Hey, It Was Nothing But A Joke

No, I am not willing to give up talking about the 47 Republican Senators (that's 87% of the 54 Republicans in the Senate, in case you were wondering) who sent a letter to the leaders of Iran which was so disloyal to this country that they even had the right wing New York Daily News calling it treason on its front page.  For once, the Republicans seem to have so revealed their true nature, that people all over the country are outraged at their betrayal.  Let's hope it lasts long enough to really sink in, and make people face what is going on in this country.

My ire was inspired this evening by an article in the Daily Beast, which deals with Republicans' attempts to put this ugly genie back into its bottle.  Here are some excerpts, with Green Eagle's usual rude interruptions:

"...even among Republicans whose offices have signed the letter, there is some trepidation that the Iran letter injects partisanship into the Iran negotiations"

Some trepidation that it injects partisanship into the Iran negotiations?  No shit, Sherlock.  That's just what they have been doing for the last six years, as if you hadn't noticed.  It's like saying that Mike Tyson got into the boxing ring with the intention of introducing his fist into his opponents's face- that is all they exist for.

“Before the letter, the national conversation was about Netanyahu’s speech and how Obama’s negotiations with Iran are leading to a terrible deal that could ultimately harm U.S. national security. Now, the Obama administration and its Capitol Hill partisans are cynically trying to push the conversation away from policy, and towards a deeply political pie fight over presidential and congressional prerogatives,” said a Senate Republican aide whose boss signed the letter."

The Obama administration is cynically trying to push the conversation away from a treaty with a small, far away country, to the fact that 87% of the Republicans in the Senate just engaged in an act of treason.  How unreasonable.  It's just too bad that, in the end, Obama won't have the stomach to do anything about it.

"However, while some on the Republican side are now rethinking the wisdom of sending a letter, none of the 47 Republican signatories are recanting their support for it or signaling an intent to do so."

No, so far, all 47 of them think that what they did was a great way to use the tremendous trust the American people showed in them when they were elected.

"Republican aides were taken aback by what they thought was a light-hearted attempt to signal to Iran and the public that Congress should have a role in the ongoing nuclear discussions. Two GOP aides separately described their letter as a “cheeky” reminder of the Congressional branch’s prerogatives. 

“The administration has no sense of humor when it comes to how weakly they have been handling these negotiations,” said a top GOP Senate aide."

A light hearted attempt...this is one of the most cynical rationalizations I have ever heard.  With all of the lying, smearing and treachery that the Republicans have on constant offer, I never thought they would descend to calling treason comedy.  Or are they just so sure of their eventual victory that they are now at the point where they are enjoying rubbing it in the face of the American people?

"Supporters of the White House’s ongoing negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program pushed back hard against the letter, with some even citing a law written in the 18th century (and not applied since 1803) to say that the senators engaged in illegal conduct by communicating with a foreign government to undermine the U.S. government’s foreign policy."

Yeah, and has it not been used since 1803 because it is an old-fashioned law, like making stores close on Sunday?  No, it is because in the intervening 212 years, there has never ever been a group of mainstream political leaders in this country who have resorted to out and out subversion of the government, in order to seize power.

I'm going to resort to a little bit of "I told you so" here, so if that is going to make you cranky, stop reading now.  I have been warning since I first started writing this blog, and for years before that, that the Republican party is engaged in a deliberate attempt to destroy the government of the United States, and replace it with a Fascist oligarchy.  I've gotten a lot of contempt for my views, but I think it is time that people face the truth:  That is exactly what they are up to, and it is not at all clear that they are going to fail.  The dangers posed by Iran, or Isis, or Putin or China for that matter, are minuscule compared to this threat to our existence.