Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the third highest ranking Democrat in the Senate, and in line for Harry Reid’s throne, declared he will not support the Iran deal touted by President Obama as being “a very good deal.” Schumer cited multiple reasons for his opposition after spending three weeks studying the deal.

Schumer also indicated Friday that he would further vote to override the presidential veto. The administration is not happy, with knowledgeable insiders making veiled threats that Schumer’s ascendancy to Minority Leader is in jeopardy.

A Dem aide familiar with leadership process tells me Schumer's rise to Sen. Dem leader could be in jeopardy if he whips against deal.

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) August 7, 2015

Earlier this week, three prominent Democrats came out publically to say they would not support the deal. They each made statements about the problems they have with the deal.

Reps. Nita Lowey and Steve Israel, both of New York, and Ted Deutch of Florida announced their opposition on Tuesday afternoon. Lowey is the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee; Deutch is the top Democrat on the House Middle East subcommittee; and Israel until last year led the House Democratic reelection effort.

They are the first leading Democrats and the first Jews in their party to oppose the deal.

Four other Democrats have voiced opposition bringing the number opposed to eight. One is Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., came out against the deal shortly after Schumer. He is the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Relations Committee. He said:

“The main part I find most objectionable is you look at the behaviors of Iran these past years when they had no money and they were still a leading sponsor of international terrorism,’’ Engel said, pointing to its financial support for Hamas, Hezbollah, the Assad regime in Syria and the rebels in Yemen. “Can you imagine how much more destruction that they can do if they are awash in cash?”

President Obama has probably had to work much harder in his second term than in his first, if reports are correct about his lobbying efforts to get Democrats to support this deal. Earlier this year he was also working the phones and even made a trip to the Hill in order to convince his party to back him on his trade deals (Nancy Pelosi did not cave on that – too bad the Republicans aren’t better known for non-caving). Apparently all Bernie Sanders needed was a phone call from Obama in order to give his support.

In a speech this week at American University, President Obama likened the Republican party who oppose this deal to making common cause with the “hardliners” in Iran. He said they too didn’t like the deal, but what he doesn’t make clear is that the hardliners are the same ones that are signing deal. This just goes to show his duplicity in trying to build popularity for actions he takes that are harmful to America.

It’s all about legacy at this point now. When people try to figure out motives for why politicians do the things that they do, usually the key is to follow the money. In Obama’s case, all his actions can be explained by legacy. His consistency is that he will do whatever he thinks will be good for the history books. So it’s fair to say that while he is duplicitous in the conduct of his official duties, he is also delusional when he thinks history will look upon him favorably. When people try to figure out whether he’s just naïve or whether he knows exactly what he’s doing, they are both right.

Let’s hope some more Democrats follow Schumer’s lead in opposing this deal. In this case, no deal is better than this deal, and you don’t have to be Jewish to know that.