Senate Democrats already gathered enough votes to sustain a presidential veto of a resolution of disapproval, but today they gathered enough votes to block a resolution before it reaches the president's desk.
From the Associated Press:
Three undecided senators announced their support for the deal in quick succession — bringing supporters to 41 votes. That's enough to bottle up the disapproval resolution with a filibuster later this week.
The announcements came from Ron Wyden of Oregon, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Gary Peters of Michigan.
In my opinion this is a prudent use of the filibuster because this is far more important than the domestic politics filibusters are usually reserved for. This is a major international agreement that will reverberate for many years.
The international community needs to know that America will honor its agreements and a vote to block the Iran peace agreement would undermine that trust. A vote could also be used by foreign critics who, in their own land, wage similar ideological battles with their moderate colleagues.
A successful filibuster will also provide cover for politically-vulnerable congressmen who will no longer be forced to cast a vote in support or opposition.
Conservatives will, of course, cry foul at this use of the filibuster, but that's just too bad for them. This is far more important than their hand-wringing.