GOP Fallout From Anti-Obama Letter To Iran

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First, House Speaker John Boehner invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before a joint session of congress without first consulting with and receiving the approval of the White House. Now, an unprecedented letter from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and 43 other GOP senators was sent to Iran, erroneously informing the foreign nation that any arms deal President Obama reaches with them will be null and void after he leaves office has simply crossed the line.

The words of the GOP hacks are not only factually incorrect, but border on lunacy and treason. According to the Washington Post, the GOP letter is “farcically condescending in word and tone” to the Iranian government, claiming they “may not fully understand our constitutional system.” An embarrassing statement, considering the GOP Senators get wrong the basics of our constitutional system, claiming the Senate must ratify the treaty for it to be effective.  They do not.

When asked about the open letter, Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Javad Zarif laughed at the political nature of the note, saying “in our view, this letter has no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy. It is very interesting that while negotiations are still in progress and while no agreement has been reached, some political pressure groups are so afraid even of the prospect of an agreement that they resort to unconventional methods, unprecedented in diplomatic history. This indicates that like Netanyahu, who considers peace as an existential threat, some are opposed to any agreement, regardless of its content.”

Zarif also expressed astonishment that some members of the U.S. Congress would find it appropriate to write to leaders of another country against their own President and administration. He pointed out that from reading the open letter, it seems the authors not only appear completely clueless when it comes to international law, but are not fully cognizant of the nuances of their own Constitution when it comes to presidential powers in the conduct of foreign policy.

Any “change of administration does not in any way relieve the next administration from international obligations undertaken by its predecessor in a possible agreement about Iran’s peaceful nuclear program,” Zarif said. “I wish to enlighten the authors that if the next administration revokes any agreement with the stroke of a pen, as they boast, it will have simply committed a blatant violation of international law.”

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Vice-President Joe Biden wrote a scathing response to the GOP letter:

“I served in the United States Senate for thirty-six years. I believe deeply in its traditions, in its value as an institution, and in its indispensable constitutional role in the conduct of our foreign policy. The letter sent on March 9th by forty-seven Republican Senators to the Islamic Republic of Iran, expressly designed to undercut a sitting President in the midst of sensitive international negotiations, is beneath the dignity of an institution I revere.

“This letter, in the guise of a constitutional lesson, ignores two centuries of precedent and threatens to undermine the ability of any future American President, whether Democrat or Republican, to negotiate with other nations on behalf of the United States. Honorable people can disagree over policy. But this is no way to make America safer or stronger.

“In thirty-six years in the United States Senate, I cannot recall another instance in which Senators wrote directly to advise another country—much less a longtime foreign adversary— that the President does not have the constitutional authority to reach a meaningful understanding with them. This letter sends a highly misleading signal to friend and foe alike that our Commander-in-Chief cannot deliver on America’s commitments—a message that is as false as it is dangerous.

“The decision to undercut our President and circumvent our constitutional system offends me as a matter of principle. As a matter of policy, the letter and its authors have also offered no viable alternative to the diplomatic resolution with Iran that their letter seeks to undermine.”

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Twitter comments on the Republican ploy were extremely harsh:

— Tom Cotton and the other 46 #GOP lawmakers who sent the anti-Obama letter to Iran must be censured. #p2 #DEM

— David Badash (@davidbadash) March 9, 2015
Toughest statement of all slamming Senate GOP letter to Iran leaders. VP Biden calls it “beneath the dignity of an institution I revere.”

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) March 10, 2015
Senate Republicans who signed on to that Iran letter are LAWLESS and abused their power. See how that works GOP?

— Oliver Willis (@owillis) March 9, 2015
Letter from GOP senators mansplaining US treaty process gets US treaty process wrong. http://t.co/v10D42geG6

In a brash and almost unbelievable move, 47 Republican Senators tried to undermine the authority of a sitting President of the United States and aid a foreign country in making a decision contrary to the stated policy of the government. Is this simply politics as usual, or is this actual treason?