Romney’s Russia Vindication He was right about the Kremlin in 2012, not that Democrats admit it.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/romneys-russia-vindication-1519069005
Mitt Romney announced Friday that he’s running for the U.S. Senate from Utah, and the timing on the same day as the Justice Department indictments of Russians for meddling in the U.S. presidential election was apt. Mr. Romney was right about the Russian threat in 2012, and Democrats who are now echoing him when it serves their political purposes against Donald Trump owe the former GOP presidential nominee an apology.
Start with Barack Obama, who derided Mr. Romney’s claim that Russia was a major U.S. geopolitical foe in the third presidential debate in 2012. “The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold War’s been over for 20 years,” Mr. Obama said, to applause from the Democratic media establishment. In its endorsement of Mr. Obama, the Washington Post criticized Mr. Romney for “calling Russia America’s greatest foe” as an example of his lack of judgment.
Readers may recall that Mr. Romney made his comments about Russia after Mr. Obama was caught unaware talking on an open microphone with then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in March 2012:
“On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved, but it’s important to give me space,” Mr. Obama told Mr. Medvedev, the Vladimir Putin stand-in.
“Yeah, I understand,” Mr. Medvedev said.
Mr. Obama then said, “This is my last election. After my election, I have more flexibility.”
Mr. Medvedev: “I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir.”
The “flexibility” after Mr. Obama’s election turned out to be Mr. Putin’s as he invaded and annexed Crimea, started a war to occupy the Donbas region in Ukraine, intervened to prop up Bashar Assad in Syria, covered for Assad’s use of chemical weapons, and helped North Korea evade United Nations sanctions.
Thanks to last week’s indictments, we also know that Mr. Putin’s attempt to meddle in U.S. elections began in 2014, long before Mr. Trump chose to run for President. That interference went unopposed, and as far as we can tell, unanticipated by Mr. Obama, his CIA Director John Brennan and his Director of National Intelligence James Clapper until nearly the end of Mr. Obama’s second term. They did nothing about it until after Hillary Clinton lost.
Now, suddenly, amid the Mueller probe of the 2016 presidential campaign, Democrats have become Russia hawks. Some of the more intemperate, like Rep. Jerry Nadler, are calling the Russia indictments the “equivalent” of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Mr. Nadler is poised to lead the impeachment of Mr. Trump as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee if Democrats take the House in November.
Mr. Romney is expected to win the Utah seat with ease, which should make him available to instruct Democrats on foreign affairs.
Comments are closed.
