‘I trust Obama more than the Prime Minister of Israel to run our policy’ — George W. Bush’s former pollster

The rightwing Israel lobby has launched a full-on assault on the Iran deal. “Urge Congress to Oppose the Bad Deal with Iran,” AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, declares on its website, with a ton of attack videos and “fact sheets”.

“AIPAC commits to total war against the president. In previous two such campaigns – loan guarantees and Saudi AWACS – it lost,” reports Chemi Shalev of Haaretz

The day Obama awarded Iran hegemony in the Middle East

Another, tuned in to what Israel wants:

Israel: Inspection clauses in deal ‘worse than worthless,’ actually help Iran

That links to Yuval Steinitz, senior minister, in the Times of Israel: 

The nuclear deal’s inspections regime, much hailed by the Western powers that negotiated the agreement with Iran, is “worse than worthless” and actually helps Iran more than the international inspectors, a senior Israeli minister charged Wednesday.

Another shrill tweet from Israel Project:

JPOST: Iran deal to see Middle East conflicts go on steroids

This is the best:

The good thing is, the lobby has never been so naked before. Matthew Dowd, the former pollster for George W Bush who saw the light on Iraq, tweets:

I have not always been fan of Obama, but i trust the President of the United States more than the Prime Minister of Israel to run our policy

The Iran deal is a mistake, but Reagan is best President ever and he traded arms for hostages. Am i missing something?

He looks at it from Iran’s point of view:

so we supported overthrow of their leader in 50s, sided with Iraq against them in war, and shot down one of their airliners. trust is 2 way

Here’s some more propaganda from the Israel Project’s Josh Block:

The liberal Zionists are lining up in favor of the deal. J Street was featured on the Nightly News last night. The group spokesperson Dylan Williams:

You know what is longer than 2 years of current negotiations with Iran? 8 years of war in Iraq.

Greg Sargent, Washington Post, says J Street has a lot of money:

“J-Street alone will be undertaking a multi-million-dollar effort in support of the agreement,” Dylan Williams, a spokesman for the progressive pro-Israel group J-Street, tells me. “I know that other groups that recognize this deal as the best way to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon will be spending comparable amounts.”…

One hundred and fifty House Dems have already signed a letter [back in May] generally supporting diplomacy, which makes it very likely the veto won’t get overridden in the Lower Chamber.

“The odds are very good that we can sustain the veto in both houses, but the firewall is clearly in the House,” one source says.

A source on the pro-deal side says groups think opponents will aggressively target the House Dems that didn’t sign the letter, and will also pressure Dem Senators that might be inclined against the accord, such as Chuck Schumer, Cory Booker, Michael Bennet, Chris Coons, Kirsten Gillibrand, Gary Peters, Debbie Stabenow, and Heidi Heitkamp.

Chuck Schumer will support the deal, says Yair Lapid, the Israeli centrist:

“I’ve heard all of the analyses that said wait we don’t know how Chuck Schumer – who is the most influential Democratic senator today – will vote. I sat with him less than a month ago; we spoke about this. I looked him in the eyes; he didn’t say it outright, [but] I am telling you, he’ll vote for the deal. All these discussions are inventions… There will be a Senate decision not to remove sanctions, there will be a presidential veto and there won’t be 67 votes to override the veto.”

The Hill says Schumer may vote against it, but without trying to rally opposition:

“[I]f he was going to go ballistic, if he was going to fight it, he would have made the move.” [says W.Va Senator Joe Manchin]. ..

“Historically, this is a huge deal for the Obama administration,” said a former Schumer aide, who predicted that wouldn’t necessarily stop him from voting against it.

Jewish leaders in New York predict Schumer will vote to overturn the accord…

“This bill is a complete catastrophe and I think you’ll see Chuck Schumer and many other Democrats vote against this bill,” said Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America.

NY’s junior Senator Kirsten Gillibrand hedges: 

Now that #Irandeal is in place, I’ll take a look at the details–especially on verification components–before making a final determination.

Cory Booker hedges:

I’m a PBO [Obama] supporter. But I must evaluate this on its merits. It isn’t about him or me but what is best for USA

I agree with you on no more war. But this is far more complicated than the binary alternatives that you offer.

The same day he tweets about the intolerable rates of incarceration, and this bit of inspiration: “You wanna fly, you got to give up the sh** that weighs you down.” ― Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon

Bernie Sanders is strong:

“I congratulate President Obama, Secretary Kerry and the leaders of other major nations for producing a comprehensive agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. This is a victory for diplomacy over saber-rattling and could keep the United States from being drawn into another never-ending war in the Middle East. I look forward to learning more about the complex details of this agreement to make sure that it is effective and strong.”

The National Jewish Democratic Council is tapdancing. Doesn’t like the deal, but can’t come out and say so:

While many have quickly jumped to conclusions on whether today’s announced agreement with Iran is a “good deal” or a “bad deal,” we call on all organizations and members of Congress to take partisan politics completely out of this situation. In order to truly determine whether or not this deal is what we need and want it to be, we call on the entire community to take the necessary time to read and review the details of the agreement.

And though it’s a partisan organization, it doesn’t want Israel to become a partisan issue:

The pro-Israel cause is hurt when the world’s only Jewish state is, once again, used as a partisan wedge issue. This is not about scoring partisan points, it’s about what’s best for the national security interests of the United States, including protecting the safety and security of our vital ally, Israel.

Barbara Slavin of the Atlantic Council said in a conference call yesterday that the deal is going through, there’s no turning back:

The deal is done… It’s bound to be blessed by the international community and the Security Council…. We’ve reached the high water mark with sanctions…. Iran has agreed to what many in the world consider to be a quite reasonable deal.

The Israel Project is trying to rally pro-Israel Dems using lobby warhorses:

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said in an official statement, “I’m concerned the redlines we drew have turned into green-lights; that Iran will be required only to limit rather than eliminate its nuclear program, while the international community will be required to lift the sanctions, and that it doesn’t provide for anytime-any-place inspections of suspected sites. The bottom line is: The deal doesn’t end Iran’s nuclear program – it preserves it.” Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) was “emphatic” that he would vote against a resolution approving the deal, asking rhetorically, “If all it takes is a bag full of breadcrumbs to build a bomb, can you trust Iran with a bakery the size of La Brea?” Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) called aspects of the deal “deeply troubling.”

Ambassador Dennis Ross, the former special adviser for the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia in Obama’s State Department, wrote in The Washington Post that the deal “will legitimize the Islamic republic as a threshold nuclear state.” Robert Satloff, the Executive Director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, called the deal “a strategy page that maps Iran’s emergence as a regional power, with the full blessing – even support – of the United States and the international community.”

Let’s get back to the mustache-twirlers. Bill Kristol:

Everyone who’s pro-Israel needs to take a hard look at, and reflect on, Annex III.D.10 of the #IranDeal.

Noah Pollak tells us what Subchapter 10 is.

Nuclear deal includes pledge that US to help Iran thwart Israeli sabotage of nuclear facilities. Obama-Iran alliance.

Writes a friend, “How does Netanyahu feel about testifying for the Iraq War, now? The Deal is a reaction to the Bush Doctrine.  Lost in the mist of time is Israel backing Iran over Iraq when Reagan was prez.”