OPINION: Open letter to the Republicans, ‘There was a day when this would have been called treason’
Written by Marianne Mansfield
An open letter to the 47 members of the US Senate who signed the recent letter to leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran, particularly Senator Hatch and Senator Lee:
Do you want us to go directly to war with Iran without passing Go? Or are you just trying to embarrass the President of our country, yet again, while simultaneously undercutting delicate and crucial negotiations at a most critical juncture?
I worked in many public education institutions over the years of my career, and I must say I worked for many superintendents who were quite fine fellows. I also worked for a couple whose IQs I wasn’t sure even measured up favorably to room temperature. With all, I had my share of disagreements as we discussed and debated the issues of the day. But the debates always occurred behind closed doors. When the doors finally opened to the public eye, I read from the same page as my bosses, all of them, whether privately I agreed or not. You see, I respected the position of school superintendency.
I looked at our relationship this way. In private it was my responsibility to represent the interests of the teachers and students with whom I was affiliated as stridently as I could. This often meant my views came into conflict with other administrators who, frankly, were doing their jobs of representing the interests of the students and teachers with whom they were affiliated. And, in the end, it was up to the superintendent to take our advice into consideration and render decisions, some of which I supported, others of which I did not. But, once the decision was made, my job was to support the decision and to work for its successful implementation. I did it then, and I would do it now.
That ethic, however, does not seem to be at work in the US Senate. On Monday, March 9, 2015, 47 Republican Senators, including our own Senators Hatch and Lee, signed a letter directed to the leaders of Iran in which they warned that any deal reached with the current administration was subject to overturn once the current president leaves office in 2016. In a move that smacks of arrogant xenophobia, the signators of the letter implied that their purpose was to help the Iranians understand how Constitutional democracy works. It’s just a hunch, but I would guess that the Iranian leaders have their own set of advisors who understand the workings of our system quite well, and who, in fact, might be quite amused by the implication that the Congress is the body which calls the shots on foreign diplomacy.
Further, my sympathy goes out to Secretary of State John Kerry who, in the midst of his business with Iran has to drop everything to deal with this distraction. I thought he was eloquently restrained when he said before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, “You write to the leaders in the middle of a negotiation — particularly the leaders that they have criticized other people for even engaging with or writing to — to write then and suggest they were going to give a constitutional lesson, which by the way was absolutely incorrect, is quite stunning.”
So, thus far the 47 have attempted to throw their weight in the face of the presidency, and mislead an admittedly savvy foreign entity about how our system of democracy is supposed to work. This is simply one more disappointing example of ‘Politics is, as Politics does’ which is a corollary to Forrest Gump’s pronouncement about stupidity. To say that I am disheartened by the action taken by 47 of our esteemed national leaders is an understatement. To say that Senators Hatch and Lee threw in with this mutinous gang is not surprising, just sadly disgusting.
My grasp of how things are supposed to work may be simplistic, but it makes sense that the three branches of government are balanced one against another. When one breaks free and flies solo, as the 47 did, it wreaks nothing but more havoc that we normally see coming from Capitol Hill. Not to mention that such rogue behavior undermines the Presidency and the Secretary of State. Not very statesperson-like, do you think? I don’t.
Agreement isn’t necessary to a well-working democracy. In fact, healthy dissension goes a long way in making for good decision making. Issues are examined from varying political and theoretical standpoints and debated by those whom we have elected to do the People’s business. But when one set of players fails to respect the prerogative of the other parties within the web of connectivity, balance goes out the window, and we take one step closer to chaos.
To be sure, chaos isn’t unheard of at this stage in our electoral cycle. For the next two years we all know that steady-handedness will become an ever more invisible commodity. But respect of the offices of the democracy? Standing as one nation in light of the world’s view? We can’t allow an act of childishness like the one those 47 Senators engaged in to efface the importance of our populist ethic. If that happens, chaos will be the least of our problems.
And to those Senators from both parties who refused to sign the letter? I say, job well done!
Marianne Mansfield has lived in Southern Utah since 2010. She and her husband followed their grandchildren to this area from Michigan. In her former life she was a public school educator. More than half of her career was spent as an elementary principal, which is why her response to most challenges is, “This isn’t my first rodeo.” She grew up in Indiana, and attended Miami of Ohio, Ball State University and Michigan State. She is a loyal MSU Spartan and Detroit Tiger baseball fan. She has been writing fiction and opinion since her retirement in 2004.
