My Thoughts for March 15, 2015    

I gotta tell you, I was beginning to have some interest in the possible candidacy of Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) until he signed a letter intended for Iran authored by freshman senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). Now I’m wondering if Republicans have the capacity to govern. The intent of the letter was to derail the nuclear negotiation with Iran. It marked the first time Congress has ever stepped on a President trying to negotiate a treaty.

 This old curmudgeon can’t begin to support any candidate who has a distorted view of our nation’s history, protocols, and precedents. During our entire history as a nation, no one from Congress has ever tried to affect international negotiations between our nation and a foreign country.  These negotiations have been the responsibility of the President and the Department of State.  The protocol has always been for the President to sign a treaty then present it to the Senate for ratification, which then requires a two-thirds majority by that venerable Body to have it confirmed.

For two really intelligent men, Rubio and Cotton made a flawed decision in sending this letter. Forty-seven Senators also signed on, so those two dingbats had lots of company, mostly Tea Party members I suspect. Even Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) who often disagrees with the President articulated his dissatisfaction with the letter.  Why? Because as most of us do, he believes in a strong presidency. Rep. King sees the need in standing behind the President during negotiations, showing a united front to a foreign nation.  He understands if the treaty isn’t acceptable, the Senate can knock it down when it comes up for ratification.

An unnamed official from our State Department was quoted in the Huffington Post, “The erroneous and misconceived claims in this letter put at risk the basic conduct of American foreign policy, ignoring over two centuries of precedent and the ability of any President of the United States to secure political commitments or reach agreements with other nations.”  Way to go Senator Cotton, you made a great hit with your letter.  So good in fact, Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif all expressed their low regard for the letter by actually showing more deference to our Constitution and history than did these two Senators. 

But herein lies the real reason for Senator Cotton and his Tea Party constituents’ disrespect for the President.  You being from Arkansas and most of your Tea Party colleagues can’t stand the thought that a black man leading our nation is entitled to your respect and support. So rather than give him Presidential respect you (and most of the Republican Party in Congress) have every day thrown roadblocks across his path just for the sake of making him unsuccessful.  You have not even cared what might be best for your country.  Your conduct, Mitch McConnell’s, and most of the Republican Party members, plus John Boehner’s unmannerly conduct towards our President have weakened our country internationally. I believe this is one of the root causes for the social unrest we are seeing around our country today.

For people who believe in “trickle-down economics”, you certainly do not understand the value of top-down respectful conduct. You may not give a crap about the Iranian negotiations, or the President, but there are a lot of us that do.  There are a lot of us who do respect the Office of the President and also care about the treatment of people of color.  You’ll find out at the 2016 elections how many there are of us.  You’ll find out how badly you keep shooting yourselves in your Republican feet.  You’ll wish you had written conciliatory letters to the Hispanic and Black communities of our country instead of a letter to a foreign adversary, a letter that is beneath the dignity of a Senate you don’t even understand.  Apparently, our education system has failed you.