Obama and Iran

Ever try to negotiate with a pit bull that wants to bite your hand off? That’s about how well nuclear talks with Iran are going… For years, Iran has defied the world and crept ever closer to building nuclear weapons. Now, people who should know better seem to think Iran will give up and make a deal by the arbitrary negotiation deadline of November 24. It’s not like the Ayatollahs have to hurry up and finish so they can start their black Friday Christmas shopping.

So far, these “good faith” negotiations, as the President calls them, have been marked by the revelation of Obama’s outrageous secret letter to the Ayatollah Khamenei that was kept from Congress, and now, by a series of tweets from Khamenei, calling for the “annihilation” of Israel. It’s said that diplomacy is the art of saying, “Nice doggie,” until you can find a rock. Judging from these diplomatic negotiations, Israel had better have enough rocks stockpiled to reduce a nuclear plant to gravel.

The Obama Administration pays lip service to supporting Israel, but time and again, they’ve treated our staunch ally, and the only democracy in the Middle East, as if it’s the terrorist aggressor for trying to defend itself from extermination. That has political analysts debating whether the White House’s treatment of Israel is starting to erode the financial and ballot box support that American Jews have long given the Democratic Party.

In last week’s elections, while other groups abandoned the Democrats, exit polls show two-thirds of Jewish voters stuck with them. That’s about the same as in 2012. The possible reasons range all over the map. For secular Jews, leftwing politics might be more important than Israel. But some Jews said in their districts, only Democrats were running. Others said they voted Republican but are still registered Democrat.

But cracks are appearing. Children’s TV mogul Haim Saban, producer of the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,” is one of the biggest Democratic donors in Hollywood. In 2012, he even wrote an op-ed lauding Obama’s “steadfast support” for Israel. But now, his opinion is morphin’. He’s blasted Obama for lowering sanctions on Iran instead of increasing them. He endorsed Lindsay Graham’s bill to require Senate approval of any Iran nuke deal. And Saban says if the Administration agrees to a dangerous deal, Benjamin Netanyahu should “bomb the daylights” out of Iran. Wow. Saban is still gung-ho for Hillary in 2016. But if it’s true that a conservative is a liberal who got mugged, we might finally start seeing more Jewish Republicans if Israel keeps getting mugged.

Finally, it was reported that every day, truckloads of Red Bull energy drinks are being transported from Turkey to Syria, through crossings controlled by ISIS. It’s not clear whether the militants are buying all that Red Bull or just taking an illegal kickback.

I will say this, though. If Red Bull gives ISIS members wings, better enjoy it. Where you’re going, you won’t be getting any wings.

Mike Huckabee is a former governor of Arkansas.

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Published: Nov. 13, 2014 - Volume 13 - Issue 31