Bibi & Boehner blow it: How they strengthened the White House’s hand

[DonViejo]

The speaker and Israeli prime minister had the perfect plan to subvert diplomacy with Iran. It failed spectacularly

JIM NEWELL

John Boehner and the Republican Party had what it thought would be a fun idea to tweak the president, assert congressional authority, give U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East a rightward shove, and earn “the Republican Senator from Israel” another term. (Those last two items being one and the same.) He would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before Congress shortly before his election, without consulting the White House. That would offer Netanyahu the chance to show off his influence in American politics ahead of Israeli elections and put pressure on fence-sitting lawmakers to pass a new round of Iran sanctions that threatens to unravel nuclear negotiations at its most critical stage.

This plan has not gone over very well.

The only real shove that the invitation has produced is one in the other direction: getting certain Democrats, who were either actively pushing or considering voting for the Kirk-Menendez Iran sanctions bill, to lay off. Earlier this week, Sen. Menendez — crazy Bob Menendez! — and fellow Democrats sent a letter to the White House saying they would hold off voting on sanctions for a couple more months to let negotiations play out. The bill advanced out of the Senate Banking Committee today but, at least until the end of March, won’t have the votes to get through the Senate.

The New York Times reports today that Netanyahu’s acceptance of Boehner’s invitation was just what it needed to persuade enough Democratic senators to hold off on sanctions:

more
http://www.salon.com/2015/01/29/bibi_boehner_blow_it_how_they_strengthened_the_white_houses_hand/

[libdem4life]

1. Yep, Blowback...couldn't happen to two more appropriate asinine politicians. n/t

[Thinkingabout]

2. Bibi is running and it doesn't look really goid for him so he is trying to pull this

Crap showing his whatever. He tried to sea the US elections, did not work here.