Republicans Blame Obama For Tom Cotton Letter

[Joe Johns]

Source: The Huffington Post

WASHINGTON -- Republicans, under fire for a letter signed by 47 senators to the leadership of Iran, said Tuesday that complaints about violating foreign policy convention should be leveled not at them, but at President Barack Obama.

GOP lawmakers spent much of Tuesday being pressed on why Senate party leadership went around the White House with an open letter warning Iran that any nuclear agreement may be undercut in the future by Congress or Obama's successor. Several Republicans sought to distance themselves from the letter, saying that while they may not agree with the direction of nuclear talks with Iran, it was the purview of the president to conduct them.

But those who support the letter -- even some who didn't add their names -- deflected the blame. If it weren't for Obama's failure to consult lawmakers about the negotiations, or his threatened veto of a proposed bill to give Congress the final vote on a nuclear agreement, senators wouldn't have had to speak out in the first place, they argued.

“I think that, no doubt, the fact that the president, you know, issued a veto threat on a very common-sense piece of legislation, probably evoked, you know, a good deal of passion,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told The Huffington Post Tuesday. Corker, who is leading the push for a veto-proof majority on the bill to grant Congress oversight of a nuclear agreement, did not sign letter, which was organized by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). Nevertheless, he showed no signs of ill will toward his junior colleague.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/10/gop-obama-cotton-letter_n_6843204.html

---

File under "You Cannot Make This Shit UP!"

[cstanleytech]

1. Rememeber folks Obama held a gun to their heads and forced them to sign that letter that

they really didnt want to sign that they signed so its all Obamas fault and not their fault for adding their signatures to a that letter that they signed to try and cut the sitting president off at the knees and thus its not their fault and they cannot be blamed for signing it.

[chillfactor]

2. repugs are totally insane.....

COTTON spearheaded the letter ..there IS no one else to blame....47 traitor senators....no excuse for what they did....guess they do not like the feedback

[Stuart G]

6. Well said..."they do not like the feedback"

[Iliyah]

3. Pure cowards. I would never want to be in the trenches with these bozos.

[GP6971]

37. No worries there

They would have to look up the definition of trenches.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

41. I'd bet good money they would know the definition of deferment.

[GP6971]

49. Memorized

And for numerous times.

[BeyondGeography]

4. Because...Obama!

Ffs

[meow2u3]

5. Didn't Benedict Arnold blame George Washington...

...for siding with the King back during the Revolutionary War? Those #47Traitors need to be hanged--and I don't give a rat's ass about due process, not this time.

[Geronimoe]

7. Who does Sen Cotton Represent?

Tom Cotton was voted in after spending $20 million on his election. He received 478,000 votes. There are 235,245,000 eligible US voters. Meaning that Cotton only represents 0.2 (1/10th of 2%) percent of all voters.

Not only did Sen Cotton poke a sharp stick in the eyes of our closest and strongest allies, our legally twice elected President, but also also in the eyes of the vast majority of Americans.

If Tom Cotton feels so strongly, he should that the first available flight to Iran and not return until he wins his self declared war.

[Android3.14]

14. Closest and strongest allies?

i saw what you did there. Not cool.

[sanatanadharma]

15. Ode to Tehran Tom

sung to a familiar tune...

"When those Tehran Toms go rotten
can't be relecten that Cotton
in them worn out fields of dumb."

Pushing the percentages memes ought to be a Democratic Party constant.
Same truth about GOP %!!

[avebury]

8. When or when will the majority of people in this country

and realize just how bat sh*t crazy these bozos are and take a stand for sanity? This country is just becoming an insane asylum with the inmates trying to take control. I am so glad that I am not a young person. I could not imagine being college age and have to look forward to decades of this insanity.

[mountain grammy]

9. so when they get any heat, it's Obama's fault..

thanks Obama!

[Enrique]

10. this is the ultimate "Thanks Obama!"

[onecaliberal]

11. Republicans are stage 4 cancer on America.

Someone needs to stop these evil rotten pieces of absolute shit. This would be a fucking scandal of epic proportions were it democrats who did this.
We have serious problems and we need serious people ready to solve them not fucking preschool derps posing as humans.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

43. it would be a scandal of epic proportions if we actually had a "Liberal Media".

trying to get out information when the well's been poisoned by the Corporate Titan Media is rough.
How do you get non-politics readers to believe you, when The TEEVEE isnt saying anything about it. Or the messages that do get out on major media are inconsistent.....

.......

O.o


fucking pukes

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

48. I take offense at that comment.

I know many preschoolers who are kind, gentle and full of drive to learn and grow.

The type of animal that you may be thinking of are Frathouse jerk-off trustafarians that never gave a fuck about anybody but themselves.

