Ron HartView other columns by Ron Hart
We all kept looking for the evidence that, as the Democrats and their media kept saying, Donald Trump was in bed with the Russians. As of last week there was no evidence, and then he bombed Russia's ally, Syria. So the final answer is: Nyet!
Dems stick to the talking points they are told to advance. There is never much independent thought, no breaking of ranks and no open debating of ideas like Republicans have; Democrats do what they are told by their party elders. I wondered why they were breathlessly advancing this narrative that Trump has Russian ties.
Now we know. By surveilling Donald Trump and his campaign, then-NSA head Susan Rice (likely with orders or a wink from her bosses in the White House) used her spy agencies to "weaponize" our intel community for political gain. They knew it might come out, so they want to act like they had reasons to sic the feds on him. That is why they have frantically pushed the nonsensical "Russian ties" narrative they fabricated and continue to espouse. Now it makes sense: to cover for impending Rice/White House revelations of spying on a political opponent.
Accomplished liar Susan Rice will need to testify before the Senate. Talk about your "whites on Rice."
Like the way Obama's Department of Justice went after his political opponents (as did the IRS with Lois Lerner's targeting of tea party groups), history will record that the Obama administration used government power against its political enemies like no other. Remember when Nixon said, "I am not a crook?" Compared to that crew, Nixon didn't even jaywalk.
Democrats are great at conflating issues. They conflate illegal immigration with immigration. If you are in favor of legal immigration, you are somehow a racist. We have one of the highest marginal tax rates in the world; if you think it should be lower, you do not want to pay your "fair share." If you oppose any wasteful spending program, you are racist and mean. The Dems have now conflated a hacking incident that had no bearing on the 2016 election into a big international conspiracy.
Before Russia's invasion of Crimea, in Obama's mind our nation's biggest threats were the Koch brothers. Obama even mocked Mitt Romney in the debates when Romney said Russia was our greatest geo-political threat. Obama smirked and said, "And the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back."
Putin pushed Obama around. When Obama complained about the Russian invasion, Putin's response was: "Crimea river." If Obama really cared about punishing Russia, he'd convince Lindsay Lohan to stop drinking vodka and hit Russia where it hurts.
This passivist, "nice guy" diplomacy all started when Obama was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize before he was in office even a year.
The real story here is that there was no reason to investigate Trump and Russian ties. Democrats keep yelping about it to cover for using our government for their own political gain. "Unmasking" Trump political operatives and leaking their names to the press was the crime. The Dems know that if the police find a reason to follow your car for 100 miles, they will find a reason to pull you over.
Democrats put their hate of Trump above what have been the laws of this country for years. One party does not get to use the blunt power of the federal government to go after rival politicians.
So Dems want to throw Republicans in prison for colluding with Russia, and Repubs want to send Democrats to jail for illegal surveillance and leaking. The way this is going, the only thing both sides will agree on is the need for stronger prison rape laws.
All the facts contradict Trump's "cozy relationship" with Russia. He has ramped up sanctions, he just bombed Putin's buddy in Syria and he hasn't even married a Russian woman - yet. If Trump really wants Russian puppet Bashar al-Assad gone from Syria, he needs to call on his corporate friends to forcefully remove him. I suggest he use United Airlines.
Contact Ron Hart, a syndicated op-ed humorist who appears regularly on CNN, Fox and NBC, at Ron@RonaldHart.com or @RonaldHart on Twitter.