Please join AEI on Tuesday, September 8th at 9:00am to welcome former vice president Richard B. Cheney for a major address concerning the deal’s consequences for the security and interests of the United States and its allies in the Middle East. Details here.
There was a time, not so long ago, when Congress did not hesitate to buck the president of the United States. On NATO enlargement, on standing against Saddam Hussein, on tightening the screws on Iran, on resourcing defense, and on so much more, past congresses led foreign policy, pushed the country, and dared the man in the White House to say no.
Those days are behind us. The Washington Post put it succinctly this weekend, reporting on DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Shultz’s refusal to take up an Iran resolution lauding Obama on his deal with Tehran. “Some Democrats on the national committee who were unhappy that the resolution did not come up for consideration said that, as DNC chair, Wasserman Schultz owed her allegiance in this instance to the president, regardless of her own local political considerations.” Matter of conscience? Genuine policy disagreement? Forget that. Now Democrats “owe” the president no matter their own mind nor their constituents’.
A woman holds a placard as she joins several thousand other protestors to demonstrate during a rally apposing the nuclear deal with Iran in Times Square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, July 22, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar.
Part of the problem with Congress is generational: so many new members simply do not know what they can do with the power the people of this country gave them. As Dick and Liz Cheney wrote this weekend in the Wall Street Journal,
As citizens, we have another obligation. We have a duty to protect our ideals and our freedoms by safeguarding our history. We must ensure that our children know the truth about who we are, what we’ve done, and why it is uniquely America’s duty to be freedom’s defender.
But for so many, what we have done, what we can do, and the unique role that Congress can play in righting the ship of state, are mysteries. Members are reduced to empty rants about constitutionalism instead of clearly thinking through legislative options on Iran. What to do? Vote the Iran Deal down. Tell the president what a deal should look like. What if the vote is lost or the veto not overridden? Enshrine the terms of the deal in legislation. Enshrine the president’s promises in legislation. Ensure any violation will reimpose sanctions. Go hammer and tongs after Iran’s support for terrorism, human rights violations and efforts to destabilize the Middle East. There are dozens of options available, and if the president doesn’t like them, let him veto those too. Start withholding funds for the president’s initiatives on issues anathema to American interests. Stop confirming ambassadors. Sit on foreign assistance programs. These are the tools of congressional power. They shouldn’t be used wantonly, but they should be used.
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