Why Don’t Democrats Want Diplomacy with Russia?

When Barack Obama was running for president, he ran on a platform of peace. Fully aware that he was speaking to a country sick and tired of Middle Eastern wars that had gone on too long and cost too many lives, he vowed to guide us in a new, diplomatic direction that would bring our troops home and improve the security of the world. So powerful was this rhetoric that Obama was awarded the Nobel Prize before actually accomplishing any of these high-minded aspirations. Just talking about diplomacy in those days was enough to send liberals into a worshipful frenzy.

But apparently, things have changed.

Up until last week, the Democrat line on Donald Trump was that he was a reckless maniac who would launch nuclear weapons at the first foreign official who insulted him on Twitter. But now, desperate to divert attention away from the DNC hack that exposed the party’s attempts to thwart democracy, the Democrats claim that Trump is dangerously cozy with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They are blasting him for suggesting that maybe the world would be better off if America and Russia improved diplomatic relations.

There is, strangely enough, no discussion of nominating Trump for the Nobel Prize…

In fact, there’s not much discussion at all. There are just wild conspiracy theories and fear-mongering. On CNN Saturday, Russian Studies professor Stephen Cohen said it was regrettable to see how Democrats and the media have responded to Trump’s comments on Moscow.

“We’re approaching a Cuban Missile Crisis level nuclear confrontation with Russia,” he said. “And there is absolutely no discussion, no debate, about this in the American media. Then along comes, unexpectedly, Donald Trump, who says he wants to end the New Cold War and cooperate with Russia in various places and – astonishingly – the media is full of what only can be called neo-McCarthyite charges that he is a Russian agent, that he is a Manchurian Candidate, and that he is Putin’s client.”

Liberals blasted Republican candidates like Chris Christie who suggested blowing Russian planes out of the sky in Syria. Now they blast Trump for suggesting that Russia and America should join forces against ISIS. So, basically, there’s only one good prescription: to do exactly what Obama has done – nothing more and nothing less.

Well, in fairness, it would be hard to do less.

The universal condemnation of Trump’s remarks on Russia and NATO show exactly why it’s so important to put fresh blood in the White House. We’ve been hawking the same general policies for so long that we can barely remember why they’re beneficial in the first place. There’s no room for an alternative viewpoint. Trump is one of the only members of either party willing to color outside the lines.

Better relations with Russia make for a more secure America. Whether or not Trump can actually improve those relations remains to be seen, but he could hardly do worse than the current administration.