Anything less than securing the agreement of Russia to withdraw from all Ukrainian territory under the control of the Ukrainian government when the nation was recognized by the United Nations and the United States would be a betrayal of Ukraine, and of our own values and principles as Americans. Trump's peace proposal, which shows incredible ignorance of who we are as a nation, as well as of Ukraine's long history and struggle for independence, is an embarassment to the United States. What President of the United States has ever been as ignorant of our own history and our own values as this deadbeat has been?
Is history so difficult for some Americans that they can't remember what happened even from a few years ago? Trump counts on Americans being ignorant of history, and bored with the details, so he can say whatever he wants to say and be believed. I believe that it was Adolf Hitler, in Mein Kampf, who stated that the "masses" are ignorant and they have short memories. Do we need to be reminded that it was Russia that began this aggression against Ukraine, first by seizing the Kerch Peninsula and the Crimea, and then by invading, bombing, launching drones and then heading out to conquer and hold the Donbas, an area that has been part of Ukraine, even during its days as a province of the Soviet Union, and under the Czars.
What should be acceptable to the United States, as conditions of peace in Ukraine, is pretty simple. The nation's sovereignty should be respected, and its territory restored. The Donbas, the Crimea, and any other area occupied by Russia needs to go back to Ukrainian sovereignty. Russia owes Ukraine whatever amount of money is required to repair its infrastructure damage, and the damage to residences and businesses bombed by planes or drones, and a reasonable reparations for military losses.
We cannot betray the sovereignty and rights of the Ukrainian people. That includes allowing them to decide whether they want to join NATO and if they do, then the United States leads the way in welcoming them in. The Europeans are outraged, rightly so, over Trump's proposal, and they correctly see that as a betrayal of them as well as Ukraine. I doubt the Europeans ever thought that Americans would elect a President who is as blatantly and willfully ignorant of history and his own country's Constitution as this one is.
Jealous of Obama, Trump is Still Gaslighting in an Attempt to Win the Nobel Peace Prize
There are too many places where the Trump administration, during all of the time he has been in office, has fallen short of the achievements of the Obama Administration to even begin a discussion on that subject. It is clear that Trump is seething because President Obama is revered and respected, and we are up to a full 61% of the American people who completely and totally disapprove of the job he is doing, while some of the best, most lauded polls are showing his job approval rating hovering around 36%. Those are both records, since the polls have been keeping track of it. He's the worst in history, but we already knew that.
Maybe he thinks that Russia holds the cards and Ukraine should be lucky to come out with some of its independence and autonomy as a nation, if not all of what they have earned. Well, I doubt that the Nobel committee would see selling out a fellow democracy that modelled its constitution after the United States as worthy of a prize. Frankly, I think they'd call it a betrayal, at best, and capitulation at worst.
Trump's insistence that Ukraine's leaders have not acknowledged their gratefulness for the help they have been given by the United States is one of the single most ridiculous, ignorant, and impeachable statements that have come out of his mouth since he first became President in 2016, and given the garbage he has spewed during that time, that's saying a lot. I don't think any President of the United States has sunk to the level of dishonesty, outright lying, deceit and lack of integrity that this man has shown in such a short time.
And the contempt he has for his own supporters, who buy this crap, is obvious. He thinks that they are so stupid that he can just say that something is true, and presto! They believe it.
And they are. Stupid.
But We Wait For Fellow Americans to Wake Up
I have only seen two members of Congress, well, three now, all Republicans, who have been willing to put their political career on the line to oppose this demagogue. One is Liz Cheney. Disagree with her politics, but she made the sacrifice that no Democrat has yet been willing to make. Two is Adam Kinzinger. He has shifted his conservative politics, to a point where he's the kind of Republican who was willing to work across the aisle and understood how constitutional democracy works. They made their mark and it was valuable in pointing out the reality of what we are dealing with in the case of the sitting President.
It remains to be seen whether Marjorie Taylor Greene will follow through with her threat to resign from Congress. I'd never support her with a vote, or even an acknowledgement of agreement with her politics, but she is taking a huge risk, maybe for her own personal ambition, to catch the falling crown, but the attention she has focused on the corrupt demagogue in the White House and how evil he is has been part of what has contributed to his fall in the polls.
It shouldn't be a risk for Democrats to step up and start pulling the bricks out of the facade. Representative Al Green, of Texas, who was once my Congressman, has filed articles of impeachment, and so has Shri Thanedar of Michigan. It's time for those in Trump's opposition, regardless of party affiliation, support those efforts by constantly calling, badgering, lobbying and putting political pressure on house members to support the articles. These marches and rallies need to lead somewhere, for the purpose of educating and motivating like minded people, and then putting pressure on Republicans to open their eyes, wake up and toss him out.
Just a couple of Republican votes could get Johnson out of the Speaker's chair, replaced with Jeffries, and then, impeach and remove both Trump and Vance. I know most of my friends think this is an impossible dream, but I'm thinking about it as those words from the song in Man of La Mancha run through my head.
I'll let that thought carry me for a while.
No comments:
Post a Comment