WaPo | It’s safe to say that no president in modern times has had his
legitimacy questioned by the opposition party as much as Barack Obama.
But as his term in office enters its final phase, Republicans are
embarking on an entirely new enterprise: They have decided that as long
as he holds the office of the presidency, it’s no longer necessary to
respect the office itself. Is that a bit hyperbolic? Maybe. But this news is nothing short of stunning:
The only direct precedent I can think of for this occurred in 1968, when as a presidential candidate Richard Nixon secretly communicated
with the government of South Vietnam in an attempt to scuttle peace
negotiations the Johnson administration was engaged in. It worked: those
negotiations failed, and the war dragged on for another seven years.
Many people are convinced that what Nixon did was an act of treason; at
the very least it was a clear violation of the Logan Act, which
prohibits American citizens from communicating with foreign governments
to conduct their own foreign policy.
This move by Republicans is not quite at that level. As Dan Drezner wrote, “I don’t think an open letter from members of the legislative branch quite rises to Logan Act violations,
but if there’s ever a trolling amendment to the Logan Act, this would
qualify,” and at least it’s out in the open. But it makes clear that
they believe that when they disagree with an administration policy, they
can act as though Barack Obama isn’t even the president of the United
States.
