Republicans, the Real Chickens of Kiev A bad day for

New Post Public Reply Private Reply Replies (0) Message Board

Nov 17, 2019 at 11:50 AM 159

Quote:

Republicans, the Real Chickens of Kiev

A bad day for the president, from Roger Stone’s criminal conviction to Marie Yovanovitch’s moral conviction.

By Maureen Dowd
Opinion Columnist

Nov. 16, 2019

WASHINGTON — When he was running in 2016, Donald Trump told me that he reminded himself of another presidential candidate — someone, Trump said, who was also tremendously good-looking, a former entertainer and a Democrat-turned-Republican.

The vainglorious Trump felt he was the second coming of Ronald Reagan.

It is true that, like Reagan, Trump has reshaped his party in his own image, fully inhabiting it. But Reagan’s great mission was to thwart the Evil Empire, taunting that he would put a Star Wars shield in the sky. He wanted democratic ideals to supersede authoritarian rule in the Soviet Union.

Trump’s more sinister and incomprehensible aim is to help the Russians whenever he can.

While Reagan’s legacy will be helping to tear down communism and that wall, Trump’s legacy will be turning Republican lawmakers into dupes assisting Russia as it undermines our democracy — and democracy around the world.

Privately, many Republicans say that they do not buy into all of Trump’s deeply disturbing, topsy-turvy policies toward authoritarian regimes. Trump began echoing the Kremlin talking points during his campaign, saying about Vladimir Putin’s Crimea annexation: “The people of Crimea, from what I’ve heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were.”

But G.O.P. pols go along publicly because they are recreants, slavishly trying to hold onto voters who are more intensely aligned with Trump than old-style Republicans.

Republicans may be winning the impeachment battle on Fox News but they are getting clobbered by the classy diplomats demonstrating true patriotism in the hearing room.

Republican members of the Intelligence Committee risibly struggle to back up Trump on his demented conspiracy theory — belied by the consensus of the entire U.S. intelligence community — that it was Ukraine that meddled in the 2016 election to help Hillary, rather than Putin who meddled to help Trump.

Nancy Pelosi never spoke truer words than when she chided Trump, “With you, all roads lead to Putin.”

Reagan would be stunned to find Republican members of the House at war with the F.B.I. and the C.I.A. — all to bolster Trump’s tender ego. Their preference seems to be to allow Russian meddling again if that’s what’s necessary for Trump to prevail a year from now.

Despite Republican efforts to throw up a smokescreen, despite their complaints that they are being muzzled even as they pose questions, it is clear that the president was putting his own political interests — looking for dirt on Hillary and the Bidens — above national security and using shady henchmen to do it.

It’s laughable that Donald Trump was concerned about corruption in Ukraine. Rather, the most corrupt president ever was determined to export his own corruption to Ukraine.

The longtime civil servants made clear that history in Ukraine is still being written, that soldiers are dying in the “hot war” between Russian and Ukraine and that subjugating U.S. policy to Trump’s petty, paranoid actions may yet deprive us of a valuable ally.

Alluding to Rudy Giuliani and his indicted cronies, former Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch said: “Ukrainians who preferred to play by the old corrupt rules sought to remove me. What continues to amaze me is that they found Americans willing to partner with them and working together, they apparently succeeded in orchestrating the removal of a U.S. ambassador. How could our system fail like this? How is it that foreign, corrupt interests could manipulate our government?”

Because Republicans are now dupes to dictators and sleazy foreign businessmen.

Republicans tried to minimize the former ambassador’s ordeal at the hands of her bosses, suggesting it was a matter for H.R. and noting that she now has a sweet gig at Georgetown University. Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley sarcastically riposted that Yovanovitch getting ousted at the pinnacle of her career no doubt felt “like a Hallmark movie.”

Trump told Ukrainian President Zelensky that “the woman was bad news” and added ominously that “she’s going to go through some things.” In another call, Trump introduced his favorite subjects — beauty pageants and Eastern European beauties — telling Zelensky: “When I owned Miss Universe, they always had great people. Ukraine was always very well represented.”

In an aria of oblivious self-destruction, the president further intimidated Yovanovitch just at the very moment that she was testifying about how she had felt intimidated by the president.

“Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad,” he tweeted, seemingly blaming her for Black Hawk Down. “She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him.”

In testimony Friday afternoon, another State Department aide said that he too overheard Trump on a call with Gordon Sondland, the American ambassador to the European Union, pressing for investigations and that Trump was reassured by his man in Kiev that Zelensky “loves your ass” and would do what it takes. Oh, high-level diplomacy.

