WSJ | As a liberal Democrat who twice campaigned for President
Barack Obama
,
I am appalled that some Democratic members of Congress are
planning to boycott the speech of Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
on March 3 to a joint session of Congress. At bottom, this
controversy is not mainly about protocol and politics—it is about the
constitutional system of checks and balances and the separation of
powers.
Under the Constitution, the executive and legislative
branches share responsibility for making and implementing important
foreign-policy decisions. Congress has a critical role to play in
scrutinizing the decisions of the president when these decisions involve
national security, relationships with allies and the threat of nuclear
proliferation.
Congress has every right to invite, even over the
president’s strong objection, any world leader or international expert
who can assist its members in formulating appropriate responses to the
current deal being considered with Iran regarding its nuclear-weapons
program. Indeed, it is the responsibility of every member of Congress to
listen to Prime Minister Netanyahu, who probably knows more about this
issue than any world leader, because it threatens the very existence of
the nation state of the Jewish people.
Congress has the right to
disagree with the prime minister, but the idea that some members of
Congress will not give him the courtesy of listening violates protocol
and basic decency to a far greater extent than anything Mr. Netanyahu is
accused of doing for having accepted an invitation from Congress.
