While McConnell Goes the Nerf Route, Cruz Still Wants to Play Hardball on Iran Deal

He came to chew bubble gum and, well, you know…

Republican U.S. Senator Ted Cruz said on Tuesday that Congress should use legislation funding the government to force President Barack Obama’s administration to hand over more information about the nuclear agreement with Iran.

Days after a deadline passed for Congress to vote on the nuclear pact, the 2016 presidential hopeful said any legislation to fund the government after Sept. 30 must require the administration to hand over information about “secret side deals” involving inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

On Sept. 17, the deadline for reviewing the agreement, Obama’s fellow Democrats in the Senate for a third and last time blocked Republican legislation meant to kill the Iran nuclear deal. The vote conserved perhaps the greatest foreign policy win of his presidency.

Congress has until Sept. 30 either to pass a bill funding the government in the new fiscal year that starts the following day, or force federal agencies to shut down or curtail major operations.

Cruz has tried in the past to use must-pass spending bills, like the one coming due on Oct. 1, as vehicles to kill Obama initiatives, like his healthcare overhaul and immigration policy changes. The strategy has failed, but has forced temporary shutdowns.

The strategy failed in the past because GOP leadership blinked. It always blinks. In fact, many establishment Republicans will tell you that the last shutdown damaged the Republican brand. All that damage led to the landslide last November.

Maybe they need a dictionary.

Boehner and McConnell have shown time and again that they’re too frightened of bad press to do anything remotely worthwhile for their constituents, the Republican base, or America.

Ted Cruz doesn’t care about their timidity.

Cruz’s former communications director hit Twitter to mock the leadership jellyfish:

McConnell and Boehner have the plan all worked out to fully fund PP after a show vote on it http://t.co/1liOmoo2WL

— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) September 22, 2015

There is no illusion anymore that McConnell/Boehner are trying to do anything of merit. All a pre-engineered game to spend spend spend

— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) September 22, 2015

So, the GOP Congress is going ot fund Obamacare, Iran, Planned Parenthood. Next up raise the debt limit, blow out BCA caps? RAWR. GOP! GOP!

— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) September 22, 2015