Thursday, March 12, 2015

47 "Traitors"

A letter sent by 47 senators is a purely partisan, extreme, and unprecedented act, meant to embarrass the president and drive a hard-right foreign policy agenda.
Dear MoveOn member,

What's the word for American citizens who undermine the diplomatic efforts of the American president by communicating directly with a foreign government?

"Traitors," according to the New York Daily News—referring to the 47 Republican senators who signed a letter to the Iranian government with the goal of derailing sensitive and potentially historic nuclear negotiations.1

Our team is working around the clock organizing a response to this purely partisan, extreme, and unprecedented act. We're in the final stages of producing a hard-hitting television ad that calls Republicans out. Now, we need to decide how big we can go. 

Please click here—right now—and make the most generous contribution you can to help us hold these 47 Republicans accountable, and make sure no Democrat joins them in undermining the president and risking a war.

The Republicans have tried every desperate measure to foil these talks. 

They invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an avowed opponent of diplomacy with Iran, to address Congress—breaking American diplomatic protocol by not informing the White House or State Department of the invitation until it was already arranged.2 

After Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech, they attempted to rush through legislation that would have taken diplomacy out of the hands of the president and sabotaged diplomatic talks.3

And now this: a letter signed by 47 Republican senators, including several presidential hopefuls. It's a disrespectful, dangerous, and reckless display meant to embarrass the president in front of the whole world and drive a hard-right foreign policy agenda.

Since Republicans invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to come to Washington and undermine President Obama, we've raised over $250,000 to fight back, hold Republicans accountable, and make sure not a single Democrat joins them in blowing up the president's diplomatic efforts and putting us on a path to war.

Will you help us reach $350,000 so we can send the strongest possible message that
 President Obama—not Speaker John Boehner, Senator Mitch McConnell, Prime Minister Netanyahu, or anyone else—is in charge of U.S. diplomacy?

Yes, I'll make an emergency contribution to help get the president's back, hold Republicans accountable, and prevent another catastrophic war in the Middle East.

If you're on Twitter, you've probably seen the hashtag #47Traitors used to describe this outrageous situation. We hear the anger many Americans are voicing. This makes us want to shout in disgust as well. We have to make sure these 47 Republicans don't win. If they do, the cost could be war.

But it's just as important to channel our energy at this moment into something productive: preserving the historic negotiations and creating the opportunity for peace with Iran.

The Republicans have overstepped, and the American people know it. Our ad will push back against this extreme behavior, remind conservative Democrats that they have a responsibility to back the president, and create the room for diplomacy to have a shot.

Will you help us push back—in the strongest possible terms—against these shameless efforts to blow up American diplomacy?

Jo, Robert, Erica, Ilya and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "NY Daily News Blasts GOP Senators Over Iran Letter, Calling Them 'Traitors,'" The Huffington Post, March 10, 2015 
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=303422&id=109704-10220574-yrGtJgx&t=1

2. "White House: Boehner Invite to Netanyahu Breach of Protocol," The New York Times, January 21, 2015 
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=303423&id=109704-10220574-yrGtJgx&t=2

3. "Democrats upset McConnell wants to fast-track Iran bill," CNN, March 4, 2015 

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This email was sent to eddie alfaro on March 12, 2015. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

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