AP, Washington, 7 August 2015
President Barack Obama suffered a notable setback in his all-out campaign to secure Democratic support for the Iran nuclear deal when the leading Jewish Democrat in the Senate announced his opposition. The question is how significant the blow will turn out to be.
Republicans, infuriated by Obama`s recent comparison of GOP foes of the pact to “Death to America” Iranian hardliners, immediately focused on the stunning break with the president by Chuck Schumer of New York, and they`re urging other Democrats to buck the administration.

Another New Yorker, Rep. Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and an additional Democratic member of the panel, Brad Sherman of California, joined Schumer Friday in opposing the deal.
Five weeks before crucial votes in Congress, Schumer`s decision was seen as a blow to the administration, whose intense lobbying on Capitol Hill since last month`s deal
House and Senate Republicans have enough votes to pass a resolution of disapproval next month, but Obama is widely expected to veto that resolution and Republicans will then try to overturn the veto.
Faced with uniform GOP opposition, the administration has targeted Democrats, and 21 of the 188 House Democrats have announced their support while nine oppose the deal.
Coupled with the courting of Democrats, Obama has lashed out at Republican critics of the pact, saying hardliners chanting “Death to America” in Tehran are “making common cause with the Republican caucus.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called on Obama to stop demonizing foes of the deal, but the president doubled down on his assessment.

Republicans gleefully pointed to Schumer`s opposition and questioned whether the White House would take back its criticism. Other Republicans, like Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, called on Democrats to follow Schumer`s “independent path.”
Schumer, a leading fundraiser and strategist for his party and a lawmaker from a state that is home to more than a million-and-a-half Jews — had been under intense pressure.
After days of review and soul-searching, Schumer said, he informed the White House of his decision Thursday afternoon.
“The very real risk that Iran will not moderate and will, instead, use the agreement to pursue its nefarious goals is too great,” he said in opposing the pact.
Schumer`s split with Obama is remarkable for a senior leader in line to replace Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada after Reid retires at the end of next year.
The New Yorker`s decision also puts him at odds with the Democrats` likely presidential nominee and former New York senator, Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has cautiously embraced the deal.
Schumer signaled that he wouldn`t lobby hard against the accord, saying that “in my experience with matters of conscience and great consequence like this, each member ultimately comes to their own conclusion.”

In the Senate, 34 Democrats would be needed to sustain a veto.