Bitter Partisanship Moves Offshore

The old notion that “partisanship stays at the shoreline” has been tossed overboard by some prominent leaders of the Republican Party. Shamefully using the tumult in Iran to openly attack Obama and score political points, conservatives such as Sens. Lindsay Graham and John McCain displayed all too publicly their “me-first” attitude. Taking swipes at Obama’s Iran stance, their capricious attacks had no regard for American credibility or the peril faced by Iranian protesters. Once again, an episode of conservatives voicing baseless opinions for political gain.

Denouncing the Obama administration’s position as too weak, Republicans ratcheted up their criticism on the political talk shows.

Sen. John McCain stated, “I’d like to see the president be stronger…We should lead. And I also think he should point out that this is not just an Iranian issue. This is an American issue.” And again on Tuesday remarked Obama's response "has not been enough."

Sen. Lindsay Graham criticized Obama for being “timid and passive.”

While Sen. Chuck Grassley warned, “A slow or muted U.S. response risks undermining the aspirations of Iranian voters to change or question their government.”

Yet, experts agree that these Republicans are just plain wrong. Former Carter National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski said Obama, "struck absolutely the right note. He's offering moral sympathy. But he's not engaging himself politically. He's not interfering, because that would turn badly.”

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger also concurred, "I think the president has handled this well. And I think it's the proper position to take that the people of Iran have to make that decision."

Some prominent conservatives however did voice outrage at the McCain-Graham gang. Reaganite and columnist Peggy Noonan said it best when blasting Obama’s critics, “This was Aggressive Political Solipsism at work: Always exploit events to show you love freedom more than the other guy, always make someone else's delicate drama your excuse for a thumping curtain speech.”

Obama even fired back from the heat he has received by affirming, "I'm the president of the United States. And I've got responsibilities in making certain that we are continually advancing our national security interests and that we are not used as a tool to be exploited by other countries."

But this group of Republicans has a pattern of being so wrong on so many issues. Cheerleading the invasion of Iraq, supporting Guantanamo, pushing for torture techniques—while experts conclude that these policies actually harmed our troops.

They also oppose health care legislation that Americans demand. Graham the past weekend affirmed, "The reason you're not going to have a government run health care pass the Senate is because it would be devastating for this country." Despite the fact that new polling finds 72 percent of Americans want a government role in health care.

And lets not forget the McCain-Graham opposition to the Obama stimulus plan. Forgetting that conservative policies prompted the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, McCain characterized the Obama stimulus as “generational theft...fundamentally bad for America.” with McCain's only solution of more tax cuts for the rich! While prominent economists—including McCain's own former adviser—agreed that government spending was necessary for economic recovery.

Worshipers of failed Bush-era policies no longer deserve such a broad media platform. This is not to say that we all must follow Obama in lock step—of course not—but caution, sensitivity and calculation must be exercised, particularly with foreign policy. The recent attacks by these Republicans were nothing less than selfish, reckless, self-aggrandizement without regard for Iranian protesters, American credibility or basic facts. Surely these desperate antics will find a microphone again in the future; my hope is that few ears will be listening on and off the American shoreline.

Views expressed on this page are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Campaign for America's Future or Institute for America's Future