Let’s call it The Letter.
It has the names of 47 Republican U.S. senators under it. The Letter advises the mullahs who run the Islamic Republic of Iran against approving a treaty banning Iran’s development of nuclear power — or perhaps a nuclear weapon.
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/tom-cotton-joe-biden-iran-letter-defense-115925.html?hp=rc2_4
The Letter might violate the Logan Act, which prohibits unauthorized U.S. citizens from negotiating with foreign governments.
And The Letter is becoming a talking point for both Republicans and Democrats.
Vice President Joe Biden has entered the fray. On the other side is a freshman GOP senator, Tom Cotton of Arkansas.
“In 36 years in the United States Senate,” Biden said, “I cannot recall another instance in which senators wrote directly to advise another country — much less a longtime foreign adversary — that the president does not have the constitutional authority to reach a meaningful understanding with them.”
Cotton responded to Biden. He said that he and the other senators who signed the letter are “simply speaking for the American people.”
The Letter involves whether the senators are meddling in a sensitive negotiation between the United States and Iran. The GOP signees advise Iran that the letter might become irrelevant once President Obama leaves office in January 2017.
From where I sit, the senators have interjected themselves into territory where they don’t belong. OK, so they “are simply speaking for the American people,” as Cotton said. I don’t need to remind the young man from Arkansas about the nature of our government, but I’ll do it anyway.
Ours is a “representative democracy” that places certain power and authority in the hands of elected officials. The president is elected by the entire nation and the Constitution grants the president the authority to negotiated treaties with foreign governments. Yes, those 47 senators also represent their constituents and they, too, have a voice. However, the Constitution doesn’t give them the right to undermine the president’s power to negotiate a treaty. It does grant them the power to ratify or reject a treaty once it’s presented to the Senate for consideration.
I happen to agree with the vice president on this one. The Letter is “beneath the dignity” of the Senate.