By now you have probably read and heard a flood of analysis on the interim deal the Obama Administration made with the Iranian government in coordination with five other governments. Except for two people who write for the New York Times, the reviews we have read are quite damning.
The purpose of this column is neither to analyze the position of any parties nor to project whether this agreement will do harm to our allies in the region. They have certainly strongly expressed they were sold down the river by the agreement, but the only thing that they are hearing are assurances that in the end everything will be fine for their countries and the final agreement will protect them. They don’t seem to agree with that.
The agreement exists. There is nothing we can do about it because it is not a treaty and not subject to Congressional review. What we now need to focus on is how we can insure that the final agreement does what the interim agreement should have done – eliminate any nuclear development by Iran for any purpose. We all know if there is any form of nuclear development allowed in Iran they will have the opportunity to turn that into military use.
There is only one way to insure that there is at least a chance to pressure the Obama Administration into a proper deal. That is to starve the Democrats for money – House candidates, Senate candidates and the Democratic National Committee. That means if you are a supporter of Israel or someone who does not want nuclear proliferation -- especially in the hands of highly questionable regimes -- you must not give any money to Democrats until the final deal is cut. If you give money to any Democrats running for national office, or committees that fund those races, you are endorsing the current plan and that plan will be extended through into the final plan.
So when a candidate comes a calling, you must make it clear that you will be happy to support them once you see the final agreement and that the agreement has to eliminate nuclear development by Iran. If the Iranians don’t agree, then the next step is crushing sanctions that will bring the government to its knees and revolution to the streets. If a pro-Israel organization calls you to support a past friend in Congress, you need to tell them that if the candidates are really friends they will go beyond pontificating about the weakness of the interim deal and demand that Obama and Kerry protect both our interests and that of our friends by creating a truly restrictive agreement with Iran. Tell them “I will give the candidates money, but only after we see the terms of the final agreement.”
The first comment one might make is that the proposal is easy for me to propose since I don’t give contributions to Democrats in partisan races. Let me be clear: if a Republican had made this highly questionable deal then I would be proposing the same strategy toward Republicans.
The second comment you may want to make is that I am out of my mind; that liberals Democrats will never do that. I tried this idea out on a couple of very involved individuals on the issue of Israel. One told me I was being Pollyannaish. That person said he felt liberal Jews were more concerned with abortion than the issue of Israel. Another stated his organization would never do it.
So tell me, do you have a better idea? What would happen if people charged with getting Democrats elected to the House (Steve Israel) and Senate (Chuck Schumer) started screaming that their fundraising has fallen through the floor and people were making their reasons very clear. It happened in 2010 and Obama changed course. We realize this President really cares only about his political position and is not really a team player, but a near collapse of Democratic fundraising would put extreme pressure on Obama and Kerry to do the right thing.
I have said repeatedly that you cannot possibly be a supporter of Barack Obama and of Israel. Someone may think they are, but it is politically impossible. Obama does not support Israel and this interim agreement is a testament to that fact. Some analysts have compared this agreement to the one Neville Chamberlain made with Hitler. There was no opportunity to reverse that agreement; and, by time action was taken, the world was in a crushing war that brought the man to power who called the agreement a disaster at the time it was signed. Churchill could do nothing but fight for the survival of his country by the time he became Prime Minister of Great Britain.
We all know how foolish this agreement will be if it is made permanent. We know it hastens war and further nuclear proliferation, as Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States who can fund it will start their own nuclear programs to protect themselves and also knowing no one will stop them.
We can do something. We can bring pressure on the party in power and force them to make the right decisions going forward. Don’t look back and wish you had done something that saved Israel from destruction. Words don’t count now -- actions do. So let them know; no money until we see a final agreement that secures our friends in the Middle East and stifles nuclear proliferation.