Mediaboss Marketing

When I was in grade school, an occasional deafening alarm prompted our teachers to usher us into the school basement where we would squat along a clammy, concrete inner wall until the all-clear bell rang. It was practice in case the Russian commies (then the Soviet Union) decided to annihilate Pittsburgh. As preteens, we did not realize that if our city did get nuked no school basement would have saved us.

Back then, we were taught that the Russians were our adversaries. For most of the past seven decades the Russians have been our adversaries. They competed with us in a dangerous Cold War nuclear arms race. They tried to sneak nuclear arms to our doorstep in Cuba until President John Kennedy stopped them. They provided weapons to kill American soldiers in Korea, Vietnam and elsewhere.

And last year, Russians hacked into the computers of the Democrats and worked to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election in favor of Republican Donald Trump. What does that say about Russia and Trump?

Republican leaders, including Trump, do not act like the Russians are adversaries any longer. In fact, it is well documented that Trump and people close to him have had business dealings with Russians. We dont know the extent of Trumps dealings with Russia, partly because he refuses to release his tax returns. But we know Trump has praised Russian billionaire, strongman, President Vladimir Putin. We know that Trumps son told a 2008 real estate conference that Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets.

Republicans repeatedly castigated former President Barack Obama for not being tough on Russia. But these same tough-talkers were suddenly silent when government security experts verified that the Russians actively interfered with our presidential election. To many people, this was an act of aggression rivaling the Cuban missile crisis. Our longtime adversary was caught undermining a basic part of our democratic process.

But except for a few like Sen. John McCain, Republican patriotism took a back seat to political expediency. So what if the Russians interfered with the election? Their man had won.

A half-hearted investigation is under way in the Republican-controlled Congress. There probably would be no serious congressional investigation if Democrats were not pushing hard to learn more about the Russian hacking and about the Trump campaigns possible knowledge and complicity.

Thanks to investigative journalists, there are new revelations almost daily. We know that during the presidential campaign, Trump insiders were in regular communication with Russians, including the ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak, considered to be a Russian spy by U.S. intelligence officials, according to CNN and other news outlets.

Michael Flynn lasted less than a month as Trumps national security advisor after communicating privately with Kislyak before Trumps inauguration. Flynn acknowledged the communications but apparently lied when he said they did not include discussion of sanctions that President Obama imposed against the Russians for interfering with the election.

Flynn changed his tune only when we learned via the media that U.S. intelligence personnel had listened to the conversations and knew otherwise. Now we have learned that Trumps attorney general, Jeff Sessions, met with Kislyak twice last year and failed to disclose it when asked under oath during his confirmation hearing.

Republicans may no longer think so, but secretly cozying up to the Russians and hiding or lying about it is a big deal. Russian interference with our election is a big deal. Republicans either need to start treating it like a big deal or explain why they are putting partisan politics ahead of their country.

Bill McCann is a Bastrop County resident and writes commentary columns for the Advertiser on matters of national and local interest.

See the rest here:
Commentary: Why are Republicans ignoring Trump's connection to Russia? - Austin American-Statesman