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Republicans say Obama drove them to betray their country
...Obama made us do it!Ali Gharib @Ali_Gharib 7m7 minutes ago
Republicans Blame Obama For Tom Cotton Letter http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6843204?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000016 …
____GOP lawmakers spent much of Tuesday being pressed on why Senate party leadership went around the White House with an open letter warning Iran that any nuclear agreement may be undercut in the future by Congress or Obama's successor. Several Republicans sought to distance themselves from the letter, saying that while they may not agree with the direction of nuclear talks with Iran, it was the purview of the president to conduct them.
But those who support the letter -- even some who didn't add their names -- deflected the blame. If it weren't for Obama's failure to consult lawmakers about the negotiations, or his threatened veto of a proposed bill to give Congress the final vote on a nuclear agreement, senators wouldn't have had to speak out in the first place, they argued.
“I think that, no doubt, the fact that the president, you know, issued a veto threat on a very common-sense piece of legislation, probably evoked, you know, a good deal of passion,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told The Huffington Post Tuesday. Corker, who is leading the push for a veto-proof majority on the bill to grant Congress oversight of a nuclear agreement, did not sign letter, which was organized by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). Nevertheless, he showed no signs of ill will toward his junior colleague...
Former New York Gov. George Pataki (R), appearing at a presidential forum hosted by the International Association of Fire Fighters, conceded that he believed foreign policy to be "prerogative of the president." But even within that construct, he added, Obama was to blame for Senate Republicans trying to undermine his talks with Iran.
"I also understand the frustration when this president has done everything in his power to prevent awareness on the part of congressional leadership on exactly what the terms under consideration are, or his willingness to sit down with Congress and talk about the legislation they are trying to pass right now," said Pataki, who is exploring a presidential bid. "I think if we had a president who had engaged more in understanding that Congress has a very critical role in all elements of government, we could avoid this type of sad situation."
read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/10/gop-obama-cotton-letter_n_6843204.html?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000016
...they're saying that President Obama should have knuckled under to their legislative attempt to circumvent his right to negotiate with the Iranians, or at least bent to their will. Because he didn't do either, they say, republicans had no other choice but to sidestep the democratic process and attempt to undermine the office of the presidency by taking that Executive authority into their own anti-democratic hands. Maybe they can invite the Ayatollah to Congress to give their colleagues another traitorous pep talk, a la Nuttenyahoo.
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