In an interview with MSNBC's Ed Schultz, Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher said that had President Obama spoken out earlier in the week against the "mullah's" in Iran, there might not have been bloodshed and murder in the streets of Tehran.
Meanwhile, as GOP mouthpieces like Rohrabacher, Senator John McCain and Lindsey Graham are taking advantage of a history-making rebellion taking place in Iran to take pot shots at President Obama, real crisis is shaping up in the form of North Korea's latest adventures in nuclear proliferation.
Yesterday, North Korea boasted that it is a "proud nuclear power" and has intimated it is ready to launch a nuclear missile that could reach Hawaii. South Korea's YTN news network has detailed reports of a U.S. Navy destroyer (the U.S.S. John Mccain) following a North Korea ship that is thought to be carrying nuclear missiles to Myanmar (Burma), testing the newest U.N. sanctions against North Korea.
Yet McCain, Graham, Rohrabacher and others are too busy opposing their own president to weigh in on the North Korean crisis.
Rohrabacher's claims that President Reagan single-handedly ended the cold war by telling Mr. Gorbachav to "tear down that wall" are absurd. In truth, as James Mann of the NY Times pointed out in a 2007 op-ed, the 'Berlin Wall' speech served to define Reagan's foreign policy and legacy but little else.
Remarks such as Rohrabacher's to Ed Schultz merely highlight the growing divide within today's Republican party. As conservative columnist and former speech writer for President Reagan, Peggy Noonan wrote in the WSJ last Friday:
John McCain and others went quite crazy insisting President Obama declare whose side America was on, as if the world doesn't know whose side America is on. "In the cause of freedom, America cannot be neutral," said Rep. Mike Pence. Who says it's neutral?
This was Aggressive Political Solipsism at work: Always exploit events to show you love freedom more than the other guy, always make someone else's delicate drama your excuse for a thumping curtain speech.
Mr. Obama was restrained, balanced and helpful in the crucial first days, keeping the government out of it but having his State Department ask a primary conduit of information, Twitter, to delay planned maintenance and keep reports from the streets coming.
It became quite obvious last week that the GOP was taking cheap political shots at the President of the United States while the freedom and very lives of Iranian reformists were at stake.
North Korea has nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction. But the knowledge that they do doesn't seem to concern Lindsey Graham, John McCain or Dana Rohrabacher. They and others continue to tirade against the U.S. President for the rebellion taking place in Iran as if they genuinely care about the people of Iran. It is shameful to see elected politicians taking advantage of the Iranian crisis to oppose their own president.
It should come as no surprise then to learn that in a Gallup poll released today, the approval rating of the U.S. Congress went from 39% in March to 33% this month.
Comments
What an absurd and destructive thing to say. We should completely bomb Iran, then supplant Mousavi in office who is no different than the current nutjob. Nice piece!
FYI - I meant what Rohrabacher said, by the way, was destrucitve, not your article which was informative and well done. Just to clarify.
How dare they criticize the current POTUS.
Your article is truly bias. You guys attack
anyone that says anything against Obama, our
socialist Marxist Pres.
It is always interesting to see the comments. Look how angry some of these gentlemen are. The article was well written, and it points out the truth, namely: politics as usual in DC. While Iran's drama is fascinating, I hope people put it into the greater context of things. We need to tackle health care, our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and, of course, the economy. As an aside, I just got out of the Army. As an Airborne Ranger who just finished up two tours in Iraq, I resent these arm-chair 'bomb them, invade them' republicans who always seem ready for a fight, as long as someone else does it for them.
charlie
socialist marxist president, whats wrong with you? The president is doing what needs to be done, what would you do without fireman, post office, police, highways to drive your vehicles on, etc. etc. all socialist and serving the people which is what our president is trying to do, serve the people and do what's best for OUR COUNTRY! It's horrible what's going on in Iran. I was part of the 60's and witnessed riots and the police tear gassing everybody, and everything else that happened during 60's that was taking place, give our President a brake, take a deep breath and let him do his job.
"socialist marxist president,"
Whats wrong with you? He is a Fascist!
It is just too bad many have no clue what a Fascist government is all about. Read this and see for yourself.
www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Fascism.html
"Where socialism sought totalitarian control of a society’s economic processes through direct state operation of the means of production, fascism sought that control indirectly, through domination of nominally private owners."
Sound familiar? Does GM, Chrysler, AIG ring a bell?
"Look how angry some of these gentlemen are"
You must be a very talented person to "see" anger in what someone types. I see stupidity in what you type!
Other Presidents have been able to take on several foreign policy issues at the same time. Making excuses for him doesn't help him look any better.
It is all stupid. It does not matter. No matter which person they pick as president, they will still be ruled by muslem law and their religious leaders will actually be in control; therefore, it will be the same as before:
Hate Israel. Hate America. Hate Western civilization or anything that conflicts with being a muslem. There can be no democracy under muslem law. American cannot afford another Iraq or Afghanistan. You cannot free people and give them democracy in a country that has muslem law and will retain that muslem law. And the people want to be muslem. I do not like Obama or his socialist policies, but he is RIGHT to keep America out of this.
"GOP congressman Dana Rohrabacher blames Obama for bloodshed in Iran"
About as legitimate as blaming the right wing for the killing of Tiller.
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