Summer vacation won’t last forever, so at some point U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet must decide where he stands on President Obama’s faulty Iran deal because Congress is set to vote on it when they reconvene after the August recess.
As one of the top vulnerable Democrats seeking reelection, this is a critical vote for Bennet, which is probably why he won’t tell his constituents where he stands.
In a recent Boulder Camera opinion piece, writer Eric Weissmann describes Bennet’s deafening silence on the issue as worrisome.
Facing a tough reelection, could he be waiting to see which way the political winds blow before making his decision? Or, could this long period of “consideration” be a farce, creating cover for a decision he’s already reached — to support the President and keep the party’s apparatus behind him?
Bennet insists this is an issue too important to play politics with, yet that is exactly what he is doing by waiting until he is safely ensconced back inside the Beltway to make a deal and then tell us how he will vote.
Will he side with Code Pink and every liberal in Washington and support Obama’s deal, or with independents, Republicans, and his Jewish constituency of many political persuasions here in Colorado who oppose the deal?
Will he sell his vote for a golf outing with Obama like U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter did?
We’re on the edge of our seats to see which way he turns, and uncover what he gets out of the deal.
Meanwhile, here’s the breakdown of support and opposition among Colorado’s delegation: Those not in favor of the deal include Republican U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, U.S. Republican Reps. Mike Coffman, Scott Tipton, Doug Lamborn, and Ken Buck. Democratic Reps. Diana DeGette and Jared Polis are also playing coy about which way they will vote. Probably waiting for their own date with Obama.