Tom Cotton’s unpatriotic forefathers: Treasonous Iran letter not the first time GOP has crossed the

[applegrove]

Tom Cotton’s unpatriotic forefathers: Treasonous Iran letter not the first time GOP has crossed the line
by Heather Cox Richardson at Salon

http://www.salon.com/2015/03/15/tom_cottons_unpatriotic_forefathers_treasonous_iran_letter_not_the_first_time_gop_has_crossed_the_line/

"SNIP...................



It has created a backlash because it shows, with crystal clarity, that the ideology of Movement Conservatives is not simply partisanship. It is an attack on American democracy itself.

The senators who signed the letter are trying to impose their will on a president they hate. This maneuvering is unusual but not novel. It has been central to most of the nation’s internal crises. Whenever adherents of an ideological faction recognize that they do not have the popular support to control the president, they try to game the system. This happens on a grand scale, as when Southern whites so hated the outcome of the 1860 election that made Abraham Lincoln president, they picked up guns to get their way. It happens on smaller scales, as when Republicans in Congress today threaten to shut down the government to make President Obama do what they want. It’s often hard to distinguish smaller-scale machinations from regular partisan politics.

But when a faction tries to gain the upper hand at home by interfering with our international relations, Americans are able to see their attack on our fundamental system for what it is. Crossing the water to find support for a domestic faction puts into stark relief that its adherents have no faith in voters’ choice of leaders; rather, they feel justified in doing whatever it takes to override an elected president, even undercutting the nation’s standing in the world.

.On three dramatic occasions, factions have tried to use foreign affairs to wrest control from a president they hated. In the earliest days of the republic, when Americans were painfully aware the country might not survive, men split into two political camps. The Federalists supported President Washington and his efforts to show international powers that the American government was strong enough to last. The Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson, insisted that the administration’s establishment of a national bank proved that Washington was turning the fledgling democracy into a European-style monarchy. But while the Republicans’ protests irritated the notoriously thin-skinned Washington, they gained little traction against the father of the country.



.................SNIP"

[jwirr]

1. This is not on the same scale as the 47 and their letter but I consider it working against the

people of the US - on inauguration day 2008 they met secretly planning to obstruct everything that they could regardless if the American people wanted them to or not - regardless if it is good for the country or not. They have done nothing about any of our real problems and they have tried to destroy anything we do.

[applegrove]

2. All so that the people of the USA would not bond with Obama, a black man. Because if they did, the

Southern Strategy would not work as well on the base. How could it if people were able to enjoy a relationship with a great, bright, hopeful, modern and caring president like Obama.

[jwirr]

3. Yes, I wonder if the histroy books in red states will even include him. This is the most ignorant

part of all of this. I for one cannot wait until the demographics change and we end up with more representation of minorities.