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Do They Want Him to Be President Forever?
I’m starting to think so. Here’s a few Monday morning examples:
As I write in @PostOpinions, if Trump isn’t a Russian agent, he’s doing a pretty good imitation of one: https://t.co/jNI2krCF4Z https://t.co/EBIUsLpfUD
— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) January 14, 2019
And yet another breathless accounting of how our lives have been shattered by the presidency of Donald J. Trump:
Two years into the Trump administration, @TheAtlantic has published Unthinkable: 50 norm-shattering moments that have defined the past 730 days. Read them all here: https://t.co/xfYtiwWc0P #TrumpUnthinkable
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) January 14, 2019
They do realize this behavior comes off as just a tad overwrought by the average American, right?
Published in Journalism
I have an idea for a movie: Being Max Boot.
No, they don’t realize it. It’s the typical hysteria the proponents of “change” (irony alert!) have been using for at least fifty years. If you can’t beat ’em with ideas, beat ’em with demonization. They do it because it works.
So, what is French suggesting here? That POTUS (now or for the foreseeable future) is not allowed to control either the country’s foreign policy or serve as Commander-in-Chief, instead those are to be determined by the new federal “Office for Determining What Putin Wants?”
When this unelected group gets behind closed doors will they place their hands on the magic orb, walk three times counterclockwise around a stack of books by Dostoevsky, take a shot of Stolichnaya and stick their hands into some bear entrails and then emerge with solemn faces and pronounce, “This is what Comrade Putin wants. We shall do the opposite!”
No, he is suggesting the often heard “Trump is tougher on Russia than Obama“ argument is undermined by his decision to withdraw from Syria. I guess it is easier to construct and knock over a straw man than engage what he actually says
Sure, with this action all the sanctions are removed. The expelled diplomats are returned to the US, the weapon sales to the Ukraine are rescinded and the increased funding and troops in East Europe have all been canceled.
It is possible for Trump to be tougher than Obama and have Russia happy that the US is leaving Syria.
Taking hard stands does not mean that every action you take is hated by Russia.
https://www.gop.com/trump-admins-tough-actions-against-russia-rsr/
There are more effective ways to be hard on Russian than to keep troops on the ground with a poorly defined end game.
He goes beyond that. He makes the pronouncement, “This is what Putin wants.” Leave that off and it’s fine. But he, and others, make the other declaration way too often. Not everything that Putin doesn’t want is ispso facto exactly what we should be doing.
Putin also wants to see people like David French and you sniping from the president’s Right flank. Do why in the hell do you do it?
Obama imposed sanctions, expelled diplomats, and deployed forces to Eastern Europe as well.
Ice fishing. Think about it.
Leave it off and it is simply implicit rather than explicit.
His argument only makes sense if Trump is doing something Russia (Putin) wants.
The argument is not that Obama did nothing, but that Trump did more.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/04/13/trumps-russia-policy-is-better-than-obamas/
No, the argument is Trump’s withdrawal from Syria undermines the claim Trump is tougher on Russia. As American actions in Syria make up part of the argument for how Trump is tougher in the article you cited, such a conclusion seems well supported.
There is no off switch on the virtue signal. You are either 100% woke 100% of the time, or you’re a racist homophobe.
It must be EXHAUSTING to live that way!
@klaatu You’re still not answering why you’re doing Putin’s bidding. Are you a Russian agent?
You would need to substantiate your premise. Why would Putin want Trump sniped at from the right?
Obviously all sniping from the president’s right weakens the government. It helps to create discontent among the people. Helps them elect more Marxists like AOC.
It’s what Putin wants, Neil. (And I really don’t need to substantiate it. All one has to do is declare it.)
Actually, the last thing Putin would want is pressure on the President to be tougher on Russia.
The lengths you will go to avoid engaging French’s argument is astounding.
Look I am not being a Trump fan boy here. I am not even sure that leaving Syria is a good idea. ( I much more prefer Bolton’s comments that we need to prepare to leave but the conditions have to be right)
I am not sure that us leaving Syria is really undermines the case that Trump is tougher on Russia. Increased sanctions to there highest levels since the cold war and large weapons sales to the Ukraine (that if used will be used against Russian Troops) are a very big deal. Trump has been tougher than Obama in these areas.
Balance that against creating some kind of vacuum where Russia has more influence in Syria. What do they gain from this? The presence of US ground forces is not the thing that has kept Russia from getting every thing it wants in Syria. Syria is a mess. It will be a mess with us there or with us gone. We are way nicer to Russia because we left them a civil war to manage?
You’re just not playing the long game here, Neil. That’s why all the Facebook and Twitter posts in 2016. Undermining Americans’ confidence in their own leaders. Why, Neil, you’re practically an unregistered foreign agent. Have you ever been to Prague?
The FP article you cited stated the US posture in Syria put Russia on the defensive and limited their actions. At a minimum, those no longer apply.
Are you going to continue this attempt to divert?
Moderator Note:
This comment is going over the line between attacking the argument and attacking the arguer. Please take it down a peg and keep it civil.So you’re basically saying the Americans and the Russians cannot want the same thing. Which is spectacularly
stupid. But then French and you show that repeatedly.No, that is not what anyone is saying. Not even close.
Granted. That by itself does not undermine the entire case that Trump has been tougher on Russia than Obama. It just means that Trump’s actions relating to Syria are seen more favorably be Russia. It hasn’t happened yet. As of today nothing has changed.
I am not sure that even this shows Obama was stronger against Russia. Obama agreed to the Russian compromise that Russia remove the chemical weapons from Syria. Obama was giving Russia a leadership role in Syria.
Another thing that Trump said but I don’t think has actually done, He claimed we would withdraw from a nuclear treaty with Russia that kept short and medium range nuclear missiles out of Europe. If Trumps speech with out action on leaving Syria proves he is not tougher on Russia then Obama, wouldn’t his speech with out action about putting nukes capable of targeting Russia in Europe, prove that he is tougher?
Though we don’t have actual evidence that Hansen is an agent of a foreign power, I find his refusal to answer the Prague question to be concerning. Why wouldn’t he get out in front of this? Maybe he can’t. Maybe he doesn’t want to. And then there are the constant dog whistles. You know the ones, and you know who he’s whistling to; them. He wants them to think he is one of them. Maybe he is one of them. Maybe he isn’t, but somebody is pulling his strings, otherwise why wouldn’t he behave in a more predictable manner?
Who is it? Who is the real Hansen and what’s his game?
Maybe Trump will have more flexibility after the next election.
I do not think French is saying Obama was now tougher on Russia, simply the argument Trump has been tougher is now weakened.
I don’t believe David French exists. I think David French is a poorly twitter chatbot. If he is a real person, I am fairly sure we could eliminate him with a poorly written twitter chatbot. Save the NR some money.
Now that NR has rehired Kevin Williamson after he attended coding boot camp, I’m sure Kevin could whip up a chatbot for them in an afternoon.
David French is a smart guy, an attorney and a professional writer. That is three reasons why he should know that your word choices do matter.
The case that Trump is tougher is weakened because Syria was for a while but will no longer be in the future an example of this toughness.
That sentence has a different meaning to readers then “the case that Trump has been tougher is substantially undermined.”
A possiblely weaker case in one aspect of our relations with Russia does not substantially weaken the over all interactions.
Obama drew a red line on chemical attacks and then did nothing but agree to a Russian plan. Trump blew up an air force base over Chemical weapons. Obama was not tough on Russia in Syria. Obama gave Russia exactly what it wanted.
Doesn’t undermine mean “to weaken.”
Trump is giving Russia exactly what it wants in Syria by leaving.