Group Protests Wasserman Schultz's Support Of Iran Deal
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Takin' it to the streets.
A group of people who oppose President Barack Obama's proposed nuclear deal with Iran and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz's support of it hit the road Monday morning on bicycles to make a statement.
Around 8:30 a.m. they assembled at City of Aventura Government Center, where Wasserman Schultz has an office, and cycled 15 miles to Pembroke Pines City Hall, where the congressman also has an office.
The rally was organized by constituents from her 23rd district who called on her to reject what they call a bad deal so a new, better one can be negotiated.
"We will make clear that if she is unwilling to represent us then we will find someone who will come next November. This story is far from over," according to a statement from the group's organizers.
"The Iranian regime aided Hezbollah, funds Hamas and all these other terrorist groups. The regime chants deaths to American even after signing the deal. Death to Israel which is an ally. To negotiate with this type of partner that hasn't changed their dialogue is a real concern for all of us," said cyclist Martin Karp.
It's a bad deal said Joe Zevuloni who calls himself a concerned American citizen.
"Come next November all of us here in South Florida are going to remember who sided with this deal and who went against the deal," said Zevuloni.
Over the weekend, Wasserman Schultz said her decision to support the deal was based on one goal.
"My number one goal in making this decision was to reach a conclusion based on what I thought would be most likely to prevent Iran from achieving their nuclear weapons goals. And in weighing everything, all the information that I had in front of me, I concluded that the best thing to do is vote in support of the Iran deal," she said.
She also said it was not an easy one.
"Many people, whose opinions I respect immensely, have told me they believe this decision is a "no brainer" and that I should have long ago decided to vote for or against the agreement. This agreement is many things, but a "no brainer" is not one of them," said the congresswoman in a statement. "In July, I committed to an exhaustive review process to carefully examine the facts and consider the intangible elements of this agreement, basing my decisions exclusively on what I believed would be most likely to prevent Iran from achieving their nuclear weapons goals. I have subsequently come to the conclusion that the agreement promotes the national security interests of the United States and our allies and merits my vote of support."
Wasserman Schultz states that she knows the deal with Iran isn't perfect, but any thought of a new, or better, deal is not realistic.
"The bottom line is that even if the United States rejects this deal, Iran will likely have access to billions of dollars. When I asked opponents of the agreement to produce evidence to the contrary, they came up empty-handed. I was not able to make sense out of the argument that with access to additional resources, we should leave Iran without a deal, unguarded and unchecked," according to her statement. "Therefore, my review leads me to the conclusion that we cannot now get a better deal, as I was unable to find a credible source to say otherwise."
Wasserman Schultz's support of the deal gives President Barack Obama the key support he needs as he looks to build consensus among Democrats when Congress returns this week to take up the proposal.
President Obama has already locked in enough votes in the Senate to sustain a veto.
Meantime, Karp says they are not giving up. They'll continue to rally.
"Now here's an opportunity to say there's still time. The vote hasn't taken place. We recognize that of all these dollars that were freed up to support the Iranian terrorist regime, that there is a serious problem,"said Karp.
Wasserman Schultz is not alone in supporting the president's deal. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell also declared his support for the agreement on Sunday.
