Forty-seven Republicans – led by freshman Republican Senator of Arkansas, Tom Cotton, signed and sent an open letter to the Iranian leaders in what appears to be an effort to torpedo the efforts of the Obama Administration to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was one of the signatories on the letter.
These political antics are unprecedented and demonstrate how much these Senators despise President Obama. They are willing to totally disrespect the Office of the President, all but consort with the enemy, and take our government apart at the seams just to shame him. I thought that I had a reasonable idea of how politics work but, if this is an acceptable tactic, it appears that I was wrong.
What these 47 Senators have done might help them to reach their objective to ruin the negotiations and bring about its failure but it could also destroy all confidence that our allies have in us. If the negotiations fail this could lead to a war with Iran, which appears to be what Republicans want, but it could also impact on our ability to recruit allies and lead in influencing world affairs for decades to come.
This is not how our political leaders should conduct themselves no matter how much they might hate President Obama. This president is a visionary who is focused on working toward a more perfect union by getting all Americans to look beyond our own personal bias.
He has demonstrated this by remaining focused and continuing to press forward despite all of the vitriol that has been heaped upon him by the overall public and by his fellow elected colleagues: his fellow elected colleagues; this is disgusting and shameful. Have politicians no shame! If they do not, then this is also among the things that I must yet learn. I have long known that many politicians will willingly wallow in the mud in order to advance their careers but I thought that they had limits; this has to be a new low.
President Obama’s adversaries may not be embarrassed but I am certainly embarrassed for them. If they must employ these kind of methods; methods that embarrass the United States before both our allies and enemies and have the potential to herald the decline of America’s world status, then they are not worthy adversaries but instead a mere laughingstock and poor examples of true American statesmen. I may have much to learn but if what they are doing is simply politics then the definition of politics is in dire need of an update.
Americans who are not politicians that have a sworn duty to lead our country and do what is in her best interest can afford to get angry and react based on their emotions. But our elected officials control the levers of power and are duty-bound to keep Americans safe.
They have the ability to impact – negatively or positively – on the path that America takes. They collectively decide whether it will be a path to a more perfect union and one that will command the respect of America’s allies and enemies or if it will lead to our decline both at home and abroad: they cannot afford to operate based on emotions.
What these Senators did by sending this letter to Iranian leaders neither inspires Americans to aspire to achieve a more perfect union nor does it garner the respect of our allies and enemies. Instead, it spawns doubt in the minds of our allies and emboldens our enemies. It is doubtful that they will pay any monetary price or be imprisoned but they should definitely pay a high political price. I hope that voters will assure that they do.
What American citizens want and what America needs are great partisan ideas and debates, reasonable bipartisan dialogue and outstanding leadership. Of course we will still complain and disagree with some of the decisions that our elected officials make no matter our political affiliation but that is a part of who we are as Americans. But we should always come together as a family when it comes to keeping America strong and respected in the eyes of our allies and enemies and keeping her citizens safe. Our congressmen must know this; how can they not know it?
America should not be subjected to what Speaker John Boehner did when he invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to speak at a joint session of Congress without informing Democrats or the White House. Neither should America be subjected to what Senate Majority Leader McConnell condoned and is an intricate of in sending an open letter to a foreign government in what appears to be an effort to undermine the United States President.
Mitch McConnell is the Senate Majority Leader and what he should do is lead. Tom Cotton is a freshman Senator who has only been in the Senate for a few months: Majority leader McConnell is a seasoned and savvy politician who has been a Senator for decades. Had he not wanted Senator Cotton out front and leading on this letter, he likely would not have been out there.
If the Senators who signed on to this letter do ultimately pay a political price, Majority Leader McConnell should pay double. After all, he is the Majority Leader and he was also a signatory on the letter.
Eulus Dennis