On a March 9 article for the Washington Post, Paul Waldman, “… a contributor to The Plum Line
Blog, and a senior writer at the American Prospect,” gave his opinion to the
readers of the Washington Post on the controversial open letter to Iranian
leaders from 47 Republican Senators.
This letter, which can be read in full here, addresses Iranian
leaders, and informs them that any nuclear negotiations that are made with
President Obama and his administration may be revoked or changed as soon as he
is no longer president. These Republican Senators are upset with President
Obama’s actions, because he has excluded them from participation in and about
the nuclear negotiations, which they believe is another unconstitutional
Executive order.
The letter, which is signed by 2016 Presidential candidates
Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul, does not violate any laws, although it is
very unusual. It has already been compared to Richard Nixon’s private negotiations
with South Vietnam is 1968, which are considered by many as treason. Interestingly,
current Vice President Joe Biden wrote a similar letter to then-Secretary of
State Colin Powell in 2002. As the head of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, Biden wrote saying that Congress needed more involvement in the
nuclear negotiations in the Moscow Treaty with Russia.
In the article titled “Republicans are beginning to act as
though Barack Obama isn’t even the president,” Waldman makes his opinion very
clear. His stance on the subject is that Republicans are being extremely
disrespectful to the President, saying that Congress has no right to make their
own foreign policy. He also says that though it is not illegal, it goes against
Washington’s “norms,” which he believes should be respected, despite not being
law.
Although the Senator’s open letter is surprising and bold, I
do not think their main purpose is to bash President Obama and be
disrespectful. I do understand how it could be interpreted in that way, but in
my opinion, the Senator’s are making their point clear; they are being ignored
by President Obama and want to be a part of the negotiations in the way our
country’s Checks and Balances policies allow them to. They believe that
President is disrespecting the Legislative Branch by misusing the powers of the
presidency. This is yet another example of how the two parties cannot
negotiate, and it is now getting in the way of important foreign policy.
