The Fight to Kill the Iran Deal in Congress is NOT Over

Last week veteran journalists Eli Lake and Josh Rogin posted an article on the Bloomberg website titled “Congressional Fight on Iran Deal Is All But Over” in which they cited Republicans reportedly claiming they don’t have the votes to overturn a presidential veto of a resolution of disapproval of the Iran nuclear deal.  Lake and Rogin said opponents of the deal in Congress are now aiming to get 60 votes in the Senate to prevent Minority Leader Harry Reid from using a filibuster to block a Senate vote on the deal.   Today, Democrat-leaning newspaper Politico ran a story that Iran deal opponents failed to drum up opposition to the Iran deal in August.

These stories are dead wrong.  Opponents of the deal were very successful this month building opposition to the deal.  It also is clear that the fight to kill the Iran deal is far from over.

Opposition to the nuclear deal is strong and growing.  Not only do Americans oppose the deal by a 2-1 margin, a recent poll found that a majority – 64 percent – believe President Obama and Secretary Kerry are misleading the public about the nuclear agreement.

214 admirals and generals recently signed a letter calling on Congress to reject the Iran deal.  Yesterday, this letter was featured in a full-page ad in the New York Times.  Over 1,100 rabbis have signed a similar letter.

After Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer and Robert Menendez came out against the deal, they faced ferocious criticism from Obama administration supporters, some of whom called them traitors and warmongers.  This was an embarrassing spectacle indicating that the administration and its surrogates will say anything – and smear anyone—to ram through the Iran agreement.

It appears some Democrats realize the danger of being on the wrong side of the American people on this issue.  Over the weekend, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) blocked a resolution endorsing the Iran nuclear deal at a Democratic National Committee meeting.

Last week, Democratic pollster Pat Caddell told WND radio that this issue could kill the Democratic Party.  Caddell said:

“I do not understand at this point how Democratic senators and congressmen can say they are going to vote for something which the vast majority of Americans oppose, including a goodly percentage of their party . . . The American people see a Democratic Party [that] puts what the president wants over the interests of the nation . . . This attempt to drag the Democratic Party into becoming, instead of the voice of the common people, the voice of entitled elites, is unacceptable to me and many Democrats.”

There are many rallies planned against the Iran nuclear deal, including one in New York City on September 1 in front of Senator Kristen Gillibrand’s office (3^rd and 49^th Street at 5:30 PM) to convince her to change her position and join Senator Schumer in opposing the Iran deal.  I will be speaking at this rally.

Senator Ted Cruz and Donald Trump will attend a Capitol Hill rally against the Iran deal on September 9^th.

Opponents of the Iran deal still have an uphill battle to convince enough members of Congress to disapprove the Iran deal by a veto-proof majority.  But I don’t believe the fight to kill the Iran deal in Congress is over.  Growing pressure against the nuclear agreement is likely to have a significant effect on undecided Democrats and those who have said they will vote to support the deal by convincing them this deal undermines U.S. national security and will seriously damage the Democratic party.  I am hopeful these Democrats will listen to the American people by putting politics aside and vote against the dangerous Iran nuclear agreement.

I also believe, given the large majority of Americans who oppose the Iran deal, that any effort by Senator Harry Reid to use a filibuster to block a Senate vote will backfire on the Democratic party by making it appear that a small minority in Congress is defying the will of the American people.  If Reid goes this route, the effect on his party in the 2016 elections could be disastrous.