March 14^th

Forty-seven is a recurring number for conservative politicians: first there was Romney’s 47 percent who would never vote for him because they were benefiting from progressive welfare programs and then there were the 47 Senators who sent the letter to the Iranians about the hazards of trusting agreements with an American President. Certainly the first instance helped Romney lose his election to the President; the fallout from the second 47 hasn’t yet played out.

This morning’s “Factcheck” has an interesting piece about Senator Ron Johnson, one of the letter signatories. The Senator claims that the Iranian “Parliament will be able to say yes or no on this deal and I think the US Congress should have the exact same deal.” Well, not really. Senator Johnson is as ignorant of Iranian government as he assumes Iranians are ignorant of ours.

Their parliament is not quite like our Congress; first the clerics in charge of the country must approve your candidacy before you can run for office. The issues you can approve, once you’re elected, have already been approved by the supreme leader and the unelected members of the Guardian Counsel. What would happen if any member of this parliament failed to approve a measure that these senior people had already approved? No one knows because that has never happened. Senator Johnson’s notion that these governing bodies are somehow equivalent is simply wrongheaded.

There has been some second guessing on the part of at least one Senator but other high level Republicans are sorry they were left out. The Governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, wanted to sign the letter, the former governor of Texas, Rick Perry was also disappointed that he was left out. Maybe they can get another letter together, have Republican Governors sign it and reinforce the Senators. But not all the signatories are now convinced the letter was a great idea. Senator McCain said that the Senators should have considered the matter a little longer but it was snowing, the weather was closing in, and they all had planes to catch. No comment on that line of reasoning is necessary.

There has also been a response from Iran: The Ayatollah Khamenei, himself, said that the letter was “a sign of the decline in political ethics and the destruction of the American establishment from within.” Now the Republicans are getting lessons in political ethics from the Iranian leadership. Not long ago a Fox News type wanted to accuse Diane Feinstein of being a traitor for giving aid and comfort to the enemy when she released a torture report. Certainly this letter has overjoyed the Iranian leadership. I’ll bet Fox News will not accuse these Senators of being traitors; fair and balanced?