pro-life Democrat winning the party’s nomination for president. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman of the Democrat National Committee, strongly suggested yesterday that there should be zero restrictions on abortions — a radical position that few Americans hold.
Sadly, on the Republican side, there is a small minority that wants to abandon the pro-life position. There is a larger group that knows that would be a disaster but is reluctant to champion the issue, believing that fighting for life is a political loser.
But the simple fact is that most Americans don’t support abortion. In fact, as I have said many times, being in favor of welcoming all unborn life into the world is more popular than most of the items on the GOP agenda.
A newly-released YouGov poll highlights this truth. The survey of 1,000 American adults found that:
- A majority — 52 percent — believes that life begins at conception.
- Two-thirds (66 percent) believe that “fetuses in the womb” (the poll’s wording, not mine) are people. Only 16 percent believe they are not people.
- 76 percent of respondents agreed that if a violent physical attack on a pregnant woman leads to the death of her unborn child, prosecutors should be able to charge the attacker with murder for killing the child.
- 57 percent said that abortion should be legal either never or only under special circumstances such as rape, incest or when the health of the mother is at risk. Just 29 percent said they felt abortion should be legal after the first trimester.
Kudos To Sam Brownback
Sam Brownback has been a champion of the pro-life cause going back to his days in Congress. Since becoming governor of Kansas in 2011, Brownback has signed several pro-life bills, including a ban on abortions after 21 weeks based on the view that unborn babies can feel pain at that point.
On Tuesday, Brownback signed a bill banning dilation and evacuation abortions (AKA dismemberment abortions). Here’s how the Washington Post described this particularly gruesome type of abortion: “In the procedure, doctors dilate the cervix and remove the fetus with forceps, clamps or other instruments, often in parts.” [Emphasis added.] It is the most common technique for second-trimester abortions.
By signing this bill, Brownback made Kansas the first state to stop this type of abortion. I hope it won’t be the last.
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