Putin & Lavrov Aren’t Afraid of Biden, so Why Are Republicans?
“We are ready to talk, we have no taboo topics,” Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov before the much hyped Biden-Putin “summit” that took place on June 16, 2021. Meanwhile, back in America, Republicans aren’t fooling anyone when they pretend to take a stand against Biden.
The Biden-Putin meeting was trending all day, despite nothing really happening. It was a slow news day. But everybody should be happy with that, because the last thing the world needs is further U.S. escalation against Russia.
Perhaps the Russian leadership’s approach contributed to that rather muted outcome.
When the U.S. arrogantly threatened in advance to make “human rights” a focus of the encounter, Putin probably reacted with his trademark smirk.
Lavrov shot back in the media by standing up for the January 6 Capitol protesters, something virtually no Republican of influence would dare think to do.
“We will be ready to answer the questions that the American side will raise. This also applies to human rights,” Lavrov said, continuing, “For example, we are following with interest the persecution of those persons who are accused of the riots on January 6 this year.”
Take a moment to realize that even President Donald J. Trump himself never talked like that about his die-hard supporters who traveled to Washington, D.C. on January 6 only to pay for it in solitary confinement and other political persecutions.
Perhaps with the Revolver.news story breaking and Tucker Carlson’s coverage, Trump changes his tune and amps up his rhetoric when he goes back on tour this summer. Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz is already stepping up, demanding more from the FBI over this.
As politically incorrect or even unwise as it may seem, it’s time the American right demanded more respect for Russia, particularly Putin and Lavrov, from their elected Republican leaders. There’s no value in trying to prove how “tough on Russia” you are, when the Democrats will charge you with treason anyway.
It’s funny how things turned out, some 30 years since the end of the Cold War. Hell, even 10 or 15 years ago the writing was on the wall.
It almost felt like I was living in an episode of the Twilight Zone when I saw Russia Today interviewing the staunch anti-communist Patrick J. Buchanan in his own home in 2011. Except the content of the programming was more real than anything on American television.
“America risks the same thing that happened to the Soviet Union in 1991, where it scattered and flew apart into 15 nations based primarily on what? Ethnicity,” Buchanan told RT.
It’s a weird timeline we live in, when Russia’s president can rightfully scoff at America’s chaotic social movements such as Black Lives Matter. And of course Putin will use these deep cracks in American society to his country’s advantage.
Why shouldn’t he? Many Republicans stupidly voted for sanctions against Russia during the Trump era and have worsened the unnecessary hostility, which in many ways is worse than it was during the Cold War.
Republicans need to stand up for their constituents and actually defend them, which will require true courage in the face of the Democrats. Not the fake courage against Russia that anyone can see through.
Please run for office. Your columns are good, and I want you to remain an ideas man. But for heaven's sake, run and say what needs to be said.
The political Right in this country is like a wet paper towel: transparent, fragile, and useless. There was never any reason to be hostile to Russia - the Democrats just threw a dart at the board looking for a country to turn into a boogeyman to tie to Trump. And why can't the GOP defend the Americans illegally incarcerated because of 1/6? Why is it so damned hard for the GOP to do the right thing, and have some courage?? It is enraging beyond comprehension.