what eye thynk: But, fear not, congressional leadership believes it has found a way to put off budget talks until they're really important--like maybe September 29.
Following the Senate vote, the House passed a resolution, (two other resolutions await House action), stating that President Obama had broken the law by refusing to provide Congress with details on mysterious "side deals" governing the inspection of Iran's nuclear facilities. (Details, if in fact there are any, are traditionally held secret by the U.N. and are not the President's or any of the other negotiating nations' to disclose.)
Representative Peter Roskam (R-Illinois) who introduced the House resolution, said he expects his party will take additional legal action. (Translation: when all else fails SUE! because whining to the courts that the President hurt your feelings is an oh, so productive use of government resources.) He added that he expects House Republicans will pass additional sanctions against Iran in order to force the President to defend himself and the Iran agreement. "If you've got a majority of the Congress that doesn't like the Iran deal, that begins to suggest you've got a majority of Congress that wants to lean in on this and be more provocative."
It seems to me that if "a majority of the Congress" really were against the deal, then the Senate vote would have reflected that. There are two chambers in Congress, and one of them could not muster a majority willing to derail the Iran deal--a pesky fact that Mr. Roskam seems to have overlooked.
Nevertheless, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is still floating the idea that the Iran deal can be upended through a House lawsuit-"That is an option that is very possible."--because, well, gee, somebody said so and well, gosh, umm, you know, sniff, boohoo.
Not to be outdone, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is planning to call for another vote on the deal next week. It is expected that GOP Senators will spend the next seven days threatening Democratic Senators up for re-election in 2016 with defeat if they do not change their vote.
And, if that fails, there is always the threat of 2016. Mr. McConnell, reminding the world that there will be a new resident in the White House in 2017 said, "No amount of saying this issue is over makes it over." (The Republican handbook unofficial rule #1.) "I say to Iranian observers of the debate, (the deal) will be looked on anew." (Because nothing says "trustworthy" like telling your allies you intend to disregard an international agreement once you're in charge.)
The GOP is totally incapable of admitting defeat on anything. And while they're passing resolutions, designing new sanctions, contemplating lawsuits, and attempting to coerce Democratic colleagues into switching sides, the budget countdown clock continues to run. But, please, by all means Republicans, keep right on doing what you do best. After all, "Domestic Budgetary Crisis Creator" looks so impressive on a resume.
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