Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz is finding herself in a political pickle. Either she supports President Obama's Iran deal and prove her loyalty, or she breaks from the party line and sides with her Jewish allies and constituents.
"Wasserman Schultz is fiercely loyal to the president, who made her chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee," reported Florida's Sun Sentinel, shortly after a fervent speech on the deal delivered Thursday by Vice President Joe Biden in front of Jewish leaders in the southern tip of the state.
However, as the report indicates, Wasserman Schultz also happens to be the first Jewish woman from Florida to serve in Congress and has always offered her support of Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu. In her Florida district, she represents a Jewish population of over 15 percent.
In a recent statement on the deal, the congresswoman said:
There are a number of questions and concerns that I have, along with my constituents and community leaders, about the agreement. Ultimately, I will make this most consequential of decisions based on what I believe is the best way to prevent Iran from achieving their nuclear ambitions.
In her remarks at the event with Biden, Wasserman Schultz said she will base her decision on "my Jewish heart." Of course, the pressure to choose was directly applied as Biden praised her as "an incredible partner to the president and me."
Tampa Bay Times reporter Amy Sherman posed this:
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is facing one of the toughest decisions of her career: vote for President Barack Obama's key Iran deal and risk alienating part of her base. Or vote against the deal, and risk having her loyalty questioned as head of the Democratic National Committee.
Former advisor to President Bill Clinton William Galston had this to say to The Hill:
By accepting [the DNC] role, she has, in a way, bound herself to consider interests broader than herself and the constituents she represents. It's not simply pressure from the party, it's a responsibility she has to the party in her leadership position. You're not a free agent the way you might have been before.


