House Democrat Tammy Duckworth’s support for the Iran nuclear deal, announced Wednesday, would inject an electric issue for the 2016 election if she wins her party’s nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Mark Kirk.
Kirk is one of the most vocal Senate critics of the deal.
Duckworth, along with fellow Democratic House members Bill Foster of Naperville and Mike Quigley of Chicago, wrote an op-ed posted on chicagotribune.com explaining their support for the deal.
Duckworth, from Schaumburg, said she reviewed the agreement, attended briefings with national security experts and heard from “hundreds” of constituents before reaching a decision.
“I have no illusions about the authoritarian Iranian regime,” she said in a statement. “Iran is our enemy, it is Israel’s enemy and it is the enemy of all nations that seek peace and stability. But Iran’s destabilizing role in the region would be much greater if it could obtain nuclear weapons. Therefore preventing a nuclear armed Iran must be our primary goal. …
“While not perfect, I believe the nuclear agreement provides the United States and our allies with the most realistic and effective course of action currently available to stop Iran’s nuclear weapons program.”
The GOP-led House is expected to pass a resolution of disapproval, but the deal has enough overall congressional support to prevent opponents from blocking the pact’s implementation.
Quigley said he had healthy skepticism about any deal with Iran but that this one was based on “unprecedented access, strict verification and strong enforcement mechanisms to punish Iran if they defy the agreement.”
With the newly announced support from Duckworth, Quigley and Foster, only House Democrat Dan Lipinski of Western Springs is breaking ranks with his party by opposing the deal.
Duckworth is among Democrats trying to oust Kirk next year. Both are military veterans. She is a double amputee from the Iraq War. He survived a stroke in 2012.
They are in opposite camps on Iran, as Kirk has long championed efforts to ratchet up sanctions against the Islamic Republic and condemned its financial support of terrorist groups in the region.
In 2013, one of Kirk’s early forays off Capitol Hill after his stroke was to address a conference put on by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel lobby. He had a message for Tehran dictators, saying, “I’m back.”
Democrat Andrea Zopp, who supports the Iran deal, also is running for Kirk’s seat. One other Democrats is exploring a bid: and state Sen. Napoleon Harris of Harvey.
Twitter @KatherineSkiba
