Today’s political times move fast. Here is a quick refresher on how the changing positions of political arguments endanger our safety.
Keeping Our Nation’s Word keeps us Strong.
Worried about Russia? China? The Middle East? One key to protecting ourselves is for us to stop sending mixed messages.
- Years ago, when I lived on the farm, my husband and I were sorting hogs. My job was to guard the open space as my husband sorted them, but one hog kept running for the opening and at me! The hog would get about so close, and I would “chicken out,” stepping aside. We would have to chase the errant hog back into position.
- Out of patience, my husband yelled, “If you stand steady, that hog will turn around.” So gritting my teeth, I did, resulting in the hog running smack-dab into my leg. The hog turned around. I fell down. My husband yelled again, “Well, you taught him you were weak and would move.”
What’s happening now is just like when I taught the hog that I was weak; we are teaching our enemies that they can depend upon us to move, accommodate, and let them do what they want. This lesson will take a lot of work to correct. Let’s begin with the headlines.
One recent headline, as reported by Katie Bo Lillis, Alex Marquardt, Jim Sciutto, Oren Liebermann, Natasha Bertrand, Melanie Zanona and Kevin Liptak, CNN:
US has new intelligence on Russian nuclear capabilities in space
The White House national security adviser has scheduled a classified meeting with congressional leadership to discuss a “serious national security threat.”
Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), Chair of the House Intelligence Committee and former president of NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly (2014-16), agreed as he asked to go public with the details.
John Parkinson and Adam Carlson, ABC News reported:
Republican warning of ‘national security threat’ is about Russia wanting nukes in space
Note that “wanting” differs from “having” nukes in space. However, even though Russia doesn’t seem to have them (yet) in space, there is still reason to track the threat – both the White House and Mike Turner seem to agree.
Senator James Lankford (R-OK) did his part. He carefully negotiated a solid Border Security-Foreign Aid Bill that passed the Senate 70-29 with a decisive bi-partisan vote. Republicans got essentially everything they wanted on the Border.
So far, so good – everyone on the team worried about National Security and tried to work together toward a common goal.
The Bill headed to the House.
But Ooops! Doubletalk Kicked In and Prevailed.
Former president Donald J. Trump —the “Big Hog Republican,” pushed House Republicans to punt on National Security. Trump directed House Republicans to vote NO on the Border Security Bill, and they conveniently forgot how many times they had declared the Border a crisis. They were scared of the “Big Hog Trump,” just like I was afraid of the hog that charged me. But unlike me, when I finally stood my ground and stopped the hog, Republicans chickened out — no crisis at all.
Republican chickens went lock-step — lemming style, off the cliff to say NO to the crisis, deciding politics is more important just because “Big Hog Trump” told them to do it. Only three said yes, but three plus the Democrats weren’t enough to save the bill. Instead, Republican “chickens,” just like lemmings, deserted their values, choosing raw, ugly politics.
Trump’s next step? He pals up with Putin and against NATO, against US investments in Ukraine, against all of Europe, and declared our Southern Border “open.” Politely said, the Border is not open — just another “truthy” statement, facts twisted.
The result? Trump’s messages continue to threaten our national security. His mixed, contradictory messages endanger us in our homes, small towns, and everywhere — across our country and worldwide. He puts us in danger. He threatens our men and women in uniform.
In rural America, 44% of our sons and daughters serve in the U.S. military. He puts almost half of our kids at risk for continued war when he threatens our security.
NPR fact-checks Trump
Did he say/do these things? YES! Over and over again. These are just samples.
- “You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’” Trump recounted saying. “‘No, I would not protect you (NATO member). I would encourage them (Putin/Russia) to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.“
- “Trump says he told NATO ally to spend more on defense or he would ‘encourage’ Russia to ‘do whatever the hell they want’”
Yes, Trump said these things … over and over and over again.
NATO is the deterrent to WWIII.
NATO is the big reason … “BIGLY” … to borrow Trump’s language, that until Ukraine, NATO members have not been threatened, and war did not cross our doorsteps.
Refresher Course — What’s NATO?
NATO is the key to preventing WWIII. The U.S. and Canada were two of the first 12 countries to found the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. They needed a strategy to prevent a possible WWIII. NATO is the first peacetime military alliance the U.S. entered outside the Western Hemisphere. NATO’s continuing goal is to prevent another worldwide war.
NATO’s success in preventing war for its members centers on the pledge of all member countries: If one member country is attacked, all the member countries are committed to responding. Need a sports analogy to understand? Try this: “All for one and one for all.”
Today, NATO Members‘ commitment includes the U.S., Canada, Iceland, and 27 European countries standing together. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Sweden, and Ukraine have membership aspirations. Sweden will likely be admitted next, and then Ukraine.
But what did Trump say?
Listen to Trump on this video: Jim Sciutto, CNN reports: Trump will pull US out of NATO if he wins election, ex-adviser warns.
Trump opposes fixing the Border challenges, opposes NATO, and opposes aid to Ukraine. He supports Putin and Russia by supporting the opening of Ukraine’s “door” to Europe.
We must assume Trump’s opposition means he stands with our enemies, e.g., Putin and Russia, which NATO was founded to protect us from. Russia is making war on Ukraine with zero provocation. First, Putin took over Crimea in 2014, and the West scolded but did nothing — and Putin absorbed the lesson that there would be no consequences. That was a mistake.
Putin’s next step to satisfy his territory ambitions was to declare that his “new” Ukraine war was to eliminate Nazis, but oops! Nazis do not govern Ukraine. Then the truth creeped out. Now we know that Putin attacked Ukraine because he feared the Western World and wanted to take back the old Soviet Union, which kept its satellites under control by force. These Eastern European countries do not want to be part of Russia; they understand the value of democracy.
Keeping our Nation’s Word Protects Us!
Mixed messages make us weak. What we’re seeing is the “Big Hog Trump” and his scaredy-cat followers sending loud messages that break our nation’s commitment and endanger our national security. Their mixed messages make us look weak.
The Result: Scaredy-Cat Republicans Endanger U.S. Strength.
Read more, Paul Krugman for The New York Times: Trump Is at Odds With NATO, and Reality