Senator Bill Nelson disgraces himself, the United States, and the State of Florida

It's really all the more the pity that the best that the Republican Party could put up against this guy was Katherine Harris.  Thanks, GOP.  Now we can look forward to six more years of this bleeping moron:

Sen. Bill Nelson met Wednesday with Syrian President Basher Assad in defiance of the White House, saying after the meeting that he believes there is a ''crack in the door'' for discussions to continue for Syria to help curb the violence in neighboring Iraq.

Could he have done anything more stupid than meet with a guy who has assassinated democratic reformers and elected representatives in Lebanon, actively supplied terrorists in Iraq and Lebanon while seeking to foment civil war and chaos in both countries, actively dispatched terrorists to Iraq to attack our soldiers?  Does Nelson not recall that the first successful suicide bomb attack on our military was committed by Hezbollah, which openly acts as an arm for both Iran and the Assad regime?  Does Nelson seriously believe that a peaceful, stable, pluralistic and prosperous Iraq is in the strategic interests of the Assad regime?

Negotiating with Assad to stabilize Iraq is like negotiating with foxes to protect your chicken coop.

Nelson is also pretty clueless about the Separation of Powers under our Constitution:

Nelson, speaking from Aman, Jordan, said U.S. State Department officials did not encourage the trip "because their position is that they did not want to have any contact with Assad.''

No sh_t, Sherlock.  And the State Department, in theory, at least, reflects the considered foreign policy views of the duly elected Executive Branch, which has charge of such affairs as one of its core powers under Article II.  But Nelson is not to be deterred:

But Nelson said that in the aftermath of the Iraq Study Group recommending a stepped-up diplomatic effort involving Syria and Iran, "it was obvious that we were going to have contacts.

''Remember what the goal was,'' said Nelson, a member of the Senate foreign relations committee and an incoming member of the Senate intelligence committee. "The goal is to stabilize Iraq. I felt like that was a nonstarter for them to say that I should ignore the [Iraq Study Group] report.''

Nelson rejected suggestions that he was rebuffing the president, saying he had a "constitutional role as a member of Congress. . . . I am on a fact-finding trip throughout the Middle East.''

So, Nelson believes that he can disregard the President's role in setting foreign policy because the ISG report said that we should negotiate with Syria, even though Bush has already gone on the record stating that he would disregard those particular recommendations.

This is nothing short of bleepingly narcissistic grandstanding by a guy whose only expertise prior to becoming Senator was that he was Florida's Insurance Commissioner.

Allahpundit has more.

And let's not forget this:

UPDATE:  Thanks to blogbuddy Ed for the link love! More:  It may be a "cold December night" where Ed lives, but down here I had to turn on the a/c because it was getting so hot and humid!

Comments

[Jonathan]

Yes, a very bad performance. Not only is Nelson harming our national interests, it seems possible that he is harming his own political interests as well. Does he plan to run for president based on such grandstanding performances? He is making himself look like a fool by letting himself be used by Assad. Americans didn't pay much attention to this kind of stupidity in the '80s and '90s, but now they just may.

[james23]

What a colossal dope. And he is being followed to Syria by three others, Kerry, Dodd and Specter. Four very good reasons to abolish the US Senate, which has become a safe house for our dimmest and most defeatest.

[LarryD]

I do wish for a President with the Chutzpah to have these loose cannons arrested for violating the Logan Act, and it their case, usurping Executive Authority (surely a high misdemeanor, at least). Realistically there is no chance that Congress will police itself.

I Also think Zell Miller is right, we need to go back to having Senators selected by their state legislatures.