The Obama Administration moved one step closer to ensuring the Iranian nuclear deal stays in effect.
According to Jonathan Tamari of the Inquirer, Senator Bob Casey will be voting in favor of the deal.
“This agreement will substantially constrain the Iranian nuclear program for its duration, and compared with all realistic alternatives, it is the best option available to us at this time,” Casey wrote in a 17-page, more than 8,000 word analysis he shared with the Inquirer.
The state’s senior Senator called it “one of the most difficult decisions of my public career.”
Casey was one of the few Democratic holdouts remaining and is now the 32nd Senator to voice support for the Iranian deal (Chris Coons of Delaware has since become the 33rd).
The Administration just needs two more votes to reach a veto-proof majority.
The Republicans in Congress are seeking to defeat the deal through legislation. It is expected that since they have the majority in both chambers, that bill will pass and the President will naturally veto it. Therefore, 34 Senators would prevent the necessary two-thirds majority needed for a veto override.
The White House has given recent indications, however, that they would like to reach 41 votes in the Senate so that they can filibuster the motion and stop it there.
There are currently 46 Democrats in the Senate. So far only two have announced their opposition, Chuck Schumer of New York and Bob Menendez of New Jersey.
Recently, President Obama conducted an interview with Philadelphia’s 6abc, in an attempt to convince Pennsylvanians and Sen. Casey to support the deal.
“At some point it has to be a vote, I think, of conscience,” Casey told Tamari, adding “and I have many very good friends who will disagree with the decision, I’m certain of that.”
You can read Sen. Casey’s full dissertation on the Iranian nuclear deal here.
UPDATE: Barbara Mikulski of Maryland has since stated she will support the deal, meaning it has enough support to avoid a veto override.
63 Responses
Today:
“Iran unleashed a double-pronged attack: vowing to block inspector access to some sites, and vowing to continue preparations to destroy Israel.
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan said today that the International Atomic Energy Agency — which inked confidential deals with Tehran that Congress has not been able to see — would not be able to see all the facilities it wants to.”
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2015/09/02/iran-commander-were-getting-prepared-to-overthrow-israel/
Senator Bob Corker has engineered this situation so that every Republican can vote yes to over ride a veto by the President and go home to their constituents and tell them they did not support the deal. The President wins with only 35 votes of support against the over ride. All the Senators who want to vote against the deal will be able to. In the end the US does not have to go back on all the other countries who are part of the deal. Ask Ted Cruz how this works, he knows full well from recent experience.
“Mr. Bell, I think I shall not ring you again.”
Hi Montco Dem? Once we were the party of JFK RFK LBJ Henry Jackson and Harry Truman. Dems have been coopted by left wing garbage like Obama and his pimp Casey Jr. Unlike Casey Sr who had values and integrity- Casey JR is lacking in both.
“They were clear and strong that we will not join you in re-imposing sanctions.”
Leadership. We used to have some. Change happened.
The PA Sen caves in to the Prez. Not good for PA.
From NY Times:
“Just before the Senate left town for its August break, a dozen or so undecided Democrats met in the Capitol with senior diplomats from Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia who delivered a blunt, joint message: Their nuclear agreement with Iran was the best they could expect. The five world powers had no intention of returning to the negotiating table.
“They basically said unanimously this is as good a deal as you could get and we are moving ahead with it,” recalled Senator Chris Coons, the Delaware Democrat who lent crucial support to the deal this week despite some reservations. “They were clear and strong that we will not join you in re-imposing sanctions.”
For many if not most Democrats, it was that message that ultimately solidified their decisions, leading to President Obama on Wednesday securing enough votes to put the agreement in place over fierce and united Republican opposition. One after another, lawmakers pointed to the warnings from foreign leaders that their own sanctions against Iran would be lifted regardless of what the United States did.”
From the LA Times:
“Moreover, a Republican invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address both houses of Congress in March appears to have backfired. His harsh denunciation of the negotiations then underway, which the White House portrayed as a snub of Obama’s foreign policy, made the debate more polarizing and partisan, pushing Democrats to the president’s side.
Another factor, said one frustrated Republican on Capitol Hill: “Trump happened.”
The GOP leadership aide, granted anonymity to discuss the setback, said billionaire Donald Trump’s attention-grabbing presidential campaign, along with scrutiny of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s email server, overshadowed all other issues this summer, making it harder for the Republicans’ message to attract attention.”
You should get out in the country more where food is bartered and midwives are commonplace. Telling them their Obamacare concerns are meritless has a name.
Unsanctioned R-
I guess you forgot about food taxes, property taxes, and wage taxes. Also, the taxes you pay for hospital when babies are delivered.
But, you go right on ahead making up ridiculous complaints and analogies to pretend the program has not been an overall success.
Yes, Democrats get all the credit for Obamacare –the first tax on Americans for merely existing. If there were a more expensive way to cover the fraction of the uninsured that Obamacare does, I’m sure the congressmen who voted for it (which was only Democrats, of course) would have found it.
Willis Bell from The Paper Chase grew up and became “Casey is a pimp” commenters JPaul & LSmith…Ha!!!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiXTA4_T_tE
Unsanctioned R-
And the Dems also own the success of healthcare reform with millions of more Americans insured.
I’ll admit this was a vote of conscience for all Senators. But, for better or worse, the Democrats now own the nuclear outcome of Iran.