You’ve seen the letter by now, or at least heard about it, the one sent from the GOP’s Tehran 47 to the Iranian mullahs.
The one signed by 47 Republican senators, including McConnell and Paul and Cruz and Rubio and our own Cory Gardner.
The one designed to undercut/sabotage/debase the president of the United States in the eyes of our longstanding enemies, not to mention our closest allies, even as the Obama administration nears the end game in negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran.
The one that is pretty much unprecedented — you know, in the way that inviting a foreign head of state to rip Obama in a joint session of Congress was pretty much unprecedented.
The one that basically says to the Ayatollah, look, do what you need to do, just don’t give an inch to Obama, because, after all, we never would.
The one that purports to be a constitutional advisory that (according to Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith) gets a major chunk of the constitutional part wrong.
The one that goes out of its way to talk down to the Iranians, who, the signatories worry, aren’t sharp enough to understand the Constitution but who are apparently smart enough to make a bunch of nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them.
Yeah, that letter.
Read it again, and then ask yourself this question: Who do you think these senators have humiliated, Obama or themselves?
Let’s give the 47ers the benefit of the doubt. Let’s say that the letter just looks like a demented attempt for Republican senators to ally themselves with Iranian hard-liners in order to deal Obama a defeat, but is in actuality a desperate attempt to save America from what they think is a terrible deal (one that that would, if it works, possibly ensure that Iran doesn’t get a bomb for at least the next 10 or 15 years).
If we concede all that — and I wouldn’t, but I’m ready to listen to the argument — it still looks like a disaster for the Republicans.
As Brian Beutler argues in the New Republic, if the Iranians were to take the letter seriously — which is unlikely, but, again, let’s concede the point for now — they would be more inclined to make a deal immediately, rather than holding out for something better. Because, according to the letter, nothing better is ever coming.
In other words: If Iran’s leaders ever want to get paid off for not making a bomb, they should take the deal as offered. I don’t think John Kerry could put it any better.
What’s curious is trying to decide what exactly the letter writers want the Iranians to do. I’m pretty sure they don’t actually want Iran to have the bomb, any more than I think they believe Obama wants Iran to have the bomb. But let’s break down the logic: If Iran doesn’t take the deal, the West imposes tougher sanctions. If the mullahs don’t want tougher sanctions, they make the deal. If they are prepared to live though tougher sanctions, though, their only possible payoff is to build the bomb.
The letter makes clear, in case the Iranians misunderstand, that Obama is near the end of his term-limited two terms and that senators can be around forever (as if that were possibly a good thing). They actually explain the six-year and four-year thing like we were all back in Jeffco-approved AP U.S. History, wherein all the endings are happy, including the part about getting rid of Obama.
And then there’s the money paragraph:
Yes, we’re back to executive authority and why this Congress never seems to have its way with Obama. But the Iranians should know that Obama will soon be gone, and then look out, because possible future President Bush/Paul/Walker/Cruz/Rubio/Huckabee/Christie/Carson/etc./etc. will let them have it.
Except this argument doesn’t hold up any better than the previous arguments. Let’s say Iran agrees to the deal with the United States and its negotiating partners. Let’s say that Iran follows the terms of inspections because the Ayatollah has no other option.
Which future president, Republican or otherwise, is going to overturn that plan? The only way this open-letter threat would convince Iran not to take the deal is if Iran already plans to sabotage the deal.
And so we’re left with a clumsy anti-Obama scheme — one that leaves Republicans open to the charge that they’re undermining our foreign policy — that has provoked Democrats, confused our allies and amused the mullahs. If you don’t get the sick joke, just read this closing paragraph:
“We hope this letter enriches your knowledge of our constitutional system and promotes mutual understanding and clarity as negotiations progress.”
I’d say it’s the most we could hope for.
Mike Littwin writes for ColoradoIndependent.com
Well, we all know this, if Littwin wrote it, and used his small brain to accomplish it, it is LIBERAL and DEM, he know’s no other way.
don’t know why everything has to be political. The 47 Senators
embarrassed themselves as well as the American people. Their
letter was inaccurate, deplorable, and juvenile. doesn’t matter if
they were democrats or republicans. This could affect very
important and highly sensitive negotiations. It’s not only the
U.S. who is trying to negotiate — china, france, germany,
russia, and britain are in on the negotiations. This letter was
sent to upend negotiations period.
ALL the hostile rhetoric over this conressional letter sent to Iran has come from Democrats, either in this form, printed, or on newscasts on network (read: liberal slanted) or cable msnbc, cnn etc.
They didn’t embarrass me, they SPOKE for me, these two, the Obama-Kerry team, couldn’t make or even know a ‘good deal’ if one bit them in the arse. The Iranians have LIED at every opportunity, that’s EVERY time they’ve entered into a ‘treaty’ or given their word, which is worthless. They understand one thing, might, not talking. The whole time these ‘negotiations’ have been going on, they’e been working away on their nuclear enrichment. They threw out the inspectors during the last ‘treaty’, the ONLY thing that has worked somewhat are the sanctions, and the Obama-Kerry team have agreed to lessen them. Now you tell me, who is this ‘treaty’ good for? America or Iran?>
All bluster no substance you got no facts to back you up, dreamy
I listened and read the ‘words’ of their letter to Iran, they are exactly how I feel about this ‘deal’. That’s why you on the left are dangerous for this country, you don’t see the cliff coming, it’s all ‘coming up roses’. We are in great debt, $2 BILLION daily in interest alone, it paid for ‘roads and bridges, the same ones they are talking about now, ‘we need more money for infrastructure’ Did you think all the toxic mortgages, the ones the ‘no doc no down’ people walked away from were paid out of thin air? No, they were paid for with others money. Iran has lied and not held up their part of EVERY treaty they have ever entered into with anyone, they took Americans hostages less than 40 years ago, they cannot be trusted, especially with a nuke.
Swimming in fear, idiocy and gullibility is a lame way to exist, my friend. But better you than me.
Do you just make insincere comments or do you actually care about what’s going on? What I wrote is the truth, doesn’t take a very intelligent person to understand that. Idiocy? Gullibility? Have you done any research on this, read any articles, or, like the rest of the liberals, tune in to msnbc and Big Al for your ‘news’?
Your tired old boilerplate conservablather exposes your intellectual vapidity. You’re not even in my league. Keep on digging!
Liberals, idiots all.
Of course you would say that. Relax… breathe… Now dig deeper!
Senator Jeff Flake told reporters that the Iranian nuclear threat was “too important to divide us among partisan lines.” He didn’t feel it was productive
at this point. These are tough enough negotiations as it stands, and introducing this kind of letter, I didn’t think would be helpful.
Seems to me that Obama is trying to throw Israel under the bus.
Why should the Iranians not be trusted at their word? They intend to fulfill every threat they can muster, the destruction of Israel, and America. The nuke issue is just another means to carry out the psychotic rants of one despot theocrat or another. It will be known when the WMD is surfaced, can anyone expect to not be totally annihilated in retaliation if and when it is used? Negotiate non-aggression and enforce all forms of blasphemy. Until then it is a dog chasing its tail.
It’s election season, It starts getting hard tell if I am reading the onion or a real news story. I just imagine GOP senators snickering around a table signing a letter to a foreign evil scumbag, telling him not to trust a deal made by Americans. It makes me feel bad that Colorado is represented by someone willing to lump himself in with the 47 Reagans, you know the 47 Ronin minus the honor. If they had any I bet the stories would end the same, you know Seppuku… Boo Cory Garder, just boo.