With a desperate, last-minute gambit, Senate Republicans tried to block the Iran peace deal once again with a silly rider that Senate Democrats rightfully filibustered.
via Reuters
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced an amendment to the measure that would bar the president from lifting sanctions on Iran unless it recognized Israel's right to exist and released American prisoners.
The vote was 53-45, meaning the measure failed to attract the 60 votes it would need to advance.
There's nothing silly about securing the release of American prisoners, but if we're being honest attaching it to this agreement is a desperate, cynical ploy. So is attempting to force some kind of political reconciliation between two other nations from inside the American Congress. There may be a time and place for that, but it is not now; not with this legislation.
Implementing a peace agreement and lifting international sanctions is the first step toward political reconciliation. You cannot have the latter before the former.