Obama Is Lying About the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment
One thing I’m not worrying about is whether McCain’s people will hit back hard at Obama’s lies. Check out this dismantling of the Anointed One’s flip-floppery on designating the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. The vote went 76-22 in favor of so designating, but Obama was typically on the wrong side of the question (emphases mine):
In October 2007, Obama Described Kyl-Lieberman As A Justification For Attacking Iran. OBAMA: “[The] Bush administration could use the language in Lieberman-Kyl to justify an attack on Iran as a part of the ongoing war in Iraq.” (Sen. Barack Obama, “Five Years After Iraq War Vote, We’re Still Foolishly Rattling Our Sabers,” Manchester Union-Leader, 10/11/07)
Yet Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) Said The Kyl-Lieberman Amendment Provided No Justification For Attacking Iran. SEN. DURBIN: “If I thought there was any way [Kyl-Lieberman] could be used as a pretense to launch an invasion of Iran, I would have voted no.” (Julianna Goldman, “Durbin Says Obama Will Win Iowa Caucus; Disagrees On Iran,” Bloomberg, 10/12/07; S.3017, CQ Vote #349: Agreed To, 76-22: R 47-2; D 29-20, 9/26/07, Durbin Voted Yea.)
So why is Obama lying about the rationale for his vote? I don’t know. But he likes to hide behind the claim that he originally sponsored something else that would have achieved the same thing:
The Obama Campaign Points To Barack Obama’s Co-Sponsorship Of The Iran Counter-Proliferation Act (S.970) As Evidence That He Favors Designating The IRGC As A Terrorist Organization. “Obama Cosponsored The Iran Counter-Proliferation Act, Which Would Designate The Iranian Revolutionary Guard As A Terrorist Organization.” (”Obama Camp Response to McCain’s AIPAC Speech,” Time’s “The Page,” http://thepage.time.com, Accessed 6/2/08)
There Has Been No Floor Action On S.970 Since 3/22/07 And It Has Never Been The Subject Of A Floor Vote. (S.970, Introduced 3/22/07, Referred To The Committee On Finance, 3/22/07)
Why did Obama’s bill fail to catch on? Maybe he isn’t as post-partisan as he would like us to believe.