The House on Friday rejected President Obama’s controversial Iranian nuclear deal. 25 Democrats voted against their own party, underscoring how unsure the country is about this lax deal. With the exception of libertarian Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY.), who voted “present,” every Republican voted against the resolution. The final tally was 162-269.
The 25 Democrats who voted against approving the Iran deal were Reps. Brad Ashford (Neb.), Brendan Boyle (Pa.), Tony Cardenas (Calif.), Ted Deutch (Fla.), Eliot Engel (N.Y.), Lois Frankel (Fla.), Gwen Graham (Fla.), Gene Green (Texas), Alcee Hastings (Fla.), Steve Israel (N.Y.), Ted Lieu (Calif.), Dan Lipinski (Ill.), Nita Lowey (N.Y.), Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.), Grace Meng (N.Y.), Grace Napolitano (Calif.), Donald Norcross (N.J.), Collin Peterson (Minn.), Kathleen Rice (N.Y.), David Scott (Ga.), Brad Sherman (Calif.), Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), Albio Sires (N.J.), Juan Vargas (Calif.) and Filemon Vela (Texas).
In a time of extreme partisan stances, these Democrats should be commended for choosing national and domestic security over merely following a party line. Obama, who has staked his legacy on the success of this deal, has shown his true arrogance by refusing the opinions of top military personnel, foreign leaders, the American public and now congress.
According to a CNN/ORC poll, most Americans think Iran will ultimately violate the terms of the agreement, with 37% calling that extremely likely and 23% saying very likely. Just 10% think it’s not at all likely that Iran would break the agreement. Republicans (83% likely) and independents (58% likely) are more apt to believe Iran would violate the agreement than are Democrats (44% likely).
“The Ayatollah has issued a fatwa …. declaring no one should ever possess a nuclear weapon in Iran,” Secretary of State John Kerry said defending the deal. These are the kinds of worrisome comments that have defined the Obama administrations defence of this overly-generous, dangerous resolution. Given the tremendous resistance this Iran deal has received, both domestically and internationally, what does the Obama administration know that no one else in the world knows?