THE GOP MORPHS INTO THE TEA PARTY AND OPTS FOR ANARCHY

The Republican inflammatory rhetoric and flagrant disrespect towards the President of the United States reached rock bottom with their letter to the Ayatollah Khameini of Iran warning that deals and undertakings with American Presidents are useless as they can only last 4 years at best. (In fairness to the 47 Republican Senate signatories they only meant this if the President was President Obama). 

In a stroke nearly half the Republican controlled Senate confirmed the Ayatollah’s s oft stated opinion of America that it was “deceitful”. The fact that that this totalitarian fascist, who is the world’s greatest purveyor of terrorism, was given confirmation of his propaganda, by 47 Republican Senators, namely, that America would not honor its word and thereby allow the Iranian poobah to conclude that the letter itself was, “A sign of the ultimate degree of the political collapse of political ethics and internal political disintegration, (of America)”, made Jay H. Ell wince with shame and anger. 

The fact too that the GOP leadership was so spineless that it caved into a thirty - seven year old looney tunes Senator, Tom Cotton, who had been in the Senate for seventy whole days, not having as yet made a speech in that chamber, and allowed him to hijack their Party’s and United State’s foreign policy is mind boggling. All this after the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, had invited a foreign Prime Minister to come and lecture the President on American foreign policy in Congress. These behaviors are the ultimate confirmation, if any was needed, that the Tea Party is now the GOP.

The argument that there is great anxiety over Iran does not cut it as who hasn’t? (Blogs: “Iran: What is Obama Thinking?” and Iran: Bibi’s Churchillian Fantasy and Obama’s Lack of Transparency"). Obama has to know that he will get a veto proof majority against lifting of sanctions with a “bad” deal. He does not need to learn this from Republicans colluding with the enemy. (Has anyone thought how politically crippling it would be if, after all that bad mouthing and bile, the POTUS comes up with a blockbuster deal?)

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO

Perhaps the degeneration of Republican Party politics can be epitomized by how low Senator John McCain is prepared to stoop to remain part of the conversation of the Tea Party dominated GOP. Just six short years ago the then statesmanlike McCain, while the GOP Presidential candidate against Obama, chastised, to his own political detriment, a supporter who was alluding to the future Commander in Chief as a Muslim alien infiltrator. McCain stopped him in his tracks and lectured the shocked perpetrator that Obama was a decent American with whom he, McCain, had disagreements with. Now a term and a half later McCain, the Chairman of the Senate Arms Committee, is part of the hatchet team and has sunk so low as to sign a letter that sabotaged Obama’s and America’s integrity. 

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE TEA PARTY TAKEOVER

While it is fair to say that the GOP Establishment is embarrassed by this all they have to realize that their failure to fish or cut bait with the Tea Party six years ago has resulted in the Conservative takeover that they have, in fact, aided and abetted. In order to avoid confrontation with the growing loutish and outlandish behavior of the Tea Party upstarts, the GOP establishment had a strategy where they would focus on the only issue they both agreed upon - annihilate Obama. First and foremost they would try and prevent all the POTUS’s initiatives and would sabotage him on every turn. They then would oppose every and any legislative initiative even when it was against their political interest.

The GOP leader in the Senate Mitch McConnell was the choirmaster of this charade. McConnell’s policy did change from the first four years where it was to prevent Obama from having a second term to stymying him on any possible legislative initiative thereafter. John Boehner, Republican Speaker, gave in to his ever increasing fractious caucus and all he has done the past six years is try and undo Obama’s Affordable Health Care Act - no less than sixty times. 

Now from domestic policy to foreign policy the battering abuse and disdain has reached into every forum. With regard to foreign policy the Republican bile is treading on the very constitution that they scream day and night they they wish to uphold.

CONSTITUTIONAL IGNORANCE OF THE GOP/TEA PARTY

Now the Tea Party is heavily into the Constitution. They steadfastly argue, to whoever will listen, that it is what everything is all about - excepting of course when it relates to President Obama who apparently is not American so the Constitution doesn’t apply to him. Nevertheless by hook or by crook he became the American President. The powers relating to foreign policy are explicitly outlined in the Constitution. The latter empowers the President to conduct foreign policy on behalf of the United States. The President can negotiate “executive agreements” which are not subject to Senate approval. With regard to “treaties” the latter are initiated by the Senate and then ultimately ratified by the President. 

