Electric buses. Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg could hardly contain their excitement during their announcement on infrastructure spending and lowering carbon emissions during remarks from the White House last month. While the US infrastructure most definitely needs funding and upgrades, espousing the benefits of electric buses–let alone electric vehicles–during a time when the US is experiencing the highest gas prices in history alongside out-of-control inflation, probably seems remarkably out of touch to the average US citizen. All I could think of was Jim Carrey and Jeff Bridges’ characters in their movie, “Dumb and Dumber”. Once again, a reminder to us that the Democrat party has become the party for, and of, the elites. It’s no wonder the “Reagan Democrats” from the rust belt, working class Americans and Latino Americans continue to flock to the Republican party in droves. Hard work, less government and secure borders are still attractive to some people.
My point is that this seems like a “wag the dog” pivot from the more pressing issues facing the United States: the war in Ukraine and the Biden Administration’s initial inability to acknowledge that there is, in fact, a war happening in Eastern Europe. More specifically, US-Russia relations and rising tensions. While US Senator Mitt Romney failed at his attempt to win the presidency back in 2012, he certainly has been vindicated with his prediction on Russia. Of course, former President Obama ridiculed him at the time, saying “Governor Romney, the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because you know the Cold War has been over for 20 years.”
Ten years later, and look at what’s happening. Under former President Obama’s watch, Russia “annexed” Crimea, and under Obama 2.0 (aka the Biden Administration) Russia has now invaded the Ukraine. As I noted early this year in this column, Putin is a Bond villain, brilliant and calculating; when he saw weakness, he pounced. And while the White House debates whether or not to send weapons and military vehicles to the Ukraine, countless innocent Ukrainians continue to be slaughtered and the largest refugee crisis in Europe continues. More alarming is the bond being strengthened and cultivated between Russia and China. There was a reason Nixon and Kissinger worked hard at establishing “realpolitik” to put Russia and China at odds with each other. The New York Times even published a recent opinion piece on this: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/20/opinion/nixon-china.html.
China and the US have somewhat of a symbiotic relationship. That said, the US must show a force of diplomatic strength first and foremost–to Russia and the world–that violent behavior such as Putin’s will not be tolerated in a civilized society. Because there is a second major concern looming: the possibility that taking a cue from Putin, China might invade Taiwan under the guise of “liberation.” These are perilous times and the world is a worrisome place with bad people who have bad intentions. Russia, China, Iran, North Korea don’t care about sanctions.
Sometimes, to win you have to fight fire with fire. And while this may mean the US sending weapons, aircraft and military vehicles to the Ukraine, it does not mean sending US troops. Moreover, it also means acknowledging that US/China relations are at the root of helping to alleviate many of the world’s problems. For the sake of humanity and pragmatism, let’s hope that our leaders have the intelligence and resilience to acknowledge this and work to cultivate and establish a new set of Sino/US relations which can lead to a world with less conflict.
