Should John Kerry be Thrown in Jail?

First, a little background as to why this question may be legitimate: the text of the Logan Act:

“Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned no more than three years, or both.

“This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply, himself or his agent, to any foreign government or the agents thereof for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.”

Follow the link for more of the historical background of the act. There seem to be no prosecutions under the act, with some historical references. But, in this time of war, I wonder if the act will gain more prominence…here’s why:

1) John Kerry is planning to begin his own “Middle East Tour: 2006” with stops in Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel. The purpose of the trip? According to The Boston Globe, “he will meet with the head(s) of state in all of those countries.” Hmmm…I wonder if he will discuss “any disputes or controversies” those countries have had with the United States recently…

Just look at the way liberals gush over him on his website. A few samples:

“Not surprisingly, those fine folks currently inhabiting the West Wing don't like this latest example of Senator Kerry working hard to carry out the wishes of the American people one little bit.”

“The more that Dems like Senator Kerry can show that the U.S. is NOT George Bush, the more we can show a different, better vision for how America can be in the world, the better it will be for America, and - hopefully - the more likely more Americans will wake up and continue to elect thinking, rational, mature people (usually Democrats) to run the country.”

“This is the sort of leadership I long to see in our country. This is the reason why the rest of the world respects John Kerry. It's one of the many reasons I respect him. I'm glad that we have people like him out there trying to neutralize some of the damage our president has done to our ability to get along with the rest of the world. It's a dangerous trip, and Senator Kerry has my utmost appreciation for undertaking it.”

Ugh. Were these people raised on Kool-Aid or what? (or maybe just this book – via Mary Katharine Ham)

Note that Kerry cites Ronald Reagan’s negotiating with Soviets after referring to them as the “evil empire”…ummm, quick point here: REAGAN WAS THE PRESIDENT. Nice try.

2) Bill Richardson of New Mexico meets with North Korean officials. What is going on here? The news brief plainly states: “Richardson will not be acting as an official representative of the Bush administration at Friday's meeting.” Okay – then it’s a VIOLATION OF THE LAW. Plain and simple! Unintentionally or not, the piece makes it quite clear that Richardson’s main motivation for the meeting is to bolster his chances for a presidential run in 2008. This makes me sick – turning your back on the United States in the hopes of representing it as President? What sense does this make?

Despite claims that he won’t make an official decision until January, there’s reason to believe that he’s running – he said so. Apparently, his two distinct advantages are his “diplomatic skill” and his “Hispanic heritage” – from Fox News:

“‘I am Hispanic, which I believe is an asset,’ Richardson said. ‘But I'm not running as an Hispanic, I am running as an American who is proud to be Hispanic.’”

We’ll see about that when the campaign starts – I’m sure he’ll provide us with plenty of material.

I don’t know what will come of either of these meetings. But, as far as I’m concerned, the results of the meetings really are not the point. What’s more important to recognize is that these two Democratic representatives are undermining the role of the Commander-in-Chief and taking foreign policy into their own hands. Since they are both doing so without consent from the United States, they should be punished accordingly, under the Logan Act.

Isn’t it clear that people like Kerry and Richardson DON’T have the interests of the American people at heart? Political posturing at the potential expense of our national security is an absolute disgrace and should be viewed as such. Let’s hope other Dems don’t follow in their footsteps the second they get a whiff of power…