Democrats know Moscow Mitch will squelch them in the end but hope they’ll get through to enough independents and suburban Republicans to deny Trump a second term.

No matter how many decent Americans come forward to expose his sordid behavior, will Trump be hauled out of the White House kicking and screaming while a celebratory Baby Trump balloon flies overhead?

The answer to that: Nyet.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/16/opinion/su...e=Homepage

Newer

Older

Scroll down for more posts ▼

Top 10 Most Recent News Articles

Life Flower Celebrates 16 Years with Dog Adoption Event

A Celebration with Heart Ah, the classic mix of business and community goodwill—that's what Life Flower Dispensary is all about this year. You know, not every business that hits the 16-year mark decides to make it about something bigger than just slashing prices or hyping themselves up. But Life Flower? They're using their anniversary to throw a shindig that's more than...

Innventure Faces Major Lawsuit Amidst Market Turmoil

The Plot Thickens with Innventure's DarkNX Project Buckle up, fellow market sling-riders; the Innventure tale is a rocky one for the books. Imagine this: You’ve plunked down your hard-earned cash on Innventure Inc. (NASDAQ: INV), lured by their glowing pronouncements about a supposed golden egg project, the Accelsius DarkNX data-center deal. A big talk about...

BrightPlan's AI-Powered Growth: Series C Fuel

Series C Funding Ignites BrightPlan's Ambitions Ever seen a company that's ready to roll with the punches and come out stronger? That's BrightPlan for you. They're pushing the boundaries again, bagging new capital in this Series C round, steered by the seasoned folks over at ABS Capital Partners. Now, here's the thing: We're talking about a 230% revenue surge over just...

Verdafero Gains Ground in Sustainable Hospitality

Verdafero's Latest Milestone: A Broader Environmental Reach It’s a day like today that makes you pause and realize that businesses in the hospitality space aren’t just about fluff and fancy lobbies anymore. They've got a new wave of responsibilities, especially with the globe pretty much on fire, literally and figuratively. Verdafero, a name not new to function and...

Tiger Group to Auction Huge Window Manufacturing Plant

Glass & Vinyl Ambitions: A New Chapter Who would have guessed? The seasoned window maker Showcase Window and Door Company is putting its prime manufacturing facility up for grabs. The online auction, orchestrated by Tiger Group, kicks off September 10, and it's sure to stir up some excitement in the industry. With picking up operations now within reach, it feels like...

Spot the Signs: Early Gum Disease Insights from Experts

Why Early Detection of Gum Disease Matters Let's dive right into the crux of things. Gum disease, that sneaky antagonist of oral health, starts unassumingly. You brush, you floss, but those gums might still bleed—ever noticed? Dr. Marian Burgard of Fairport Family Dental has a thing or two to say about this, enlightening us through an insightful piece by HelloNation....

VitalCore Pioneers Jail Behavioral Health Expansion

The Big Move in Correctional Healthcare VitalCore Health Strategies has made an impressive move with the opening of a 60-bed Behavioral Health Unit at Shawnee County Jail in Topeka, Kansas. The unit, part of a $21 million expansion completed on August 24, is set to change the landscape for inmates needing mental health and substance use treatment. This isn't just a slap...

Jollibee and DreamWorks Unite for Cultural Celebration

Jollibee Partners with DreamWorks Animation Never thought I’d see the day: Jollibee, that familiar face of fast food, teaming up with the creative juggernaut DreamWorks Animation. They’re calling it a celebration of friendship and Filipino culture, wrapped up neatly in the context of a flick called Forgotten Island. Set to sizzle in theaters on September 25, 2026,...

India's First Upright Proton Therapy System Unveiled

A Leap Forward in Cancer Care: Proton Therapy Revolution Dang, just when you think you've heard it all in cancer treatment, Fortis Healthcare drops a bombshell: India’s first upright proton therapy system. Boom! This isn't your run-of-the-mill radiation treatment we're talking about here. This is the futuristic flair of the MEVION S250-FIT™, featuring upright...

Goodwill's ReThink Fashion: Textiles to Runway Art

Transforming Old to New on the Runway Right when you think fashion's all about the next shiny thing, here comes Goodwill of Delaware & Delaware County flipping the script. Their ReThink Fashion Show - the ECO Edit teaches us a thing or two about what giving old clothes a new life truly means. It's not just about tossing a used tee onto a catwalk but a whole rebirth...