What Newsday's editorial board fails to understand is that the open letter to Iran from Republican senators is, in part, a direct reaction to President Barack Obama's exclusionary agenda since the day he took office.
Nobody can deny that the ongoing partisan politics in Congress is utterly frustrating to all, with Republicans and Democrats equally to blame. However, it is the job of the president, as the leader of our nation, to get all parties to work together to create solutions that benefit the whole nation.
By consistently excluding Republicans from participating in the process of government -- see the Affordable Care Act, immigration reform and current negotiations in Iran -- he ignores the interests of many citizens of this country.
For six years, the president has demonstrated his unwillingness to be pragmatic and compromise; it's his way or the highway.
Even though my ultra-conservative Republican friends may not be able to admit it, the GOP's relationship with President Barack Obama has again proven itself to be strictly political ["GOP acts against Iran-U.S. talks," News, March 10]. Republicans want to defeat the president and debilitate his policies, not to serve the American people.
A case in point was inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress, thereby bypassing the office of the president in dealing with international issues. Republican senators communicated directly with the leaders of Iran about what Congress deems to be the futility of negotiating peace -- again bypassing the president and purposely insulting Obama.
While it is possible that a tough-sounding Congress might help the president negotiate a peaceful settlement with Iran, that was not the purpose of the Republican leadership's actions. Its intention was to insult, disgrace and politically emasculate our president.
Such behavior by our elected officials was seditious if not treasonous. Congress should be ashamed for sabotaging ongoing talks, and those Republican senators who sponsored such traitorous communication ought to be expelled.