Voters must demand political realism on Iran
By Scot Lehigh GLOBE COLUMNIST SEPTEMBER 03, 2015
SO THE Iran deal is a done deal. The question now is, will the Republican Party’s would-be presidents react responsibly once the vote takes place?
Almost all of them blasted the agreement when it was announced. Sadly, that’s only to be expected in this hyper-partisan era. But now that the pact has enough Senate support that it can’t be blocked, will they be rhetorically realistic or bind themselves to mast in opposition?
Given that it’s an executive agreement, a future president could terminate it, of course. And we’ll no doubt hear some of the candidates pledge to do just that, and then seek a tougher deal.
But consider: If the United States was to abandon an agreement that Iran was abiding by, we would be breaking ranks with the international coalition this country led, in pursuit of an unobtainable stronger deal. That’s a hugely untenable position. As our negotiating partners have made clear, they would not go along with such an effort.
So despite all the previous campaign trail statements, a responsible, reasonable Republican candidate would do well to adopt this posture: Although I originally opposed the agreement, given that the political fight is over except for the counting, I would wait to see if Iran acts in good faith before renouncing the pact.
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