Paper reasons why Democrats lost Nov. 4 elections

Tehran, Nov 16, IRNA - 'Iran Daily' on Sunday commented on the recently held US Congressional elections, Nov 4, stating its reasons why the Democrats had lost on it. The failure of US Democrats in both the Senate and the House elections is rooted in the modus operandi of the Obama administration. As an uncharismatic leader, Obama seems to lack the resolve to make political decisions, pointed out the English-language paper in its Opinion column. Obama has undergone a litany of defeats, one of which pertains to the economy. Pledges to boost employment and production have not been fulfilled, dealing a serious blow to his government, it noted adding that Obama's minor economic achievements have however been better than those in other sectors. Likewise, his immigration plans failed to appeal to the Americans, it noted, adding that OmbamaCare could not convince the voters to endorse the Democrats in the congressional elections, even though the US president threw his weight behind health care plans. Apart from Obama’s loss in the two legislative bodies, his party suffered a blow in gubernatorial elections. The latter indicates that there was widespread public discontent over the policies of the Democrats. Beside, reports suggest that public participation in the 2014 US congressional elections did not exceed 20 percent. Although no more than 50 percent often take part in US elections, the low figure demonstrates that Obama’s policies have failed to live up to expectations. The Obama administration will face challenges with the Congress on domestic issues, including immigration and health care plans. This is because Republicans have announced that they would put these touchy subjects on the agenda. Nevertheless, the confrontation over diplomacy would be a “horse of a different color” between the two arch rivals, it said. The confrontation with the terrorist group the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Levant as well as the crisis in Syria will trigger political contentions between Democrats and Republicans. The Republicans had announced that US military forces should not have left Iraq. They had also stressed that infantry units should have been deployed to Syria. Divergent stances between the two major US parties over the above-mentioned realities are more complicated than the issue of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program. Despite their extremism, Republicans are willing to reach a nuclear deal with Iran. Nonetheless, since Republicans and Democrats are gearing up for the 2016 presidential election campaigns, Iran’s civilian nuclear program will remain as a bone of contention between the two sides. Republicans adopt war-mongering stances in their statements, whereas they are more pragmatic than Democrats. For instance, the US Ballistic Missile Defense System was proposed under George Bush, but Democrats implemented the project instead of the Republicans. Besides, a disarmament deal between the US and Russia was concluded under the Republicans. Hence, major settlements have mostly been reached during the tenure of the Republicans. Democrats rather than Republicans have imposed a majority of sanctions on Iran. Anti-Iran international consensus was also reached under the Obama administration, it noted. If the Republicans took the helm of both the Congress and the White House, a major nuclear deal between Iran and major world powers would be more effective, the paper said. Republicans manipulate Iran’s nuclear deal to exert pressure on the Obama government. Nonetheless, we should see whether Obama will be determined enough to pursue his goals, concluded Iran Daily./end