Dear GOP Senators, I'm writing you to ask the question that I think is on the mind of most Americans. What the heck were you thinking?
Storified by ReThinkDefense ·
Thu, Mar 12 2015 17:27:40
"But worst of all, the senators’ breach of protocol gives Iran something to blame if it breaks off talks on a possible deal... The nuclear negotiations contain provisions even Obama foes should support, including an invasive inspection regime that would do much to monitor and hamper Iran’s nuclear ambition."
Cincinnati Enquirer, Thursday March 12, 2015
Editorial: Portman wrong to sign Iran letterSen. Rob Portman's name is one we didn't expect to see on the letter meant to undercut ongoing nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran. It's bad enough that the letter, signed by 47 senators, diminishes the dignity of the Senate by disparaging the president and presenting an amateur lesson on U.S.
"The signatories, who sadly include the usually rational Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and John McCain of Arizona, have lost sight of national interest -- and of how their letter is undercutting it."
Cleveland Ohio, the Plain Dealer Editorial, Wednesday March 11, 2015
A deeply misguided Senate letter to the leaders of Iran: editorialThe decision by 47 Republican senators to sign a patronizing open letter to the leaders of Iran seeking to instruct them on how the U.S. constitutional system works -- and, by the way, to upend talks closing in on a nuclear weapons deal -- is as depressingly partisan as it is shortsighted.
"Besides being willing to sabotage any deal with Iran (before they know the final details), these Republicans are perfectly willing to diminish America’s standing as a global power capable of crafting international commitments and adhering to them."
New York Times Editorial, Wednesday March 11, 2015
Republican Idiocy on IranAfter helping to ignite a firestorm over a possible nuclear agreement with Iran, Senator John McCain, a former Republican presidential candidate, is now sort of acknowledging his error. "Maybe that wasn't exactly the best way to do that," he said on Fox News on Tuesday.
"This letter is an exponentially more offensive encroachment on presidential authority... negotiating with foreign nations is the president's job. The Republican senators' meddling in that responsibility is outrageous."
LA Times Editorial, Wednesday March 11, 2015
Republican senators go nuclear with missive to IranIt's hardly news that many Republicans in Congress are determined to oppose any agreement between Iran and six world powers on the future of that country's nuclear program. That was evident last week when Republicans greeted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an opponent of any foreseeable deal, as a conquering hero.
"If this shameful stunt is an example of what they believe is responsible leadership, it may not be just Obama who will be looking at new career opportunities in 2017. Twenty-four Republican senators are up for reelection in 2016."
New Jersey, the Record Editorial, Wednesday March 11, 2015
The Record: Outrageous senatorsFORTY-SEVEN Republican members of the U.S. Senate signed a letter crafted by freshman Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas instructing the leaders of Iran to disregard any deal brokered by President Obama. The senators' letter purports to be a primer in America's constitutional system, but it is a shameful partisan stunt, one that undermines the presidency.
"But why would the United States and the negotiating nations want to use a last resort as the first resort? Shouldn’t we give diplomacy a chance? Beyond the tactical stupidity of the letter, there also is something unseemly about conspiring with the leaders of another country – an adversary of the United States – to undermine the diplomatic efforts of our own president. In doing so, these senators also have undermined the credibility of the nation and its ability to conduct rational foreign policy."
Rock Hill South Carolina, the Herald Editorial, March 11, 2015
GOP letter to Iran was outrageousSenate Republicans hit a new low with their group letter to Iran's leaders encouraging them to reject current nuclear talks with the United States and five other nations. It was a dumb move both in terms of its own cynical goals and, more importantly, in how it might undermine national and global security.
"It’s one thing for Republicans in Congress to invite an ally to criticize a potential nuclear deal with Iran, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did last week. But it’s beyond the pale to write to the leaders of a potential enemy to sabotage the negotiations, as 47 GOP senators did Monday. Does their enmity toward President Barack Obama run so deep that in hopes of embarrassing him and denying him a legacy, they’re willing to blow up very sensitive talks on a matter of national security?"
GOP senators need lessons in both civics and politics
The Fresno Bee Editorial, Wednesday March 11, 2015
"The GOP-penned letter undercuts President Barack Obama just as sensitive negotiations are nearing their conclusion. The United States has been engaged in long, high-level talks in an effort to curtail Iran's nuclear program."
Springfield Massachusetts, the Republican Editorial, Wednesday March 11, 2015
Republican letter to Iran puts politics above nation: EditorialBefore Democrats and their left-leaning allies across the land get even more riled up about a letter sent to Iranian leaders by 47 Senate Republicans, they may wish to take a moment to recall a time when members of their own party did much the same to a Republican president.
"We are struck by your letter that condescendingly attempts to lecture Iran’s leadership on the fine points of the U.S. Constitution while at the same time blatantly trampled on the constitutionally defined roles in foreign affairs of presidents and members of Congress. In short, the chief executive negotiates and the Senate ratifies, or not, as the case may be.
Yet, your letter is a clear attempt to preemptively wreck the president’s attempts at a settlement to put Iran’s nuclear ambitions in check. And this provocative letter is well beyond the protocol for how the U.S. government negotiates international treaties."
Alabama, The Anniston Star Editorial, Wednesday March 11, 2015
"It was hard not to pick up echoes of the Nixon campaign’s trickery with the news that 47 Senate Republicans, including Pennsylvania’s Pat Toomey, have sent a letter to officials in Iran, letting them know that whoever sits in the Oval Office after President Obama departs in January 2017 might not be kindly disposed to any deal that is struck, and could scrap it altogether. With gobsmacking condescension, the signatories to the letter lecture the Iranians..."
Pennsylvania Observer-Reporter, Wednesday March 11, 2015
A stunning breach of protocolPublished: March 10, 2015 - Updated: March 11, 2015 10:23 am In the closing days of the 1968 presidential election campaign, Richard Nixon had reason to be nervous.