The Iran nuclear agreement is done, but Republicans intend to keep fighting

Joan McCarter

Daily Kos Staff

Friday September 11, 2015 · 10:28 AM PDT

2015/09/11 · 10:28

House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. November, 2014.

The anti-leaders.

Thursday's vote in the Senate on President Obama's Iran nuclear agreement sealed the deal. Forty-two Democratic senators stood in support of the agreement, and that's all it takes to prevent the Congress from doing anything to block the agreement. But Republican congressional leadership isn't willing to accept defeat and move on to doing things like using the last five working days of the month to prevent government from shutting down.

Republicans are plotting to make Democrats pay dearly for backing an agreement the GOP argues hinges on an historic enemy of the United States playing nice. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to return to the floor next week to force Democrats to take more votes Republicans say they'll regret as soon as Iran violates the terms of the deal or sponsors terrorist attacks, which critics believe is just a matter of time.
After that will come the attack ads, national GOP officials say. It's expected to be a key cog of Republicans' electoral strategy: some GOP senators are already comparing it to Obamacare in its scope and potential to damage Democratic supporters politically.

"It will be very harmful to their chances," said National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi.

Possibly, although not likely. Foreign policy pretty much never decides elections. On the other hand, what would definitely be very harmful to Republicans with the voting public in an election year is shutting down government—again—over Planned Parenthood defunding. That's where Congress is headed unless McConnell and his counterpart in the House, Rep. John Boehner, use the next five working days to head it off.

Once again, Republican leadership is going to demonstrate where their priorities are. McConnell will waste precious time holding pointless votes on Iran to try to score political points, while actual governance goes by the wayside.

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