The shocking aspect of Republican senators' letter to Iran is that it's not shocking at all

In a mere three paragraphs, Dan Larison says what, perhaps, I should have said earlier today about Republican senator's meddlesome letter to the Iranian government. He labels the missive a "serious and extremely unusual interference by members of Congress in an ongoing diplomatic process"; he rightly denounces it as "ignorant"; and he notes as well that it makes a sham of all their talk about U.S. "credibility" — the GOP signatories "have no problem with the idea of reneging on carefully negotiated multilateral international agreements when they happen to dislike the content."

Larison's post nicely says it all. And I just wanted to apologize to you, gentle reader, for not bothering, for skimping, for earlier so briefly rebuking the majority clowns of the U.S. Senate. But, I also wanted to explain myself.

In these times, we are faced with a new Republican outrage almost hourly. Tradition means nothing to them and the "constitutional system" they so valiantly hail and self-righteously cite is but a plaything, as are the nation's security and general welfare — both of which they once pledged to defend on their sacred Bibles. There is no cheap political trick beneath them, no honor they refuse to trespass, no skullduggery unworthy of exploitation, and quite simply no bottom to their infamy and deceit. Every day we suspect they have finally hit some imaginary bottom, but they always surprise us.

I no longer believe there is a bottom for these hooligans. Their disgraces are as endless as they are unfathomable. Indeed, their rolling disgraces are so predictable, I no longer even find merit in itemizing at any length the transgressions entailed or detailing the absurdities. I reckon that anyone who still fails to see these gangsters for what they are — naked buffoons of the worst sort of demagoguery — never will.

So at most I might brush up against the latest Republican outrage, but explaining the grotesquely obvious is, to me, racing in a hamster's wheel. I suffice it to note that they've merely hit a new low; however tomorrow is another day, and another low — a yet lower low — is still to come. Of that, we can rest assured.

 

Comments

[Peter G]

In searching for a bright side, as I like to do, I can only offer thanks that did not write to the UN, specifically the IPCC, to inform them that in the future they might be rewriting climate reports and possibly the earth's climate. Which the world would be obligated to accept. Is it my imagination or have the minimal requirements to run for office in either the House or Senate been reinterpreted as maximums?

[shsavage]

Here's the NYT report on the White House and Iranian reaction:

Iran reacted with scorn, saying the letter would have no impact on the talks and suggested that the authors were the ones who did not understand the American system of government in which the president conducts foreign policy.

“In our view, this letter has no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy,” Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, said in a written statement. “It is very interesting that while negotiations are still in progress and while no agreement has been reached, some political pressure groups are so afraid even of the prospect of an agreement that they resort to unconventional methods, unprecedented in diplomatic history.”

Mr. Zarif added that a change in administration would not relieve the United States of its obligations under any agreement. “I wish to enlighten the authors that if the next administration revokes any agreement with ‘the stroke of a pen,’ as they boast, it will have simply committed a blatant violation of international law,” he said.

How ironic. The Iranians understand how the U.S. government is supposed to function better than the GOP.

[shsavage]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/10/world/asia/white-house-faults-gop-senators-letter-to-irans-leaders.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

[William C.]

You can be forgiven for not responding to every new tact from the Right. Fortunately for all of us, Mr. Obama seems to be responding quite well, and in a timely manner.

"I think it's somewhat ironic to see some members for Congress wanting to make common cause with the hard-liners in Iran. It's an unusual coalition."

Burn.

[shsavage]

Love it. There's not enough Preparation-H in the world to cool that burn.

[PhilippeO]

>

So we enter Weimar territory here, when one of top two parties didn't actually believe in constitutional system, believe their opposition is genuine traitor, and refuse to cooperate in any way of governing.

[MaryAnn]

It is tiresome to try to keep up with and counter all the lies on the right. However I do think there is a group that is teachable. I was just talking to a teen age relative who is working as a carpenter. Most of his knowledge is coming from friends and coworkers. He has been exposed to so much misinformation it is hard to know where to start, but he is interested in learning. One positive is that at least he recognizes racism when he sees it.

[Green Eagle]

Were there people in the world during the 1930's who watched with horror as they saw and understood what was going on in Germany? Sure there were; just not enough of them to do what was necessary to avoid 50 million deaths. I suspect that an awful lot of people around the world are watching the United States these days with the same sense of impending doom.

And don't forget, Hitler didn't have a couple of thousand nuclear weapons to throw around.