There is no stage 5 cancer, just death. I worry when I think of what the American tomorrow will look like.

[madashelltoo]

12. Of course, it's Obama's fault!

He just keeps making them fuck up! Idiots.

[RKP5637]

13. To be a republican today, means one does not have a firm grasp of reality and is delusional. Then

add to that some paranoia, greed, lying, cheating, some radical religious thoughts, and then one has today's republican. Being a sociopath is also a big plus! The republican party of today has melded all of these qualifications together into one dysfunctional, hostile and dangerous group called the GOP. Nothing even remotely like the old GOP who cared about the country.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

44. yep. n/t

[Paladin]

16. Cry me a river, Repubs.

Next time you want to bust up international negotiations, pick a leader who's a little further along the evolutionary process. Tom Cotton doesn't look or act like he can get around without the aid of his knuckles......

[blkmusclmachine]

17. It's never the Republican's fault. Never ever. And don't you forget it!!!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

45. seriously. n/t

[Joe Johns]

54. You got it

It's always The Other with the GOP: blacks, immigrants, gays, feminists, etc. But don't forget: The Republicans are the party of LIBERTY and personal responsibility!

[AngryDem001]

56. And Small Government!

Except of course, when it comes to people's sex lives!

[cab67]

18. Something I've noticed about Republicans...

They're a lot more prone to overreaching their political hand, and not realizing they've done so until it's too late to back down gracefully.

All politicians are susceptible. They think their constituents want something and act accordingly. Only their constituents don't want it. The mismatch between perception and reality doesn't hit the politicians until the damage is done.

But Republicans have mastered the craft. This is especially true when they think part of their constituency will be excited about something and the rest apathetic about it. Their fight to keep Elian Gonzalez in the US in the 1990's was based on the belief that Cuban immigrants in Florida would care (and they did), but that the rest of Florida (and the rest of the US) wouldn't. Only they did - they saw efforts to circumvent a plainly-articulated legal obligation to return a young boy to his family in Cuba.

The Terry Schiaivo case was another. Republicans thought pro-life activists would be energized, and everyone else would either not pay attention or be open to the idea that politicians should override very sensitive private decisions best left to families and, if need be, the courts. By the time they realized the majority of Americans took great exception to what Republicans were doing, all possible dignified exits were closed. They couldn't back away without losing face.

I think the same thing is happening here. The only difference is the presence of teabaggers who seem even slower on the uptake. The core of their base is strongly against negotiations with Iran. Most Americans, including me, are generally pro-Israel, which they interpret (not always correctly) as the same thing. That many Americans were uneasy with Netanyahu speaking before Congress without dealing with the president seems to have gone over their heads. So they wrote a letter that any 8th grader would be embarrassed to read in front of a civics class.

I'm actively eager to see how they deal with the fallout.

[C Moon]

19. They sound more and MORE like children every day. Unbelievable. I actually laughed outloud!

[BumRushDaShow]

20. The 6-Party Talks with Iran have been going on for 4 years

since at least 2011. Where the hell have they been?

Oh that's right -

1.) 56 Obamacare repeal votes
2.) Benghazi!!!!11!!!!

[C_U_L8R]

21. Damage control

Republicans are in full-on freak out. They really screwed up. They have gained nothing. And that makes me happy.

[GoCubsGo]

22. That's just pathetic.

Never mind that there are leaders from 5 or 6 other countries involved in the negotiations. Fucking ignorant shitbags. And, cowards. I'm talking to you Corker, you spineless sack of crap.

[greymattermom]

23. they should have listened to their moms, right

If someone tells you to jump off the cliff, etc.

[Cha]

24. I'm filing it under.. this shite is right out of the teabagger playbook and has been going on for

years.

OTOH.. they're admitting they have no control over their own actions.. Pres Obama has all the Power.. they're just helpless little jerkoff cottonmouths.



http://www.cottonmouthsnake.org/

[BlancheSplanchnik]

46. what a horrible and unfair insult....

to snakes.

[Cha]

51. Sorry, Blanche.. I know Cottonmouths are exponentially Nicer than the band of traitorous

cottonmouths roaming the halls of the US Senate!

[Baitball Blogger]

25. Who can take these people seriously?

[jimlup]

26. This will work for their base

who are essentially clueless and want to believe everything their Republican handlers tell them.

[babylonsister]

27. Ha! That's the party of responsibility

for ya.

Of course they blame the Prez; that's what they live for.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

47. yep.

fucking pukes

[SunSeeker]

53. LOL. I love your pissed kitty gif, Blanche!

Sums up my feelings perrrfectly.

