Lifting of Russia Sanctions: Could It Be -- Putin?!
Those "of a certain age" will recall comic Dana Carvey's hilarious character, Church Lady, on Saturday Night Live. Church Lady was a riff on that unique American spawn, the sanctimonious, judgmental religious wingnut - you know, the crowd that's more or less driving what passes for policy in Washington these days. Church Lady's two trademark declarations are, "Well, isn't that special!" and "Could it be -- Satan?!"
Just before the 2016 elections, Church Lady returned to SNL to interview a credibly satanic Ted Cruz and blowhard ignoramus Donald Trump (played by Darrell Hammond). Answering her own question concerning Trump's pick for vice president, Church Lady looks directly into the camera and blurts, "Could it be -- Satan?!"
Well, His Satanic Majesty is having a grand ol' time running rampant in the world again -- in the form of Vladimir Putin. His acolyte, Donald Trump, has opened the gates of civilization to legions of The Tricksters' demons and trolls -- digital as well as metaphysical. Sometimes, crap just happens with no objection, no resistance. Folks in Congress just sit on their hands and whistle Dixie while the courts are AWOL, perhaps glued to the tube learning from Judge Judy. And the so-called Deep State is hamstrung with fear. It has happened again.
Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that it planned to lift sanctions imposed on several businesses owned by aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska. Sanctions were enacted in reaction to Moscow's 2014 seizure of Crimea, interference in U.S. elections in 2016 and other nefarious actions ordered by Putin. Administration officials argued that retaining the penalties would benefit other aluminum companies based in China and elsewhere. (If true, so what?) Secretary Mnuchin briefed Congress on the plan. Speaker Pelosi derided the briefing as "the worst classified briefing I have ever had." Other lawmakers emerged scratching their heads. Mnuchin, they said, made no sense. True to form, Vichy Republicans in the Senate refused to overturn the decision, though eleven brave souls did peel off. So, the key question here is:
Why?
Has Russia withdrawn from Crimea? Stopped aggression against Ukraine? No.
Has Russia fessed up to or shown that it is backing off of interference into our political process? No.
Has Putin displayed more civilized behavior? How about those two GRU clowns dispatched to London to poison a defector with a potent chemical weapon substance? No.
But --
Trump keeps seeking Putin out for bilateral meetings. He virtually swooned into Vlad's arms in Helsinki and gave a fist pump at another event. And why does he meet the Russian strongman with no American aides present? Why does he seize his interpreter's notes and instruct them not to breathe a word of what was discussed with anyone in the government? Then, of course, there's his perplexing ambition to pull the U.S. out of NATO and encourage the demise of the E.U.
Just what, for heaven's sake, is driving the decision to lift sanctions on Russia? I haven't heard even a good b.s. reason from the administration.
Lifting sanctions. Destroying America's alliances. Harming the economy with trade wars and a government shutdown. Attack the FBI, Department of Justice, intelligence community; wreck the State Department. Nancy Pelosi recently stated, "All these puzzling policies are undermining American national security interests." Why does Trump do all this?
"Could it be -- Putin?!"
What do you think?