Mr. Write's Page

Over the last few decades, as American politics has devolved from guarded civility into madness, one of the casualties has been the demise of our long-standing agreement that “politics stops at the water’s edge.”

That phrase was coined in 1948 by Sen. Arthur Vandenberg (R-MI), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In the critical years after World War II, Vandenberg believed that the country was best served if President Truman‘s foreign policy had bipartisan support.

Vandenberg was correct that a united front is best for the country. Further, he was smart enough to urge the U.S. to negotiate a western alliance apart from the United Nations, where the USSR could veto things. That alliance turned out to be NATO.

Vandenberg’s analogy of the water’s edge declares that Americans are family. Within the family, we can squabble all we want, but when dealing with other countries, we should close ranks and present a united front. Sort of like a Mafia family. And I mean that in a good way.

Technically, it’s already a felony for a citizen to get involved with a foreign country without permission. The Logan Act, enacted way back in 1799, says this:

Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

So, the Logan Act prevents you and me from causing trouble. Vandenberg’s concept amounts to etiquette among politicians and political parties in which, for the common good, they agree not to interfere.

I always admired and supported this concept. It was a simple notion, voluntary in nature, enforced only by personal honor and integrity. It reminded us of our common bond, in spite of our differences and disagreements.

Unfortunately, the notion is non–binding. And, over time, as the conservatives have grown more wild-eyed and psychotic, it has been tossed aside.

In 2009, while on a junket to China, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) told the Chinese that the budget numbers released by the Obama Administration “should not be believed.” Yes, he really did.

In 2015, while Barrack Obama was in talks with Iran about limiting the Iranian nuclear program, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) wrote an open letter to Iran. He warned that the Republican Party opposed the talks, and in the future, just might throw out any agreement reached. Cotton and 46 other Republican senators signed the letter. Yes, they really did.

Being a mere journalism major, I struggle to understand why all 47 of them were not charged with a felony under the Logan Act.

But I digress. For years, most politicians honored the water’s edge concept. In 2012, for example, Obama was in South Korea, and he got caught telling Russia he expected to have more “flexibility” after the election.

His opponent Mitt Romney fired back. “For this president to be looking for greater flexibility, where he doesn’t have to answer to the American people in his relations with Russia, is very, very troubling, very alarming,” Romney said.

To everyone’s surprise, House Speaker John Boehner came to Obama’s defense. “While the president is overseas,” he said, “I think it’s appropriate that people not be critical of him or our country.“ It was one of the few times I agreed with Boehner on anything.

Anyway, the idea that politics should stop at the water’s edge — a sensible, useful, honorable concept — is no more. It was tossed aside by the conservatives, of course. And look at the state of the country today.

– Our disgrace of a President is a garden-variety conman with no integrity and even less competence. He also is an outright traitor, openly on Putin’s side and solidly under Putin’s control.

– The Trump Administration is so corrupt, I can smell the stench from my house.

– Republican politicians regularly spread false information planted by Russian Intelligence.

– Moscow Mitch has bottled up over 400 bills passed by the House, including eight designed to protect American elections from foreign interference.

– Fox “News” continues leading the conservative herd by the nose, filtering what they know, controlling what they think, and relieving them of their money.

Conservative politics in our time is almost too over-the-top, too insane to be believed. The right is simply toxic — unashamedly malevolent, aggressive, and mean.

Arthur Vandenberg was a Republican with class. This bunch today is about as classy as Tolkien’s orcs.