Rep. Louie Gohmert joined Glenn on radio today to share the latest on Mitch McConnell and the Iran deal.
Glenn told listeners to tune in closely because it's "critically important that we get people to put a little pressure on Mitch McConnell and those in the Senate."
Listen to the full exchange or read the transcript below.
Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it might contain errors.
GLENN: Louie Gohmert is a good friend of ours. A good friend of the nation. He's about to get on a plane so we'll keep this kind of short. But I wanted to talk to him a little bit about a letter he sent to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell yesterday. This is really critically important that we get people to put a little pressure on Mitch McConnell and those in the Senate. Because we're about to do a very, very bad deal. And there is a way out of this that saves face for even Mitch McConnell. And Louie is here to explain this. Hi, Louie, how are you?
LOUIE: Well, as far as I know, okay, Glenn. But you're right. This is so critical. It's probably the most important vote that anybody in the Senate will ever cast if they'll go ahead and cast that. But that means that we got to do -- well, the Senate has to do the following things. And there are just four. And McConnell's got to lead the way, and people need to let him know.
GLENN: Okay. So let's look at number one: They need to announce that the Iran agreement is a treaty and, therefore, the Corker-Cardin Bill does not apply to it.
LOUIE: That's right.
GLENN: Now, this is really important because the president and John Kerry came out and said, "This isn't a treaty." And so they made this backroom deal. But it was very clear, the Republicans said, "Okay, but you have to release all of the details and then we'll look at it not as a treaty." And they have already violated that. And it's not even our White House that has violated this. It is Iran that has violated this.
LOUIE: Yeah, Iran has made it very clear that this is not going to be binding on them. But if you look at what Obama and Kerry said right after the Security Council voted, they said, "Gee, if we don't do what's in the deal, then we're going to be in breach already." Well, that sounds like they're expecting this to be a binding treaty. And there are a number of provisions in the Iran deal that amend or change the treaty, the non-proliferation treaty. You cannot change provisions of a treaty unless you do so in another treaty. This is clearly a treaty, Glenn.
GLENN: Okay. So the second thing is that they have to do is declare that through Senate rule -- the Senate rules make require a different procedure. The Constitution does not prevent the Senate from bringing up a treaty for a ratification vote. What does this mean?
LOUIE: Well, it means that normally the president sends over an agreement to the Senate and says, "This is a treaty. So I need a ratification vote because the Constitution requires it." Now, that's what the -- that's not what the Constitution says. The Constitution just says, the Senate has to concur with two-thirds of those present voting in favor. So it doesn't have to be sent over by the president. The Senate can simply declare it's a treaty. We're going to have a ratification vote on it. And as Professor Neu from Berkeley used to say, "You can -- that would indicate if there's not votes to ratify when the vote is taken that it's not enforceable against the United States."
GLENN: Okay. So then the third point is some Senate nonsense about voting for cloture. Blah, blah.
LOUIE: Exactly.
GLENN: And then number four is actually voting on the ratification of the Iranian treaty.
LOUIE: That's right. But it is important for the senators to understand, "Look, you cannot let a small group of Democrats prevent you from voting on the most important issue that you'll ever have to face in the Senate." And it's not enough to say, "Well, gee, we tried." No. Fifty-one votes will change the cloture requirement so it only takes 51 votes to set aside cloture so they can go ahead and vote for ratification.
GLENN: So you said this yesterday to Mitch McConnell. Do you actually believe Mitch McConnell is going to do anything on it or care?
LOUIE: I don't -- he's got to care because it is going to cost him and it's going to cost the Republicans. But more important than anything, it is going to cost this country. Because if they just slide, the let the president slide into this deal and say, "Well, the Senate didn't vote it down under Corker and, therefore, it's binding and, therefore, gee, we had this agreement with Iran." So if Israel defends themselves as they surely will have to, then this puts us on the side of defending Iran and defending this agreement against Israel. And that would be the unthinkable.
GLENN: All right. So I understand that. What I meant by that is: Do you think he's going to care -- what do you need people to do to get him --
LOUIE: You bet you. They need to contact their senators. Both of their senators. It doesn't matter party. And let them know that all hell is going to break loose unless they make sure that the Senate sets aside cloture. Declares this a treaty and votes on ratification.
GLENN: So if I'm calling my senator and I say, "I want you to declare the Iranian deal a treaty and treat it as such." That's the message I need --
LOUIE: And set aside cloture. That's not going to be good enough to hide behind.
GLENN: I don't really -- I hate that part of --
LOUIE: I do too.
GLENN: I hate that.
PAT: Yeah, that's inside baseball.
GLENN: Yeah, it is.
LOUIE: Well, Harry Reid set it aside repeatedly on the confirmation process. And this is the most important vote, much more important than any of those. So set aside, do the right thing.
GLENN: Okay. Thank you very much, Louie. I appreciate it and have a safe trip.
LOUIE: Thanks so much.
GLENN: Thank you.