I thought his statement was very well thought out and reasoned. Of course, he tipped his hat to Obama’s intentions, but then deconstructed the whole thing. His concurrence would have given a lot of Democrats cover that they don’t now have.
Why he did it is anyone’s guess. I think he would have pi$$ed off a lot of NY Jews, but where else do they have to go? No doubt he pi$$ed off Obama, and it may well cost him the Senate Minority (or Majority) leadership post.