Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE)
The White House has been
quietly lobbying Democratic senators who still haven't taken on a position on the Iran nuclear pact, with a goal of getting enough votes to filibuster a rejection of the deal, and avoiding the necessity of a presidential veto.
On Friday, one more of those undeclared Democrats declared. Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware wrote this thoughtful, intelligent, and well-informed op-ed stating that he will support the agreement and enumerating the many reasons why he will do so.
This is a good deal for America, our negotiating partners and the world. That’s not just my view. It’s also the view of scores of American national security leaders and former senior officials, as well as many of their Israeli counterparts.
Unfortunately, almost before the ink had dried on the deal, most of my Republican colleagues and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had denounced it. Critics insist that America cannot trust Iran. I agree. While I believe Zarif and his team have negotiated in good faith, I still have serious doubts about their government. So does the Obama Administration, for that matter. That’s why this deal is based on mistrust. If some future Iranian regime decides to violate the agreement, we’ll know it. The deal imposes extremely intrusive inspections and provides us with sophisticated monitoring capabilities so that the world will know of any covert action by Iran that violates our agreement. This deal has a one-strike-and-you’re-out system of penalties. If Iran tries to cheat, America can trigger the imposition of the same crippling sanctions without the consent of any other country. And if that’s not enough of a hammer to ensure Iranian compliance, just remember that nothing in this deal constrains America’s ability to take action – military or otherwise – if Iran violates the agreement. […]
Critics argue that America should reject this deal and negotiate a better one. Good luck. Earlier this month, several of my colleagues and I met with representatives of our five negotiating partners. They told us bluntly that if Congress kills this deal, the broad coalition of countries imposing sanctions on Iran would collapse. These global sanctions were the leverage that forced Iran to the negotiating table, and the threat of re-imposing them will help keep Iran honest. If Congress rejects this deal now, a better one will not take its place, they declared. Instead, America’s leverage would be lost, along with our best chance to address this threat peacefully. In effect, they urged us to learn from Arafat’s mistake and take yes for an answer.
Carper points out that he actually has sat down and read the deal, something that too many of the detractors, particularly among Republicans, have refused to do. He came to his position informed and is encouraging his colleagues to do the same.
Check below the fold to see the latest count of senators and representatives who have not yet declared their stance on the agreement, courtesy Meteor Blades.
Join us in pushing senators and representatives to support the nuclear agreement.
Here is the list of 13 representatives said to be leaning yes:
Rep. Terri Sewell (Ala.)
Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (Calif.)
Rep. Sanford Bishop (Ga.)
Rep. Robin Kelly (Ill.)
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (Mo.)
Rep. Bill Pascrell (N.J.)
Rep. Chaka Fattah (Pa.)
Rep. Joaquín Castro (Texas); Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas)
Rep. Derek Kilmer (Wash.); Rep. Rick Larsen (Wash.)
Rep. Bobby Scott (Va.)
Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.)
And here are the 84 who are undecided or whose positions are unclear:
Rep. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.); Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (Ariz.); Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.)
Rep. Peter Aguilar (Calif.); Rep. Xavier Becerra (Calif.); Rep. Ami Bera (Calif.); Rep. Julia Brownley (Calif.); Rep. Tony Cardenas (Calif.); Rep. Judy Chu (Calif.); Rep. Jim Costa (Calif.); Rep. Janice Hahn (Calif.); Rep. Jared Huffman (Calif.); Rep. Ted Lieu (Calif.); Rep. Grace Napolitano (Calif.); Rep. Scott Peters (Calif.); Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (Calif.); Rep. Raul Ruiz (Calif.); Rep. Norma Torres (Calif.)
Rep. Diana DeGette (Colo.); Rep. Jared Polis (Colo.)
Rep. John Carney (Del.)
Rep. Corrine Brown (Fla.); Rep. Kathy Castor (Fla.); Rep. Lois Frankel (Fla.); Rep. Gwen Graham (Fla.); Rep. Patrick Murphy (Fla.); Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.); Rep. Frederica Wilson (Fla.).
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii); Rep. Mark Takai (Hawaii)
Rep. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.); Rep. Bill Foster (Ill.); Rep. Daniel Lipinski (Ill.); Rep. Mike Quigley (Ill.); Rep. Bobby Rush (Ill.)
Rep. Pete Visclosky (Ind.)
Rep. Dave Loebsack (Iowa)
Rep. Cedric Richmond (La.)
Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.); Rep. John Delaney (Md.); Rep. Steny Hoyer (Md.); Rep. Dutch Ruppersburger (Md.); Rep. John Sarbanes (Md.)
Rep. Bill Keating (Mass.); Rep. Joseph Kennedy (Mass.); Rep. Richard Neal (Mass.)
Rep. Collin Peterson (Minn.)
Rep. Bennie Thompson (Miss.)
Rep. Lacy Clay (Mo.)
Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (N.H.)
Rep. Frank Pallone (N.J.)
Rep. Ben Ray Lujan (N.M.); Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (N.M.)
Rep. Yvette Clarke (N.Y.); Rep. Joseph Crowley (N.Y.); Rep. Brian Higgins (N.Y.); Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.); Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.); Rep. Gregory Meeks (N.Y.); Rep. Charles Rangel (N.Y.); Rep. Jose Serrano (N.Y.); Rep. Nydia Velazquez (N.Y.)
Rep. Dina Titus (Nev.)
Rep. Alma Adams (N.C.); Rep. G.K. Butterfield (N.C.)
Rep. Joyce Beatty (Ohio); Rep. Marcia Fudge (Ohio); Rep. Marcy Kaptur (Ohio); Rep. Tim Ryan (Ohio)
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (Ore.); Rep. Kurt Schrader (Ore.)
Rep. Robert Brady (Pa.); Rep. Matthew Cartwright (Pa.); Rep. Mike Doyle (Pa.)
Rep. David Cicilline (R.I.); Rep. Jim Langevin (R.I.)
Rep. Jim Cooper (Tenn.)
Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas); Rep. Al Green (Texas); Rep. Gene Green (Texas); Rep. Marc Veasey (Texas); Rep. Filemon Vela (Texas)
Rep. Suzan DelBene (Wash.)
Rep. Ron Kind (Wis.)
Thirteen House Democrats have declared themselves opposed to the agreement and three are leaning no—Alan Grayson (Fla.); Brad Ashford (Neb.); and Loretta Sanchez (Calif.).
Here are two Democratic senators who are leaning yes in The Hill's whip count:
Sen. Jeff Merkley (Ore.)
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)
And here are the 12 who are undecided or whose positions are unclear:
Sen. Michael Bennet (Colo.)
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (Conn.)
Sen. Chris Coons (Del.)
Sen. Ben Cardin (Md.); Sen. Barbara Mikulski (Md.)
Sen. Gary Peters (Mich.)
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.)
Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.)
Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.)
Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. (Pa.)
Sen. Mark Warner (Va.)
Sen. Maria Cantwell (Wash.)
Two Democrats—Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and Bob Menendez (N.J.)—have announced they oppose the agreement.