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

[Haitiana4Obama]

What's really good with these people? One moment the President is "too busy worrying about matters overseas," they complain about him giving groundbreaking speeches in Ciaro and Turkey. Yet when it suits their agenda he isn't doing/saying enough when it comes to Iran.

[kareemachan]

And these are the people who have been slavering for an excuse to invade Iran. It's okay for us to spill blood, but not for them, huh.

[poaster]

Newsflash: The Iowa HS footbals coach who was shot and killed, all because of Obama.

[notthistime]

reason I stubbed my big toe -- Obama

[Bobbygoode]

OMG. I thought this Orange County kook went the way of Bob Dornan. Never mind his gratuitous Obama bashing, a bit of a history lesson for this poor man: Gorbachev did NOT "tear down this wall" just because his Lord and Savior Reagan made that speech. First of all, Reagan was long out of office when the Berlin Wall came down, and, second of all, it was the German PEOPLE themselves who tore down the wall, following the implosion of the various iron curtain countries in the late 80's, including that of East Germany. By extension, it is the PEOPLE of Iran (and any other suppressed society) who must step up and make the big change, and will do so regardless of whether somebody thousands of miles - and worlds - away is cheerleading.

[bassface49]

Just after leaving the Army I work for a 'govt contract' co making aviation parts back in the early 70's. The particular 'part' I worked on was 'top-secret' made of 'titanium'. An Officer from the 'program' came through and I had a chance to talk to him about the project. He told me that the USSR was using aluminium and 'pock-metal' for things that we were using 'titaniun'. During the discussion he said that our Gov't KNEW that Russia was going to collapse under its OWN weight, it was just a matter of time.
St ronnie had NOTHING to do with it....until the 'Reagan Legacy Project' got ahold of it.

The GOP the party of BS

[olmossy]

Yeah I allways wondered if the Collapse of the Soviet Union meant the failure of Socialism.
What did the Collapse of Wall Street in the fall of 2008 mean?

[jaggededge]

the only ones who didn't know the soviet union was crumbling was the CIA

[usawillprevail]

Ohhh Bad Bad Iran! Stop it! lololol

He is a weakling and everyone knows it.

[cdouglas]

A weakling? What do you propose he should do? Let's hear your plan, usawillprevail, you seem to have some answers. And don't say 'send in the troops' because there are no more left to send.

[jwredd]

I would so love to hear usawillprevail actually answer your question. Unfortunately he/she is no different than the right wing politicians that change the subject every time they get asked what exactly the president should have done to be "stronger" on Iran.

Why? All for political show, with no clue.

usawillprevail, if I'm wrong then go ahead and answer the question.

[kareemachan]

Yeah, I agree. Dana Rohrabacher is a total weakling loser.

[speedingpullet]

Typical narcissism from the GOP - they honestly think that the whole world waits with baited breath for the US to tell them what to do. And that the US is uniquely responsible for other nation's fortunes.

Fortunately, they're not in charge any more.

Though, I greatly enjoyed watching the look on Rohrabacher's face, once Ed repeated his own remarks back to him.
Doesn't sound so good when its spelled out in black and white, does it?

[registeringsucks]

For future reference, it's "bated breath" -- from "abated."

[speedingpullet]

LOL - thanks! :-)

[TC Mits]

There they go again, hypocrites to the end. Obama can do nothing right unless it's become a neo-con. As one commentator put it, " I would call the Republicans a circus sideshow, but that would be unfair to circus sideshows".

[gorideabike]

Could you really be The Celebrated Man In The Street? Great handle!

[Anonymopolitan]

Every man, woman, and child in Iran knows at least two things about the U.S:
-American supplied and supported the Shah's power and vivid oppression until the Islamic Revolution.
-And American directly supported Iraq in the long, brutal, chemical-choked hell of the Iran-Iraq war.
I don't think any of them are eager for American support now, in any form.
By speaking out in support of the protesters, the Congressman, along with Senator McCain and others, are making themselves tools for the Iranian power structure to use against the morale of those who march.
Who there wants to hear that they're marching on the side of America?

[Whinger]

Who do they blame for the violence in Iraq?

[LorettaSingbiel]

Why that's Obama's fault for not being patriotic and supporting Bush/Cheney's war of choice.

[ZorroC]

Aren't these the same people that typically complain about big government and they want less government in their lives but yet Obama should stick our nose in everything? Get your story straight.

[jwredd]

Not the neocons. The only part of the government they like is the military, and the global influence they think that it alone gives us to be number one.

[miriamfl]

Thanks to them we will no longer be number one!

[gorideabike]

The story is Repubs never get anything right.
And all their chatter is about how we can get back on their only agenda with Iran: domination of their oil resources. Preferably through another private holocaust like Iraq, only this time via thermonuclear devices.

[kathy001]

Because everyone knows that when the U.S. speaks Iran jumps.

Get this guy out of the Foreign Affairs Committee!

[Tyberius]

Is this guy so delusional to think that a speech by Obama is going to dictate what Iran does? If that is the case, why doesn't Obama just give a speech about how we want Iran to act in general, and then they'll obviously just do what he says. Right? What a tool.

[Felice Judkins]

These "chickenhawks" such as this clown are warmongers who BTW, NEVER served in uniform to fight for this country. • Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-CA, did not serve (1) . 99% of Republinuts have never served but are the first to want to start another war. This is not a game. The situation in Iran is for those people to decide what is best for THEIR country. The "Rambo" regime here in the US was voted out of office in the last election. I'm tired of these clowns who are on TV spouting off at the mouth simply to criticize but have not offered a solution. Sometimes it is best just to SHUT THE HECK UP!
Thank God "Bomb, Bomb Iran" Mcain is not in office. We'd be entangled in another war. We are the not the world's police. Let's take care of home first. Monitor situations around the world that would affect our interests but bombing and injecting our views in another county's business is counterproductive and benefits no one. Until this nut suits up, he just needs to shut up.

[peacethinker]

Just about everytime a right-winger opens his/her mouth ... I shake my head in disbelief and sigh... how sad these people are so-called leaders

[bassface49]

Neo-cons should be required to wear 'burqas'.

[Telemachus]

Nah. Duct tape.

[kathy001]

I'd rather they wore gags.

[cdouglas]

No, let them talk. Everytime they speak, a Con turns into a Lib.