Former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman says the Iran nuclear deal is one of the most consequential agreements in American history, and he is urging Democrats to vote against it.
Lieberman was one of the speakers at a rally outside the New York office of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Tuesday, and said in an appearance on Fox News Channel's
"Your World with Neil Cavuto" that he will urge Gillibrand to follow the lead of New York's senior Sen. Chuck Schumer, who has said he will vote against the deal.
Gillibrand has said she plans to vote for the deal and doesn't plan to change her mind.
"I voted for a lot of treaties in my 24 years in the Senate. I don't think any was as consequential to the security of the American people as this agreement with Iran," Lieberman said.
"And anybody who votes for this will have to live with the consequences of it for a long time to come. And so will the rest of us."
Lieberman called it "disappointing" that the White House
appears to be only one vote shy of preventing an override of an Obama veto when the deal is voted down.
"I don't understand it because to me this is a bad deal, bad for American security," Lieberman said. "I was there when we adopted the economic sanctions against Iran (by) overwhelming bipartisan majorities. The whole intention was come to a negotiation, not a war."
The deal reached by the White House and other P5+1 powers does the opposite by ending the sanctions and giving Iran the ability to enter a nuclear program, he said.
"This is probably the most significant diplomatic agreement to come before Congress since the end of the Cold War, and to see it split on party lines and to see Democrats, only two Democrats so far out of 46 in the Senate who said they oppose this," Lieberman said.
"Take me back to the days of President Kennedy when America should support any friend and oppose any foe to guarantee the survival and success of liberty."
Turning to the Democratic presidential race, Lieberman said there is likely anxiety inside the party over front-runner Hillary Clinton's falling poll numbers.
"On the other hand, she's got an organization. She's got a lot of money she raised and probably in for the long haul," he said.
If Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders continues his rise and wins two or three earlier primaries, it would present an "unusual situation" where the winner would be unpredictable, Lieberman said.
"Can Joe Biden wait until then to get in?" he said. "I don't think so."
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