( CNN ) Just when you did n't think Republicans could top themselves in finding ways to disrespect the President of the United States , on Monday , 47 Republican Senators -- that is , all but seven -- sent a letter to Iran that appeared aimed at scuttling President Obama 's diplomatic efforts to prevent Tehran developing nuclear weapons capacity . The move comes on the heels of House Republicans inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress -- without even informing the White House of the plan to issue an invitation . But this latest measure went a step further , seeing Republicans in Congress literally stepping on the constitutional toes of the executive branch and formally intruding on U.S. diplomacy . Under the Logan Act passed by Congress way back in 1799 , U.S. citizens are prevented from influencing `` disputes or controversies '' involving the United States and a foreign government , without express authority to do so . Now , it appears the Iran letter was carefully drafted by Sen. Tom Cotton , a smart constitutional lawyer , to come as close as possible to the line of legality without crossing it , specifically by not explicitly taking a position against the Iran negotiations . Yet the intent to interfere with the executive branch is clear . It 's one thing for Congress to demand it ratify such a deal ( as Democrats did in 2002 when President Bush negotiated arms reductions with Russian President Vladimir Putin ) . But it 's something else entirely to undermine the authority of the White House by sending a partisan letter to a foreign government ( something Democrats did n't do with Russia ) . Sadly , this is only the most recent and extreme example of dishonor and disrespect . In the Washington Post , columnist Jonathan Capehart recently outlines what he sees as the top six instances of disrespect toward President Obama . His list includes the example of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani saying , `` I do not believe that the President loves America . '' Also on Capehart 's list are the time a reporter from the conservative Daily Caller website interrupted the President during remarks at the White House about immigration reform in 2012 , and the time South Carolina congressman Joe Wilson , a Republican , heckled the President during his speech to a joint session of Congress about health care reform . ( Wilson shouted `` You lie ! '' in response to remarks by the President that , it should be noted , were in fact quite true ) . And there are plenty more examples of Republican slights against President Obama . Most famously , there was the widespread questioning of Obama 's citizenship and academic credentials that included signs at conservative rallies describing Obama as a `` lyin ' African . '' And there was the Republican women 's group that created an image of `` food stamp dollars '' with Obama 's face on them ( as well as a bucket of KFC and watermelon ) . There was also Republican presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich decrying Obama 's `` Kenyan , anti-colonial behavior . '' Plus there was then-Arizona Gov . Jan Brewer waving her finger at President Obama when she greeted Air Force One on the tarmac . Brewer later alleged she `` felt a little bit threatened '' by the President . Taken as a whole , this list suggests a troubling pattern of profound disrespect for the President . But more than this , it seems to reflect an anti-Obama fever that has gripped the Republican Party -- one that the letter to Iran suggests shows no signs of breaking , and is a sure sign of sickness in the Republican Party . Is the lack of respect being shown toward President Obama about race , as some have suggested ? Yes and no . Certainly , for a segment of the country , it really is about being uncomfortable with a black president . Indeed , even former Secretary of State Colin Powell , a Republican , noted what he described as a `` dark vein '' of intolerance in the party and parts of the country in general . But beyond that hopefully shrinking share of the population that is explicitly racist , there is a far wider issue of implicit racial bias -- an unconscious , yet nonetheless real tendency , to subject President Obama to extra scrutiny because of the color of his skin . None of this is to suggest that all of the criticism aimed at President Obama stems from implicit racial bias . But such bias appears to be a factor in the ease and extremity of disrespect aimed at America 's first black president . And this disrespect mirrors the disrespect shown against black Americans in general . `` Honorable people can disagree over policy , '' Vice President Joe Biden said in a statement Tuesday . Yes , and they should do so honorably . Whatever Republicans ' gripes about President Obama 's vision and leadership , the party and its followers are too often expressing their critiques in an ugly way . And that rampant pattern of disrespect -- for any fellow human being , let alone the president of the United States of America -- is what truly undermines the principles and values of our nation .
On Monday , 47 Republican senators sent an open letter to Iran . The signatories included John McCain and Lindsey Graham who are both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.