Obama tells a 22-year-old woman in Iran that he reached out to Iran’s supreme leader after becoming president to say he was willing to negotiate.
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A conservative activist is praising a high-profile Senate Democrat for opposing the Iran nuclear deal being touted by President Obama.
Chuck Schumer showed a “flash of statesmanship” when he decided to oppose President Obama’s nuclear weapons agreement with Iran. None of those signatories have yet come out against the deal.
Schumer is one of the Senate’s top Democrats and also one if its most prominent Jewish members.
In 2008, he alienated many Democrats by campaigning with Republican presidential candidate McCain, a close friend, against Obama.
“What I’m asking is for President Obama to join us in rising to the moment”.
Schatz had been expected to support the deal. They have until September 17 to get that done. “I’ve learned when you have a hard decision to make, to study it carefully and come to a decision not letting politics or party get in the way”, Schumer said. “I don’t agree with the judgment he made”.
Schumer’s decision was a blow to the administration, though it remained to be seen how many other Democratic lawmakers would follow the New York senator. Some lawmakers remain mum on their decision, but supporters still expect to be able to sustain Obama’s veto. The trip was organized by the American Israel Education Foundation, the charitable arm of the lobbying powerhouse American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
But Kerry charged that if the deal disintegrates, Iran’s nuclear program would become unfettered and “inevitably pressure will mount for conflict”.
In the House, Republicans would need to be unanimous in their vote and win over at least 44 Democrats to override.
“A lot of this is a question of judgement”, Schumer said. “But if you think they’re going to be the same disgusting regime they are now, you don’t want the United States and the other nations of the world putting the stamp of approval on Iran being a threshold nuclear state”.
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“Remember, what I said was, that, it’s the hard-liners in Iran who are most opposed to this deal”, Obama said in the interview, conducted last week but released Monday. Democrats Tim Kaine, Virginia; Bill Nelson, Florida; Patrick Leahy, Vermont; Barbara Boxer, California; and Chris Murphy, Connecticut; and Democratic-caucusing Independent Angus King, Maine, all announced their support last week. Overriding a veto requires two-thirds votes in both chambers.