(Sorry. Puns are the worst form of humor. Here, I'll do it for you: )

[Marthe48]

28. When MSM doesn't even MENTION the 47 letter

how can reliable news sources say that the repugs are under fire for the letter????? If any MSM outlets, or their owners were true patriotic Americans, this coup attempt would be all over the headlines.

[LynnMontoyaAZ]

29. Force All 47 to Resign

While prosecution of all 47 might be a stretch that would take far too long, every American who feels the outrage should begin speaking out on every platform possible and call for the resignation of all 47 buffoons. Send letters, post on twitter, facebook, instagram; anywhere.
Their recent action in sending official correspondence to the Islamic Republic of Iran, does not represent the sprit of America or of those that they represent. Whether Democrat, Republican or other, this is not a partisan issue; their actions thwart the very premise of why we are a great country. Their careless behavior makes our country look weak and shifted the USA from a grand and powerful democracy to a comedy club. Organize and speak up; These individuals are pathetic politicians; they do not represent America.

[The Blue Flower]

52. Welcome to DU LynnMontoyaAZ--great post

I believe they've overplayed their hand and have done it badly.

[Jack Rabbit]

30. They blame illegal immigrants for their fascist voter suppression laws, too

And black teenagers for getting shot and killed by racist cops.

[safeinOhio]

40. Rule #1

when the crap flies, always blame the victim.

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

31. Thanks, Obama!!

[City Lights]

32. Of course they do.

They are psychos. All of them.

[rurallib]

33. Not the Onion - not Borowitz

[niyad]

34. whahhhhhhh-- we had no idea people were going to get so mad at us--it's all YOUR fault

we are total lying, ignorant traitors.

[abelenkpe]

35. "He made me!"

Sounds like an abusive relationship with republicans playing the part of the bully.

New day, same old story.

[tclambert]

36. Thanks, Obama. Now you've forced Republicans to commit treason.

Actually, they announced on Day One they wanted America to fail just to embarrass Obama. And he refused to let them make it happen! He selfishly and arrogantly improved the economy, reduced unemployment and the deficit, and has made great strides in restoring the respect of foreign countries for America. How dare he! No wonder Republicans felt the need to try to undermine his foreign policy by directly engaging leaders of Israel and Iran themselves.

The only logical solution is to make the next President a Republican. Then they would have a real chance to make America fail.


I think.

[asiliveandbreathe]

38. White House Petition

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov//petition/file-charges-against-senators-who-sent-letter-iran/xjSlVk0C

sign on please...April 8th - deadline - 100,000 signatures...I know we can do it!

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

57. This is a better petition - almost 150K.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov//petition/file-charges-against-47-us-senators-violation-logan-act-attempting-undermine-nuclear-agreement/NKQnpJS9

[Liberalynn]

39. That one is as rich as this article I saw linked on Twitter

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/03/10/republicans-admit-that-iran-letter-was-a-dumb-idea.html

quoting republican aides as saying it was just a "lighthearted" attempt at reminding the Iranians that the Senate should be part of the negotiations and that the President has no sense of humor.

My tweet was "cause nothing says light hearted like interfering in negotiations involving nukes. Don't get #47traitors humor." I've gotten a few retweets.

So on top of it all they think what they did was "funny". Maybe if you're a kindergartener trying to make the principal look stupid, yeah, but supposedly adult office holders "pranking" a potential nuclear adversary and a sitting U.S. President? Personally I call it dangerous, reprehensible and inexcusable.

[lastlib]

42. The party of "personal responsibility" refuses to take theirs.... Go.Figure.

Hey, fuckstains! YOU signed it, YOU. OWN. IT.

[DeSwiss]

50. ''What am I supposed to do?, you won't answer my calls, then you change your number!?''

[center]
''I'M NOT GONNA BE INGORED!!''[/center]

- My advice is to never have an argument with a crazy person in the kitchen......

K&R

[wordpix]

55. Petition seeking treason charges for Iran letter hits 130,000 signatures

http://tampa.suntimes.com/national-politics/7/72/769233/petition-charge-iran-letter-senators-treason

Backlash continued to mount Tuesday after 47 GOP senators sent to a letter to Iran’s leaders on Monday warning any nuclear deal wouldn’t be valid without congressional approval.

Not only was a White House petition started urging charges be filed against “against the 47 U.S. senators in violation of The Logan Act in attempting to undermine a nuclear agreement,” but by Tuesday night, it had hit the 100,000 signature threshold required for an official response from the White House. snip

Sign the petition

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/file-charges-against-47-us-senators-violation-logan-act-attempting-undermine-nuclear-agreement/NKQnpJS9

[Aristus]

58. "Ah done tol' you! 'At neegra feller made me do it! Dang it!"

Red-neck assholery at its worst...

[KamaAina]

59. Not Borowitz?