Putin's "partner" in crime.

March 31, 2022

[Audio version here]

          To the surprise of no one, Putin’s offer to suspend attacks on Kyiv turned out to be a smokescreen to allow Russian troops to “reposition themselves” for a major attack on other regions in Ukraine. Worse, on Wednesday, Russia resumed shelling in areas where it promised to “scale back” hostilities. So much for Putin’s assurances. The peace talks in Istanbul continued, although the parties appear to face irreconcilable differences. Ukraine says that it will not discuss territorial concessions until Russia withdraws its troops to the positions they held before February 24th. Expect a long slog in peace negotiations. In the meantime, Putin continues to murder innocent civilians by inflicting acts of mass terrorism on a civilian population.

          Several readers asked me to comment on an op-ed by Thomas L. Friedman that addresses the intersection between the war in Ukraine, the West’s dependence on Russian oil, and the climate crisis. See Thomas L. Friedman in NYTimes, How to Defeat Putin and Save the Planet. Friedman’s essay is brilliant. He begins with the self-evident proposition that many of the world’s dictators hang onto power because of the vast wealth bestowed on their countries by oil:

This is our umpteenth confrontation with a petro-dictator whose viciousness and recklessness are possible only because of the oil wealth he extracts from the ground.

          Friedman then highlights the connection between petro-dictators, foreign policy, and the climate crisis:

          Nothing has distorted our foreign policy, our commitments to human rights, our national security and, most of all, our environment than our oil addiction.

          The solution is obvious: The West must end its dependence on oil by switching to clean, renewable energy sources. If we had made that transition twenty years ago, the power of Putin and Russia would have been significantly diminished. They would be unable to threaten the West with energy shortages and force the West to pay for wars of aggression against Russia’s neighbors. Friedman then notes the catastrophic warming occurring in both the Arctic and Antarctica. Freidman writes:

 Have you checked the weather report for the North and South Poles lately? Simultaneous extreme heat waves gripped part of Antarctica this month, driving temperatures there to 70 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the average for this time of year, and areas of the Arctic, making them more than 50 degrees warmer than average. . . . Those are not typos. Those are crazy super-extremes.

          To be sure, the weather is not the climate, but the record-breaking heatwaves at both poles are part of a long-term, global trend. Freidman then brings his criticism home:

I have been disappointed to see President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken doubling down on our oil addiction, rather than tripling down on renewables and efficiency. Apparently spooked by bogus Republican claims that Biden’s energy policies are responsible for higher gasoline prices, his team has gone begging to some of the biggest petro-dictatorships in the world.

          Freidman is right on all counts. If our knee-jerk reaction to every oil crisis is to produce and purchase more oil, we will never break our addiction. The fact that Putin can threaten the West with shortages of gas (as he did earlier this month) demonstrates that we must move away from oil dependence and towards clean energy with urgency. Our reliance on oil is causing both a climate crisis and a national security weakness. If we don’t learn that lesson in the face of Putin’s extortionist threats, when will we learn?

Russian television calls for regime change in U.S. and says it is time to “again” help our “partner” Trump to become president.

          Earlier this week, Trump asked Putin to help him dig up dirt on Hunter Biden (never mind that Putin is busy slaughtering Ukrainian women and children). Yesterday, a commentator on Russian television said that it was time for Russia to “again” help its “partner” Donald Trump to become president. Here is the text of the source tweet (with a video clip of the Russian news program) from Julia Davis at The Daily Beast:

Host Evgeny Popov says it’s time for the Russian people to call on Americans to change “the regime in the U.S.” before its term expires “and to again help our partner Trump to become President.”

          Julia Davis also notes that the anchor attempted to clean up his statement by saying, “Like I hope we helped him in the past.”

          Before discussing the above story, let me note that many of my “go to” sources are not running the story—which causes me to wonder, “Why not?” Is it disinformation? Is it a hoax? I don’t know, and I don’t speak Russian and can’t vouch for what the news anchor allegedly said. But dozens of second-tier outlets are repeating the story, as reported by the Daily Beast reporter.

          If the report is accurate, the operative words in the statement are “to again help” and “our partner Trump” and “to become president.” That statement admits that Russia helped its “partner” Trump become president in 2016. While it is undoubtedly true that Putin approved the language in the broadcast, he can still distance himself from the choice of words by news anchor Popov. We should also recognize that the call for “regime change” seems to be a tit-for-tat response to Biden’s comment that “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”

          So, while the comments by Popov may be disinformation, my personal belief is that Putin is taunting Joe Biden by admitting publicly that Trump is Russia’s “partner” and that Putin successfully achieved regime change in the U.S. previously. These facts should make every American burn with white-hot rage that Trump is not in jail but is instead the leading GOP candidate for president in 2024. Charlie Sykes of The Bulwark captured the appropriate level of rage with this rant:

·       Republicans, defend this. Go ahead. Try. Don’t dodge or hedge. Defend your leader’s partnership in slime and blood with Vladimir Putin.

