A few months ago, the president guaranteed Congress the right to approve or disapprove any accord reached with Iran. Now, despite his solemn declaration to the contrary, it seems he’s planning to sideline Congress altogether. Fred Siegel and Sol Stern write:
Throughout the international negotiations, the White House has essentially served as Iran’s lawyer; now the administration’s rhetoric has created an insuperable dilemma for opponents of the deal. [John] Kerry has not so subtly hinted that the administration has no intention of honoring the commitments it made in signing the bill authorizing congressional review. Kerry’s comments suggest that no matter what happens in Congress, the administration will feel little obligation to carry out the wishes of the people’s representatives on the most important national-security issue of our time.
Should two-thirds of both houses override a presidential veto, Obama will likely ignore Congress, waive sanctions by executive decree, and leave Iran on the threshold of achieving a bomb. And if Iran does decide to pursue a nuclear breakout, nothing Congress does will likely convince Obama to use a credible threat of force to restrain the mullahs. But Obama will certainly blame Congress and particularly the Republicans for this national-security catastrophe of his own making.
The best that can probably be achieved by opponents of this disastrous agreement is a moral victory that embarrasses the president and provides an opportunity to regroup. A strong anti-Obama showing in the Senate that falls just short of the two-thirds majority could serve as a rebuke to his imperial presidency and a warrant for a new president to reconsider the agreement. But for the time being, Obama has undermined the Constitution and the Congress, even as he has empowered Iran, Assad, and Hizballah.
Read more on City Journal: http://www.city-journal.org/2015/eon0722fsss.html