GOP Congressman Says Obama's Hesitance On Iran Responsible For Violence (VIDEO)

It was bound to happen. Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, accused Barack Obama on Tuesday of allowing violence in Iran to get out of hand by not speaking out against the country's leadership earlier.

The California Republican, appearing on MSNBC's The Ed Show, said that the president "ratcheted up the language a little bit" during his press conference on Tuesday. But, he added, "If [Obama] would have been talking even a little bit tougher a few days ago we might not have seen the violence and bloodshed of this repressive regime in Tehran in the last two days."

The comments, by far the most personal attack on the Obama administration's handling of the situation in Iran, were far enough removed from perceptive analysis that even former Rep. Tom Tancredo - hardly a shrinking conservative voice - pushed back against them.

"I take issue with my very good friend Dana Rohrabacher, believe it or not," the Colorado Republican told Schultz in the subsequent segment. "I actually think that the president was right in the way he was handling the issue. I don't think there was an awful lot he should have said. In a way I was disappointed that he seemed to cave into the pressure he was getting to actually speak more harshly about this in his press conference. I think he was on the right track."

Indeed, even Rohrabacher - after being pressed for clarification - backtracked from accusing Obama of having blood on his hands. It was, he added, the "Mullahs" in Iran who were to blame for the violence. Obama "is responsible for his own actions."

"[The President's] own actions and his lack of a tough statement early on gave them the impression that... emboldened the mullah dictatorship," Rohrabacher said. "It would be like Ronald Reagan going to the Berlin Wall and saying Mr. Gorbachev, that's your business over there."

The video is worth a watch if, for nothing else, to see the outer limits of where the domestic debate of Iranian politics can go.

Comments

[IndyReader]

And this guy from California didn't call them "mullahs", he called the "moolahs". I thought that was a female wrestler from back in the 50s & 60s.

[TLThomas]

So now Obama is the President of Iran too? Busy man, but even he was available for his children on Father's Day, Mr. Sanford, in spite of presiding over TWO countries!

[Mauiboy]

I think that McCain and others who came out and said that Obama wasn't doing enough, have actually given Obama cover against charges like this. One could also claim that the speeches in Cairo and in European Capitols have done more than his recent statements to spark people around the globe to rise up against oppression. Democracy spreads from the ground up and not the other way around. The Republicans can't seem to get their talking points right...

[MichelleDenise64]

I agree

[Ken Maddox]

If all you have to offer is bluff and bluster, then you have to use it. The GOP will die dening they were wrong, even though the world now knows them for the bluff and bluster they are.

[audadvnc]

but, of course, 8 years of tough talking from the Cowboy-in-Chief didn't make much difference to the mullahs, either.

[LMPE]

For the violence I blame British Petroleum. After the election of Mohammed Mossadegh - who nationalized Iran's oil industry - BP coordinated an international blockade of Iran and got the CIA to oust Mossadegh, leaving the despotic shah in power. This naturally made Iran's population hate the US, and so once they overthrew the shah, Ayatollah Khomeini hijacked the revolution and turned the country into a theocracy.

[ngoron]

If Obama has so much power how is it there you're still here?

[JRsNana]

Out of touch, out of their minds. The GOPers are really started to sound desperate. Seriously? Obama is responsible for the people of Iran marching in the streets in protest of a stolen election? Obama is responsible for the leaders of Iran calling for aggression toward the protestors? Seriously? Wow - he's sure got a lot of power we didn't know about. What a tool Dana is. What a MF tool!

[notthistime]

yep. Obama is responsible for me getting a Big Mac instead of a Quarter Pounder at McDonalds.

[lvdragonlady]

lol so bad

[JRsNana]

Well, he should be more careful when ordering your freakin' meal then shouldn't he?

[TEHelms]

Jesus, Joseph and Mary...are these not wingnuts? The more they talk the less rational they become! They cannot come up with any credible discussion so they resort to....stup­idity.

[Simian]

We need to stop giving these people air time. If they can't be responsible with their positions of authority, much less as citizens, they shouldn't be getting headlines and interviews.

I'm all for legitimate opposing views being expressed, but be honest about the reasons you are putting an ignoramus like Dana on the air - it's to give your host the opportunity to look tough, not to further the discourse. He clearly doesn't know what he's talking about and doesn't care about the repercussions. His positions have nothing to do with Iran, our foreign policy stance in this crisis, or national security. His position is strictly anti-Obama, as is much of the blathering coming from the "loyal opposition"

Turn off the mic.

[lvdragonlady]

Would have to shutdown faux news to accomplish that.

[olmossy]

Yeah. Hmmmm? Yeah I think I saw a guy looked a lot like Obama , Lurking arround in Dallas Texas, Yeah Nov of 63 , Yeah looked a lot like him.

[jaggededge]

dang, if only obama hadn't shot lincoln, reconstruction would have gone a lot better

[RobinSeattle]

To get an idea of what kind of guy Rohrabacher is, look at these quotes:

"The Taliban are devout traditionalists—not terrorists or revolutionaries. A Taliban takeover [of Afghanistan] would be a positive developmen­t."

—Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, November/December 1996 issue

"A veteran U.S. foreign-policy expert told the Weekly, "If Dana's right-wing fans knew the truth about his actual, working relationship with the Taliban and its representatives in the Middle East and in the United States, they wouldn't be so happy."" '

"What they won't mention is that Rohrabacher also once lobbied shamelessly for the Taliban. A November/December 1996 article in Washington Report on Middle East Affairs reported, "The potential rise of power of the Taliban does not alarm Rohrabacher" because the congressman believes the "Taliban could provide stability in an area where chaos was creating a real threat to the U.S." Later in the article, Rohrabacher claimed that:Taliban leaders are "not terrorists or revolution­aries."
http://www.ocweekly.com/2002-09-12/features/rogue-statesman/2

Yes, the GOP actually loved the Taliban. Or they must have because not one member of the party moved to get Rohrabacher to quit. He is now on his 11th term.

So he is not worth paying attention to.

[Gidster]

He is however a member of the American Taliban...­..

[ebroadcast]

Another GOP attempt to throw out complete BS and see if anyone calls them out on it

[Ozarks]

Guess Representative Dana Rohrabacher believes Obama was responsible for the rigged vote. I guess Representative Dana Rohrabacher is reliving those Florida 2000 rigged votes and Ohio 2004 rigged votes to come to that conclusion

[rkcomments]

I feel sorry for any tough-talking dude named 'Dana'.

[notthistime]

lolol