Despite the ongoing censorship in Russia, there are some reports that at least part of the population is pushing back against Putin’s war on Ukraine. The large numbers of Russian casualties must have had a negative effect on those whose loved ones have been killed or injured. However, the good news for Putin is that he won’t have to recruit cannon fodder from prisons or pay mercenaries much longer. He has Trump and Trump’s Congressional sycophants on his side. Putin simply has to bide his time while the U.S. House of Representatives kills measure after measure to provide much needed support to Ukraine at the behest of Putin’s buddy, Donald J. Trump.
And, of course, there is the Valentine’s Day gift Trump recently gave to Putin when he basically gave Putin the green light to try to reconstitute the old Soviet Union by invading former Soviet satellite states because the U.S. will not live up to its obligations under Article 5 of the NATO charter to defend all NATO countries. No doubt, Putin’s Valentine’s Day gift to Trump will be to once again do everything he can to ensure Trump gets elected to office. This is the typical Trump transactional mindset based upon, “What’s in it for me?” Putin will help Trump regain the White House and, in turn, Trump will help Putin rebuild the Soviet Union and neutralize Putin’s concern about NATO.
Many people focus on Trump’s remarks and blame him for being ‘treasonous,’ ‘irresponsible,’ ‘dangerous,’ and many other adjectives. Those might all be true, but the problem is not really Trump! The problem is with all the gutless Republicans who have failed over the years since he was first elected in 2016 to stand up to him. Leading this parade is none other than Mitch McConnell, the current Senate Minority leader. McConnell and the other Republicans who are now up in arms about Trumps’ ongoing erratic and dangerous rhetoric who had the chance to stop this nonsense years ago and failed! Period. Full stop. The fact is, if Trump gets re-elected and wreaks the kind of chaos on America and the world order that seems likely, they will have no one to blame but themselves.
Trump was impeached twice, and the Republicans failed to convict him despite overwhelming evidence. They decided that playing politics was more important than the long-term security of American democracy. Had they been able to muster even a small amount of spine and vote to convict him, we would not be in this pickle right now. Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, and a few others had the courage to speak up and do the right thing. However, Mitch McConnell and the other Republicans failed miserably when it came time to be counted. I would guess that McConnell and a few others, if given a “do over” might vote differently today. Unfortunately, it’s a bit late for that.
The fact is, Trump has not changed. He is still the same egomaniacal, lying, sociopath he has always been. And like a vampire, he has sucked the blood and courage out of the Republican party. They have had multiple chances to drive a stake through his political career and every time they just cower whenever he bares his fangs! History will remember! Excellent job, Mitch, and your merry band of gutless Republicans. You own this!
