Senator Charles Schumer never wore a uniform of the armed services, and never went into harm’s way. Nor does he have any children in the military who might be sent overseas in the event of hostilities. Yet, like so many of the contemptible, strutting, chest-beating, jingoistic chicken-hawks in CON-gress, he’s willing to have other people’s family members go off to war and risk permanent disability and death, just so he can feel “manly” and “patriotic.” (Incidentally, he also voted to cut US military veterans’ retirement benefits while keeping his own congressional raise.) Either that, or it’s all for show…read on.
This week, Schumer, one of the most influential Democrats in Congress and favored to lead Senate Dems after 2016, has publicly opposed the Iran nuclear treaty. This treaty was negotiated over the course of more than a year and a half, and is a key attempt to bring some stability to a dangerous part of the world. In opposing the deal, Schumer has encouraged not only the GOP, but other traitor Dems who, for reasons of their own, oppose the treaty and plan to vote for a resolution to block it when Congress reconvenes in September. Not only will Schumer vote in favor of a resolution against the treaty, he will vote to override President Obama’s veto, should Congress give it the thumbs down.
For himself, Schumer has this to say: “I will vote to disapprove the agreement, not because I believe war is a viable or desirable option, nor to challenge the path of diplomacy…[but] because I believe Iran will not change, and under this agreement it will be able to achieve its dual goals of eliminating sanctions while ultimately retaining its nuclear and non-nuclear power.”
Of course, Schumer doesn’t have any better ideas.
Meanwhile, Schumer has incurred the wrath of liberals and progressives. In response, MoveOn.org is preparing to launch a Democratic Party donor strike. The goal: get the organization’s eight million members to withhold as much as $10 million in campaign contributions within 72 hours. Praising the treaty, MoveOn.org’s political action director, Ilya Sheyman, says: “The only other means of limiting Iran’s nuclear program is war…it is outrageous and unacceptable that the Democrat who wants to be the party’s leader in the Senate is siding with the Republican partisans and neoconservative ideologues who are trying to scrap this agreement and put us on the path to war.”
So far, 17,000 of the organization’s members have pledged to withhold over $8 million in contributions to Schumer’s 2016 campaign.
Other liberal and progressive groups, including Credo Action and Democracy for America, are joining MoveOn.org in a massive campaign to pressure members of Congress to accept the deal during its August recess. These groups have allies on Capitol Hill; Obama Administration officials are considering withdrawing their support for Schumer as the next Senate Democratic Leader.
Treaty supporters in Congress say that opposition from Schumer and other traitor Dems would be insufficient to block the treaty. Passing a resolution of disapproval would require a supermajority of sixty votes in order to end the inevitable filibuster from supporters. If for some reason that was to happen, President Obama would veto the resolution – and overriding such a veto would require a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate. House member Brad Sherman (D-CA), who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and also opposes the treaty, says such a scenario is unlikely. “That happens almost never, and even less often on foreign policy,” he told a New York Times reporter.
In fact, some Democratic members of Congress have speculated that Schumer’s opposition may indeed be nothing more than meaningless chest beating for the benefit of his constituents who fear for Israel and believe Netanyahu’s paranoid ravings. The treaty is likely to be approved in spite of its detractors; Schumer probably knows there is nothing he can do to stop it – but he wants to put on a good show.
Whether or not Schumer’s little act of political theater will help or hurt him in 2016 remains to be seen.