·       Tell me again that he learned his lesson.

·       Explain again that you think the whole Russia thing was a hoax.

·       Justify putting this defeated, disgraced, twice-impeached deplorable back in the Oval Office.

·       And make the case for giving the nuclear codes back to this scabrous traitor.

          Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman expressed his outrage in this tweet:

Tell me this traitor’s security clearance has been revoked. He openly conspires with the enemy, when the U.S. is attempting to steer clear of a war with Russia.

          In a rational world, Trump’s plea to Putin for help would be the final straw that causes Republicans to abandon Trump and admit the error of their ways. Sadly, it will not be. Perhaps we can urge Merrick Garland to speed up his investigations of Trump? And add “treason” to the list of charges? Read on!

The Washington Post confirms the existence of a grand jury investigating “planners and funders” of January 6th.

          The withering criticism of the DOJ from all sides prompted a leak by the DOJ to the Washington Post disclosing that a grand jury has issued subpoenas to Trump aides regarding the planning and funding of the January 6th insurrection. See WaPo, Jan. 6 criminal probe expands to rally planning, financing. The story is important because it says that an existing investigation is “expanding” to look at those who planned and financed the January 6th insurrection. Arguably, the “planners” could include Trump. But per WaPo, subpoenas have gone to “Trump’s aides,” not to Trump himself.

          The WaPo report is a sliver of a smidgen of hope. It asserts that Trump aides are being asked for evidence about the January 6th rally. That is better than nothing, but conspicuously absent from the story is any mention of an investigation of the coup to overthrow the election (apart from the violent assault on the Capitol), efforts to interfere with Georgia’s presidential vote count, the attempted extortion of Ukraine, the twelve instances of obstruction of justice identified by Mueller, tax fraud, and campaign finance violations.

          I want to believe that Garland is doing something to hold Trump to account, but the sop leaked to the Post seems like a distraction rather than anything of substance. Apologies for being a downer on this topic, and I hope that I will one day be forced to issue an abject, humiliating apology for doubting Garland’s willingness to follow the facts without fear or favor—no matter how many times they lead directly to Trump.   

President Biden signs anti-lynching bill after a century of efforts to make lynching a federal crime.

          More than one hundred years of efforts came to fruition on Tuesday when President Biden signed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, which makes lynching a federal hate crime. See NYTimes, Biden Signs Bill to Make Lynching a Federal Crime. More than 4,400 Blacks were lynched between 1877 and 1950. President Biden and V.P. Harris acknowledged the important role played by Ida B. Wells, “a Black journalist who fought lynching in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and became one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.”

      The fact that civil rights activists persisted for more than 100 years to secure antilynching legislation is a lesson to us all. We cannot give up, no matter how many times we fail. We will win; it is just a matter of time.

The Rural Democracy Initiative.

          To achieve transformational change, Democrats must reach voters in America’s small towns and rural communities. The Rural Democracy Initiative is dedicated to that task, with a variety of programs designed to support and expand local groups in those communities that can help Democrats win in rural America. My interview with Renee Linde is here: Rural Democracy Initiative | Today’s Edition Podcast. Listen to hear about RDI’s work.

          During the podcast, two callers asked good questions. The first was “Whether “progressive policies” are inconsistent with rural values and lifestyle?” Both Renee and I did our best to answer that question, but you should listen to the podcast to hear our answers and judge for yourself.

          A second question was, “Since Democrats have no hope of winning in some rural areas, why should we invest any money in attempting to pick up voters in those areas?” As Renee explained, even if Democrats might not win congressional seats in rural areas, increasing Democratic support by even a few percentage points can help Democrats win statewide offices—like governor, attorney general, and secretary of state. Winning those positions can help Democrats defend the will of the people in presidential elections!

          Listen for more information about helping Democrats to win in small towns and rural areas!

Concluding Thoughts.

          A reader sent a link to an article that discussed data from a Voting Rights Lab report regarding the slew of voting regulation bills passed after the 2020 election. The 2021 end-of-year analysis summarizes the complicated morass as follows:

More than 40% of eligible voters (96 million) live in states that improved their laws this year, more than 23% (55 million) live in states that enacted restrictive laws this year, and 1 in 5 (47 million) are awaiting a final tally upon the conclusion of their state’s legislative session or special session.

          Like the outcome on redistricting, the results are surprising. It is true that actions of states restricting voting access are bad and inexcusable. But we should avoid suggesting that voter suppression legislation will make 2022 unwinnable for Democrats. It will not. As an objective matter, turnout can always overcome suppression tactics. But, as in redistricting, it appears that the final outcome is more promising than the dire predictions made after the flurry of voter suppression bills were introduced in 2021. In other words, we have every reason to be hopeful, but no reason to be complacent!

          Talk to you tomorrow!