This is a big loss for President Obama. Schumer is Jewish, New Yorkish, pro-Israel, a serious, respected Senator and a Democrat.
Brooks' column and Schumer's announcement came within a few hours of each other, a double bogey for the Master of the Sand Traps.
*CNN's report(1) on this, the first one I read, claims and emphasizes the claim that Schumer only did this because he counted the votes and knows that there are not enough votes in the Senate to override a presidential veto. If that is true then it's just politics, a cynical ploy, and I am very disappointed. I had truly believed, and had written, that this was a "conscience vote" in which political considerations played an insignificant role and that I was very impressed with how the politicians seemed to be studying this on its merits. Very disappointed. Oh well.
(1) A White House official suggested Thursday that Schumer's announcement of opposition came only after enough Democratic support was assured to keep the plan intact.
Brooks' column and Schumer's announcement came within a few hours of each other, a double bogey for the Master of the Sand Traps.
*CNN's report(1) on this, the first one I read, claims and emphasizes the claim that Schumer only did this because he counted the votes and knows that there are not enough votes in the Senate to override a presidential veto. If that is true then it's just politics, a cynical ploy, and I am very disappointed. I had truly believed, and had written, that this was a "conscience vote" in which political considerations played an insignificant role and that I was very impressed with how the politicians seemed to be studying this on its merits. Very disappointed. Oh well.
(1) A White House official suggested Thursday that Schumer's announcement of opposition came only after enough Democratic support was assured to keep the plan intact.
One source close to the New York delegation's discussions told CNN that Schumer was expected to hold off making his opposition public until the math was clear that Republicans wouldn't be able to assemble votes for an override, though the source thought Schumer would wait until the fall to announce.
But in recent days a steady stream of public endorsements made supporters more confident they would have a firewall in place to uphold the deal.
