When George Washington left the capital city of Philadelphia to return home to his beloved Mount Vernon after the end of his second term in 1797, it was a great aberration in world history. The idea that a man whose renown by then was worldwide would voluntarily relinquish great power to return to the pastoral pleasure of his farm was simply unheard of. But so he did.
For setting that precedent, among many things, he is revered as the Father of Our Country. More than any other act it validated the restraints on presidential power set forth in the Constitution.
For Mikhail Gorbachev’s democratic reforms to the old Soviet Union, Vladimir Putin has called Gorbachev, the final Soviet leader, a “weak and stupid man” who “threw power on the ground.”
Presumably the former KGB commandant Putin has the same view of George Washington. Like a fine Russian vodka, Putin is smooth but deadly. Socially affable, his actions both domestically and internationally drip with contempt for democratic values.
Already one of the wealthiest men in the world, Putin seeks to further enrich himself and restore Russia to what he believes is its rightful place of world dominance. In one way Russian cyber attacks are more of a threat to the United States than Pearl Harbor or 9/11. They go directly to the heart of our system by undermining our faith in our elections and each other.
Like climate change, Donald Trump says Russia’s attack on our election process is all a hoax. It’s as if following the attack on Pearl Harbor President Roosevelt would have said, “How do we really know those were Japanese planes?” It defies reality.
By all accounts, Trump has shown no interest in or curiosity about Russia’s attacks or what needs to be done to prevent further attacks. Without explanation, the Trump administration planned to reverse the sanctions placed on Russia by the Obama administration and to return property in the U.S. taken from the Russians as punishment for their election interference.
Fortunately Congress put a stop to it. There is much speculation as to why Trump denies or doesn’t seem to take seriously the unanimous assessment of our intelligence agencies. At this point it doesn’t make much difference why.
The fact is Trump’s ongoing indifference to Russian cyber attacks threatens our national security and is a flagrant violation of his oath to “ protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. “ It may or may not be criminal behavior, but it is impeachable behavior.
Marty Ansley
Cinebar
