Washington Times: Democrats’ reluctant support for Iran nuclear deal emboldens opponents

By Valerie Richardson and Stephen Dinan, Sept. 6, 2015, Washington Times

Democrats appear to have cinched the votes needed to declare victory on the Iran nuclear deal, yet Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz had to swallow back tears Sunday as she described her “gut-wrenching” decision to back the agreement.

“I’m the first Jewish woman to represent Florida in Congress, I’m a Jewish mother,” Ms. Wasserman Schultz, who heads the Democratic National Committee, said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

There’s nothing more important to me as a Jew than to ensure that Israel’s existence is there throughout our generations,” she said, “and I am confident that the process I’ve gone through to reach this decision is one that will ensure that Israel will be there forever.”

Her obvious ambivalence shows why the issue is unlikely to disappear even though Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, has declared the battle all but over.

For one thing, foes of the agreement believe some shaky Democrats can still be swayed. For another, if the agreement prevails, opponents now spending millions of dollars on ads in key states are expected to move almost seamlessly into campaign mode, targeting vulnerable House and Senate Democrats in elections next year who opt to stand behind President Obama in support of the deal.

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