Wow… You start talking about the Constitution, and leftists really begin to freak out. The left has started throwing around the term “traitor” as if George Bush was still in office (that means a lot, by the way). At issue is an open letter (you can read it for yourself by clicking here) to the leaders of Iran, explaining that international “deals” not confirmed by America’s Senate or Congress are ultimately non-binding. The left melted into a pyretic panic, and immediately began accusing the 47 Senators who signed the letter of nothing less than treason.
Of course, informing negotiating parties of America’s process for ratifying international agreements hardly seems treasonous. In fact, it appears to me that Tom Cotton did nothing more than give the Iranians an unauthorized American civics lesson. (Not Common Core curriculum, by the way.) Perhaps he should have addressed the letter to American Democrats instead?
But leave it to liberal hacks to start claiming the outrageous when backed against the wall. Harry Reid suggested that Senate Republicans are “empowering” the Ayatollahs in Iran. Representative Jared Polis (D-New New York) claimed Cotton was soliciting help from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Barack Obama even managed to get into the act by suggesting that Republican Senators were siding with hardline Iranian extremists (Is there any other kind of Iranian extremist?).
Can someone remind me again who’s trying to lift sanctions and give Iran a path to nuclear technology? (Oh, that’s right: It’s Obama & Co.)
I guess I’m still a little confused: How is it that writing an open letter – which basically states “we will never allow you to get a nuclear weapon” – aiding and abetting the enemies of America? I mean, it’s not Tom Cotton who’s sitting in a room with Iran’s top leaders, capitulating to their unreasonable request for enrichment capabilities. It’s not Senate Republicans that are lifting sanctions on a regime that continues their “secretive” nuclear program. In fact, the letter was a pretty clear explanation to Iran that the deal they strike needs to satisfy not only John “flip-flop” Kerry and Barack “apologize-for-America” Obama, but the majority of American representatives as well.
Oh… Now I see the problem. How dare Tom Cotton remind the world that Barack Obama is only President and not King! Now it’s making sense. Maybe (and I understand this might be a stretch) it’s the content of the letter that is upsetting the Obama & Co liberals.
Other Democrats have gotten slightly more creative, by claiming the open letter was a violation of the Logan Act. I guess this goes to show that their inability to understand the Constitution is a more of a widespread reading-comprehension issue than an ideological hypocrisy. After all, the Logan Act prohibits direct correspondence with unfriendly regimes (without permission from the US government); not an open letter identifying the nature of American civics.
Then again, if you identify “treason” as any opposition to Obama’s Hallmark-card foreign policy, then sure… I guess those 47 Senators are probably guilty. But I’m still not exactly clear on how such opposition (founded in the belief that America’s predominant Middle Eastern adversary be disallowed nuclear proliferation) can be classified as “helpful” to America’s enemies.
Tom Cotton’s unauthorized civics lesson does not classify him as a traitor. Nor is he in any violation of the Logan Act. Not only is he (and the 47 others who signed his letter) profoundly dedicated to the safety of the American experiment, they seem far more willing to ensure nuclear nonproliferation throughout countries that have dedicated themselves to destroying the West than the remaining 53 Senators who declined to take part in the Common Core exempt educational lesson.
After all, conservatives aren’t lifting sanctions, granting exemptions, and allowing nuclear advancement in Iran…It’s the Obama Administration that seems intent on sending our enemies fruit baskets, and calling it “diplomacy”. That seems like far more comfort to the enemy than a little nastygram from some US Senators.