The Iran deal is so bad that Democratic candidates for the 2016 nomination could be expected to run away from it. That is especially true of Hillary Clinton, whose foreign policy inner circle includes strong critics of the deal, and who could at least attempt to distance herself from it by arguing that it happened after she left the administration (though she was involved in the initial stages). However, she backed the deal right away–even before reading it.
One possible reason for Clinton’s eager embrace of the Iran deal may have been the e-mail scandal that unfolded as the details of the accord emerged.
As the FBI begins investigating her homebrew email server and her handling of classified materials, she could face serious criminal charges that bar her from public office. Her only lifeline could be prosecutorial discretion, or a pardon from President Barack Obama. He controls her political and personal fate.
With that in mind, Clinton is not about to attack Obama’s signature foreign policy initiative–even if its weaknesses are glaring, and virtually guarantee the emergence of Iran as a nuclear-armed, terrorist-supporting regime.
Her early backing of the deal also gave political cover to Democrats that might otherwise have voted their conscience. With no Democrat willing to take on the president, few party members have had the courage to do the right thing.
But Clinton is being made to sing for her supper.
On September 9, as the Tea Party Patriots mount a rally against the Iran deal on Capitol Hill, featuring presidential candidates Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Clinton will deliver a speech backing the deal.
That is a huge political cost, given that the American electorate opposes the Iran deal by 2-to-1 margins. But it may just be the price Hillary Clinton has to pay to save herself from prison.
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