March 13, 2015

Picture by Gage Skidmore, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

This week, a letter signed by 47 Senators (all Republican) was sent to Iran’s leaders claiming that any agreement that is reached would likely not last past the Obama presidency, since it would be a mere executive agreement, subject to the whims of the next President or Congress. The letter went on to school Iran on American constitutional principles, including how Senators may stay in office long after President Obama has left office.

The letter, written and propagated by freshman Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), has received criticism from all quarters, including within the Republican party itself. President Obama pointed out how Senate Republicans and hard-liners in Iran seemed to both want the same thing. Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and one of the seven Republicans who did not sign the letter, viewed it as something that would take him away from getting an actual bill passed on Iran. Even Fox News’ Megyn Kelly pointed out to Sen. Cotton that Iranian leaders would dismiss the letter and that he had put in danger any bipartisan effort to contain Iran.

Perhaps the most stunning response came from Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who dismissed the letter as propaganda and offered to teach the senators about the US Constitution as well as international law.

The question we must ask is why is the Republican party doing everything it can to undermine the President from brokering a deal with Iran? Last week, House Republicans breached protocol by inviting a foreign leader to address Congress, in effect bypassing the President. It seems that Senate Republicans did not want to miss out and decided to conduct their own breach of protocol by disrespecting the President and contacting a foreign leader. What purpose is served by such actions?

Disagreeing with the President’s Iran negotiations is one thing - but to go out and air your dirty laundry to the world is another. To undermine your President, who by tradition heads foreign policy, is not worth any short-term policy or media win you may get.

Republicans should realize that this type of obfuscation will not serve American interests in the long term. The nation’s word is second-guessed when a President negotiates with a foreign leader. Our diplomatic strength will be weakened because the United States will be looked at as unreliable or untrustworthy. Is this worth the short-term poll bump you may receive within your party? Is it worth potentially getting one policy win?

It is time that our dysfunctional government moves on from myopic views, short-term thinking, and brash media spectacles. Instead of trying to get brownie points with their parties, Members must put American interests first. Instead of putting on a show of fighting for supposed-principles, it’s time to stop being obstructionist and work to compromise for the good of the nation.