Monday Open Thread [4.6.15]

So Jeb Bush lied on his 2009 voter registration form and claimed that he, John Ellis Bush, was Hispanic. Yeah, that’s going to play well in both the Tea Party and Latino community.

Ali Gharib at The Nation writes that any Democrat who votes with the Republicans to blow up the Iran Deal is a warmonger not unlike Dick Cheney, and should be held to account.

Just wait for the congressional freakout that comes if world powers and Iran sign a comprehensive nuclear accord this summer. […]

Congress’s demand for a vote on a final deal isn’t on its own unreasonable. But, when Congress is controlled by Republicans hellbent on quashing every item on Obama’s agenda, seeking to avoid their official input isn’t either. The fight over getting an up-or-down vote—a Republican led proposal garnering some Democratic support is deeply flawed, for instance, and a Democratic alternative is unlikely to win many Republican votes—will now become the central front of the congressional-executive war over Iran diplomacy.

Kirk, still pressing the stalled sanctions bill he introduced this winter with Bob Menendez, who never saw a hawkish GOP Iran bill he didn’t like, has proven himself a warmonger. Any Democrat or Republican who follows his lead will expose themselves, too—and should be held to account for it.

Trevor Timm at The Guardian writes Republicans have no interest in peace:

A small part of the Middle East may soon be off limits to US bombing and killing, so naturally Republicans and their neocon allies are furious.

The tentative Iran deal announced on 3 April, in which Western leaders and the Islamic republic agreed on strict limits to Iran’s nuclear program, was hailed by many as a breakthrough, given that it could avert yet another US-led war in the Middle East. So almost immediately, it was denounced by key conservative members of Congress, neocons, and Republican presidential candidates, whose unquenched thirst for blood almost always outweighs their supposed commitment to peace.

OHIO–SENATOR–Quinnipiac: Fmr. Gov. Ted Strickland (D) 49, Sen. Rob Portman (R) 39

The number of Americans who view Israel as an ally of the United States has sharply decreased, according to a new poll published Thursday. Only 54% of Americans polled said that Israel is their country’s ally, a decline from 68% in 2014 and 74% in 2012. Granted, this poll was conducted by Rasmussen Reports, so grain of salt yadda yadda yadda. But still, that decline feels right. I myself no longer consider Israel to be an ally. Rather, it is a rogue nation that the United States should levy sanctions against.

CNN: “The long and winding prelude to her announcement is nearly over, according to aides, and the start of her second bid for the White House is likely only days away. Top Democratic activists in the early-voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire privately say they have been placed on alert that Clinton will soon be on her way.”

“The specific moment she jumps into the race remains a closely-guarded secret, even inside the crowded corridors of her small office suite in Manhattan, which new aides have descended upon to build the operation. Only a handful of confidantes actually know the precise time Clinton will pull the trigger — first on social media — yet aides have been instructed to be ready from Monday forward.”