Now the Senators’ letter to the Ayatollah of Iran, apparently their newest best friend, had the objective of enlightening that leader on the intricacies of the American Constitution so that he would not be tricked by our President who was a closet Muslim, like the Ayatollah, and therefore could not be trusted. They generously informed Khameini that Obama could not negotiate a treaty with them, being ignorant of the fact that Obama was not attempting to do that. He would be involved with a non binding “executive agreement”. So their gratuitous intervention showed a faulty understanding of the Constitution and mislead the Supreme fascist of Iran as to Obama’s powers. 

The GOP ignorance of Constitutional law extends to the world scene where they more or less have instructed the five other negotiating nations, in addition to America, not to bypass them and do a deal with Iran that is ratified by the United Nations and thereby drop sanctions. They forget that not only are they not constitutionally in control of US Foreign Policy they also have no locus standi at the United Nations. For their information the Security Council initiated sanctions against Iran for over a decade without Tea Party input and if these are reversed they will not be involved either. Needless to say the impact of this letter has infuriated the other five nations and made America look even more ridiculous in the eyes of the world.

To clarify what the Senate are able to do in this situation: they can refuse to lift the current sanctions against Iran regardless of the talks and introduce new ones if they so desire. This they could legitimately do if there is a “bad” deal. For the moment, the Constitution as well as common courtesy needs them to shut up and not stab their President and Country in the back. 

SENATORS COMMIT TREASON

The Republican Senators, as the self proclaimed ultimate interpreters of the US Constitution, must have known that what they were perpetrating treason with their letter. However, in the interests of the “truth” were prepared to die. (They would prefer to die rather than go to jail for life as they are proponents of the death penalty). These constitutional experts of course were aware of the Logan Act of 1799 but in view of the “urgency” of the situation elected to ignore it. The Logan Act was enacted to prohibit unauthorized citizens from negotiating with foreign governments during a dispute with the United States Government. Logan tried to intervene with the French Government over the head of the lawfully elected President and in contravention of the Constitution. The fact that nobody of significance has been indicted under this Act it still undoubtedly makes sense. In war and in international relations one cannot have subversion that renders impotent a country’s negotiating power when parlaying with the enemy. 

GOP NO LONGER PLAYS BY THE RULES

The inescapable conclusion is that, currently, the Tea Party and therefore the GOP are technically involved in anarchy. This latest flagrant example is the cherry on the top and is the extreme end of the anarchy spectrum which spans from nobbling the legitimate activities of a government, refusing to ratify governmental appointments, shutting it’s workings and generally making a mockery of the intent of the US Constitution, to undermining the President while engaged in taming the enemy. 

As far the Tea Party is concerned it is their way or the highway and on their fringes there is even loose talk of armed insurrection. Their slavish support, promotion and defense of the Second Amendment, which grants citizens the right to bear arms, has lead to their association with dubious patriot groups who wander around with AK 47’s which they ostensibly need to hunt. They even supported that hill billy, Cliven Bundy, in Nevada who refused to pay his grazing taxes and who confronted the Feds with a posse of gun slingers who threatened to fire on the Government agents if they attempted to arrest this Tea Party hero. 

All this adds up to making the Republican Party aka Tea Party suspect. They are facing a reality they cannot accept, namely that the US demographics and culture have evolved to the extent that their archaic values are making it impossible for them to win a National Election. The fact that Obama won twice seems to have exacerbated their frustration. The GOP/Tea Party response has been to become obstructionist and anarchic rather than court and connect with the transforming demographic and culture in the USA. 

A HISTORICAL CHANGE IN REPUBLICAN PARTY’S POLICIES

The Republican Party Establishment have lost the battle and yet another change is to take place in the character of an established political party. Just as Lincoln’s Republican Party eventually became right wing and Johnson’s Democratic Southern Democratic Party was forced into the wilderness, Eisenhower’s middle of the road Republican Party is poised to morph into the Tea Party. Just to recall that the Johnson Civil Rights and Social Revolution in the 1960’s could have not happened without Republican support makes one realize how far deep the current GOP has descended back into the Dark Ages.

Sadly, it need not have happened. The Karl Roves of this world should have kicked the Tea Party out in 2008 when they could have and forced them to form a third party and they would have then faded into the sunset of history. 

The American version of Constitutional Government is about to face its sternest test for centuries as the new GOP attempts to place a condom on the march of history. Jay H. Ell, the eternal optimist, believes that the American citizenry will save the day and once again Winston Churchill’s prophecy that, “You can trust America to do the right thing once they have tried everything else”, will triumph and the current evolution of equality in human rights and the battle to overcome vast economic inequity will be victorious.