John Burris: The ‘Surprising’ Tom Cotton Is Not Really Surprising

United States Senator Tom Cotton last week wrote a letter to the Iranian Ayatollah, stating that the President’s on-going nuclear negotiations with the terrorist state are ill conceived and non-binding. It was an open letter (making it more of a press release) and has been tweeted, as far as tweets will reach. The Ayatollah even tweeted back, and Tom Cotton is still trending nationally on Facebook.

It is all very unique. The method, that is. Nothing else. And for anyone who knows Tom, you’re probably not surprised at being surprised by him.

Harry Reid was greatly offended by his method. From the Senate floor, he chastised Tom as too young and disrespectful of our country’s efforts, while Senator Cotton presided over the session. It had to be surreal. That’s because in 2007, Reid declared “lost” a war in which Tom Cotton was still volunteering to fight. He called our President’s strategies a failure. Now, he’s appalled at a letter he says undermines the Commander and Chief (in negotiations, not even in war).

Also in 2007, even Reid was out-liberaled by Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the House. She jetted off to Syria to meet with Bashar Al Assad. President Bush asked her not to. Pelosi declared the dictator willing to engage and play by the rules. She misstated Israel’s position and directly contradicted the Administration’s policies. Since then, Assad has gassed and murdered thousands of men, women, and children.

Letters would have been less harmful.

Senator Edward Kennedy conspired with the Soviets to undermine Reagan foreign policy. Another Democratic House Speaker, Jim Wright, did the same thing with Nicaragua. Both did so covertly.

So the only thing unique about the Cotton letter was simply the boldness with which it was written and delivered. His courage is certainly something Reid and Pelosi know nothing about.

The boldness is surprising to some who aren’t used to boldness. I probably would not have written the letter; you probably wouldn’t have either. But Tom typically does what others won’t, including speaking the truth in difficult situations. And he’s written letters before.

I’ve known him since he was stationed at Arlington National Cemetery, as a member of the “Old Guard.” I have worked on both of his campaigns and still serve as his Political Director.

I’ve joked often that the political job is an easy one to have, because political considerations are never a factor in any decision he makes. So it’s a job that requires very little, which he likes to say is perfect for my skill set.

In a D.C. world where politics is everything, it is nothing to Tom. He approaches everything with the stubborn intelligence of a Harvard lawyer and the integrity of an Army Ranger. The country has a President who sees only gray. Arkansas has a Senator who often declares clarity the most important thing of all.

The President has said his deal will allow Iran to keep its nuclear capabilities and that he would not send the agreement to the Senate for consent. He wants an Iranian deal of any kind. Tom Cotton wants only a good one, and he’s willing to take action to stop a bad one.

Liberals are offended that a letter could possibly weaken the likelihood of an Obama deal. I suspect that was the only thing Tom wanted to do. That’s not treasonous. It’s his job, at least when he believes that the President’s negotiations endanger innocent lives and circumvent the Constitution.

When agreement is the only goal, bad outcomes are inevitable. To quote Margaret Thatcher, “What great cause would have been fought and won under the banner: ‘I stand for consensus?’”

Our President stands for consensus. Our Senator stands for something more. He’s spent his life defending the principles that he sees quite clearly. The letter was offensive mostly to those who disagree with his principles, so they called it unprecedented and ignored history.

The method Tom chose is probably surprising to many, but it drew attention to the issue that he wanted to draw attention to. He calls that mission success.

A person once wrote that he would rather do business with a dishonest man, instead of an honest one. That’s because “you can always know that a dishonest man will always act in regard to his own interest. An honest man you can’t predict.”

Most Senators are predictable. Tom Cotton isn’t. This won’t be the last time he does something surprising.

And the country will be better off for it.