Political Service Announcement #4: Russia is Not Our Friend
Trump's Fealty is Un-American
Reed, you’re saying, we know Russia isn’t our friend. Why are you bringing this up, again?
Because it bears repeating.
We must remind our Republican brothers and sisters about why Donald Trump wants to help Russia: For Vladimir Putin, Trump’s re-election is an existential event. The war in Ukraine has lasted far longer than the three days the Kremlin expected, and with Biden out of the way, American support will dry up, NATO will be on shaky ground, and Putin can feel comfortable no one around him will try and knock him off. With Biden in office again, Putin can’t be sure of anything.
To understand the nature of the US-Russia relationship, we need to rewind the tape about 40 years.
If you’re of a certain age (I am) you remember the Cold War. For most Americans, the Soviet Union was our enemy. The fight wasn’t just about how many times we could destroy one another (even in the 1980s the air raid siren still went off every Wednesday at noon) but what vision of humanity would rule the world.
The defiance of Ronald Reagan’s, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” made us proud to be Americans. We were the good guys. The fate of Western, democratic civilization rested on our shoulders, and we were ready for the challenge.
Russia was an easily unlikeable opponent. They were godless hordes for whom repression and totalitarianism, the crushing of the human spirit and will was their way of life. No Coca Cola, no blue jeans, no sitcoms. To be an American in the Cold War (even the end of it like me) was to know where you stood in the world and know that you had righteousness on our side.
“America” meant more than lines on a map. We believed that then, and many of us believe it now.
All these years later, Russia still isn’t our friend. The difference is today, we have a presidential nominee and major political party beholden to doing the Russian Bear’s bidding. There was a time when it would be unthinkable for an American president to grovel before a Russian leader. Not anymore.
Donald Trump, his political allies, and Republican Members of Congress are firmly in Vladimir Putin’s pocket. Again, this isn’t a new revelation, but in the contest for America’s future rests the future of the free world.
Lest we forget, let’s begin at the beginning.
After Trump’s unexpected win in 2016, it was reported that Jared Kushner (R-Riyadh) discussed setting up a secret ‘back-channel’ to the Kremlin. Kushner and convicted-felon Michael Flynn (R-Qanon) met with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak to ask if they could use the phone booth at his embassy so as not to have their conversations picked up by American security services.
Think about that for a minute, folks. The son-in-law and major domo for an incoming president of the United States was up to something so nefarious, he wanted to use Russian secure communications.
Does anyone believe this improves in a second Trump term? No. They’ll just use the phones at the White House as Trump and company will have full control over the NSA, CIA, and any number of other agencies tasked with keeping us safe. Those agencies will be turned inward on Americans, and we should assume some of that would occur at Russia’s behest.
Back in 2020, the Senate Intelligence Committee, then led by Senator Marco Rubio (R-Squidward) concluded that Russia had indeed meddled in the 2016 election and that Trump campaign officials, notably convicted felon Paul Manafort* had shared internal campaign information with a member of the Russian security services.
*It’s been reported that Manafort is making his way back into the Trump campaign. I guess Putin wants to make sure his handler is in place.
The hits kept coming in 2020. In 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) issued a report saying that Russia sought to help Trump defeat Joe Biden by pushing damaging information into the American political ecosystem, though they found no evidence of vote tampering.
In 2024, Putin will redouble his efforts to affect the outcome of our election. These operations sometimes called “active measures” by the intelligence community, will take many forms, appear in myriad places, and will morph, scale, and refocus as necessary.
Let’s head back to Ukraine.
Over the weekend, Michael Watley, the new chair of the Republican National Committee, went on Fox News and listed Ukraine, along with China and Iran as adversaries willing to meddle in American elections.
Who didn’t he mention? That’s right, the old bear, Russia.
As an aside, do you think Watley was ready to carry Putin’s water when he agreed to take the job?
Up on Capitol Hill, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-Don’t Look at My Phone, Son) has single-handedly held up support for several bipartisan legislative initiatives at Donald Trump’s behest. Though it’s been reported that Johnson personally wants to pass a Ukraine funding bill, he’s been unwilling to cross Trump to do it.
Johnson is allowing American foreign policy to be dictated not from the White House, but from the cloistered halls of Red Square and Mar-A-Lago’s tanning booth.
Before we leave the US Capitol, it was reported this weekend, that two senior Republicans, Mike McCaul, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Mike Turner, Chair of the House Intelligence Committee publicly stated:
"We see directly coming from Russia attempts to mask communications that are anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia messages, some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor."
It’s important to note that both McCaul and Turner are conservatives in the old sense of the word. Neither are MAGA, both hold sensitive, high-level chairmanships. In today’s GOP, they’ve committed the ultimate sin of crossing the Leader. It’s a crucial bit of permission for non-Trump Republicans to vote their consciences.
The GOP is hierarchical by nature. There are millions of Republican voters who want nothing more to do with Trump and his chaos. The likes of McCaul and Turner pushing back on Russian interference is a crucial step to keeping those voters on democracy’s side this fall.
Moving away from the political realm, in February, Change Healthcare, a billing unit of giant United Health, was hacked. The attack threw billing systems offline, delayed or cancelled crucial procedures, and surgeries, and left millions paying out of pocket for prescription medications. Doctors are having to wait for payments, put their practices at risk.
Someone ultimately paid a $22 million ransom in bitcoin to the hackers. It’s long been known that Russia harbors such villains; think of them as 21st century privateers. Maybe they’re not on the government payroll, but the Kremlin is happy for them to go out and cause trouble, so long as the pirates pay the vig. We should expect to see more of this as November approaches.
If it is confirmed that Russia is behind this attack, will Donald Trump call on them to stop? No, he’ll encourage it. Trump needs America full of chaos and fear, it’s the only way he can win in November.
Two Sundays ago, 60 Minutes ran an incredible story about the origins of the “Havana Syndrome” a condition that struck dozens of American diplomats, law enforcement agents, high-level national security staff, and intelligence officers. A year-long investigation by The Insider, CBS, Der Spiegel discovered that it is likely that Russian military intelligence (GRU) Unit 29155 conducted the operations that harmed Americans domestically, and overseas.
Do allies attack security personnel on their home turf? At embassies? Do friends incapacitate officers looking into Russian malfeasance? No. But once again, we should expect more of the same from Moscow and no response or word from Donald Trump or his campaign about why this continues.
President Ronald Reagan called the United States, a “shining city on a hill.” As beacon of freedom, liberty, and democracy, America is supposed to be a leader, not a follower, let alone a stooge for foreign governments. That’s what Trump will do, though, if returned to the White House. It is unconscionable, but all to believable, to see that another Donald Trump presidency would put America, her people, and her security interests far behind those of our geopolitical, military, and economic opponents.
Knowing this, why would anyone, especially patriotic Republicans, ever return this man to power?
“Patriotic Republicans” no such thing
I am of a certain age, and I all too well remember the long march of the Cold War. There was a bit of hope when Soviet Union fell apart, but the signs were there that all was not well. When Putin visited the US and even went to President Bush's ranch, things just seemed on a better path, but I kept thinking can any good really come from this.? Why? I remember when Khrushchev visited the US and somewhere he said, "We'll bury you." Still debated what that meant, but it means something like we will live to bury your dead. Or we will outlive you and be the ones to dig your graves and bury your dead. Well, the Soviet Union fell apart, but Russia is still Russia. And every day Putin proves he wants to "bury" us. He is no friend to the US or any democracy. So, if you're not awake to this, WAKE UP Now.