Clinton’s remarks about Iran, shameless pandering: Commentator

Press TV has interviewed Richard Silverstein, a journalist and political commentator in Seattle, to discuss the remarks made by leading Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton about Iran and its nuclear agreement with the P5+1 group of countries.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Very strong, forceful and threatening language used by the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. What did you think about her comments and her remarks?

Silverstein: Well I think it is shameless pandering and it is part of the presidential campaign in which Republicans and Democrats with a few exceptions are trying to outgun each other in terms of appearing more hawkish than the other. The Republican candidates of course are even worse but we Liberals here in the United States have perhaps mistakenly expected more from the Democrats although Hillary Clinton has a long history of saber-rattling when it comes to Iran in the last 2008 election primary when she ran, she made the similar statements and she was speaking at the Brookings Institution when she made the speech which their main funder is Haim Saban who is a former Israeli and possibly also has connections with Israeli intelligence.

So this kind of speech unfortunately is to be expected and it really drives progressives like me and thousands of others into the arms of Bernie Sanders who is a much more progressive Democratic candidate and I note that in the latest polls that Hillary Clinton’s popularity has gone down and Sanders has risen by a total of 13 points, so this kind of shameless pandering unfortunately cost her but she feels it is a calculation she can make because she needs the wealthy Jewish donors who are pro-Israel, who will fund millions into her presidential campaign which is really a cold, calculated and cynical gambit on her part.  

Press TV: We know that as Secretary of State she did kind of back Obama on the Iran deal and she did support it somehow, skeptically I would say, but this speech comes at a time where Israel and Washington ties are not at their best over the Iran deal.  What do you think about the timing of this speech and you also did mention the Israeli lobby, how does that influence these presidential candidates and whether they actually win the vote and they become President of the United States?

Silverstein: Well I think as I said this is just really about donors and the Jewish and the Israel lobby and she is trying to pander to these donors to rake in extra millions for her campaign. Running for president these days costs billions of dollars and that comes from sources like the Israel lobby.

So she has to out pro-Israel all the other candidates either Democratic or Republican in order to do this. Now if she wins the election which appears likely at this point, she will move from a campaign mode into a governing mode and her policies will not be as atrocious as these kinds of speeches. She will probably observe policies that are similar to Obama’s with a more hawkish streak to them. But still I along with your viewers and myself and other progressives this is terribly alarming and shameless and it means that people like me cannot consider voting for her because we are supportive of the Iran nuclear deal and Obama’s efforts in that area.

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