Published on February 6th, 2015 | http://www.lobelog.com/update-on-bibi-boehner-fallout/#more-27942

Update on Bibi-Boehner Fallout

by Jim Lobe
The Bibi-Boehner fiasco appears to be the gift that keeps on giving. At least, it continues to buoy the hopes of those who want the P5+1 and Iranian negotiators to forge a framework accord by the notional deadline of March 24 to be followed by a comprehensive deal on Tehran’s nuclear program by July 1.
John Boehner’s (R-OH) unilateral invitation has served above all to persuade some nervous Democrats to rally behind Obama and his promise to veto any sanctions legislation during the ongoing negotiations. Indeed, until Boehner’s surprise announcement— which, incidentally, was extended (apparently falsely) “on behalf of the bipartisan leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate” (emphasis added and see this Reuters piece published today)— Sens. Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) had a shot at peeling off enough Democrats to get a sanctions bill through the Senate even before March.
But, as widely predicted, the invitation made it clearer than ever that Boehner’s—and Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY)—stunt was fundamentally a partisan maneuver designed to embarrass and undermine the president. This point was underlined by the praise it immediately elicited from the Sheldon Adelson-chaired Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) and the boast a few hours later by Bill Kristol’s Emergency Committee for Israel (ECI)—a Republican operation through and through—that it would host a reception for Netanyahu after his address to Congress.http://www.lobelog.com/update-on-bibi-boehner-fallout/#more-27942