I'm a little confused about the Democratic response to Russian aggression. This is probably a result of my own innocence/ignorance.

Why aren't the democrats running on grinding Putin's nuts into powder? They could ramp up the rhetoric pretty quickly. Start promising to dump any Russian sovereign debt we hold. Promise to rain hell upon the Russian separatists in Crimea and Ukraine. Explain the vulnerability of pipelines and how unfortunate it would be if Europe had to switch to our tankers if anything happens to the Russian lines. Promise to seize any real estate holdings even suspected of being part of Russian money laundering.

Putin would have to react. And he's got about the same credibility as Trump right now with all the brutality he's sponsored.

If he goes all in on Trump, and I suspect he would, that reinforces the perception that he's Trump's boss.

Trump would be forced to choose between getting closer to Putin or pissing him off and who knows what will happen if he pisses him off.

I don't see a downside.

NHLycan wrote on 12/23/19 at 07:23:02:



I agree - they almost all seem to be under putin's influence, and they're railroading some of their own for being putin's puppet (Tulsi) I sadly suspect the ones that are capable of independent thought and not beholden to corporate interests will get railroaded again.

Seriously starting to like someone in the pre primary stage = a way to get screwed multiple times.
Cool.
Srinath.

WebsterMark wrote on 12/23/19 at 09:47:52:



What implications to the nation ???? You do understand Russia is about as influential to the US as lets say for lack of a better country - Indonesia right ? Irrelevant to the core - atleast not till you count NAFTA which wont pay their fair share and Russia squeezes them, and in that case much like Obama did, happily throw the Europeans under the bus … Ofcourse the only country in NAFTA that was worth anything and of interest to Russia was Ukraine and specifically Crimea, which he happily threw to the wolves, and declared, if he goes anywhere else, we'll change his calculus by inducing some nuanced crap by producing some sanctions or some smelly gas or something like that.

I don't see any other problem or implications.

BTW the whole impeachment and Russia and Ukraine crap IMHO is a cover up for the fact democrats lost Ukraine and Crimea. But lets not drag that into here.

Cool.
Srinath.

NHLycan wrote on 12/23/19 at 13:34:30:




Well Russia has no influence except where Crimea and Ukraine were concerned. Most other ex USSR countries where Russia held sway has no value. So Russia has done the only thing the "enemy" can do and got away with it. You don't think they're coming to occupy Florida now do you ? So that should end the "enemy" situation. They've taken all they care to take right under Obama's nose, and he said if they go somewhere else, they will change his nuance by making him do calculus using smelly gas. If I recall. It was nuanced.

Cool.
Srinath.