Sorting out Russia Gate

By Tom Quiner

Who is the bad guy in the political melodrama that so dominates American media in recent months?

Is it Donald Trump? Barack Obama? Vladimir Putin?

Let us take as a given that Mr. Putin views the United States as a rival, and that he would like his country to regain its status as the other super power. Let us also take as a given that he is ruthless and believes the ends justify the means.

In other words, anything is possible with Mr. Putin.

So what about our current and former presidents? Is Donald Trump a ‘Manchurian Candidate’ acting as a Russian mole at the highest level of our government?

Or is all of this an elaborate effort by Barack Obama to discredit Donald Trump  in an attempt to get Hillary Clinton elected and preserve the Obama legacy?

It’s hard to tell.

Political commentator, Dick Morris, asserts in the video above that evidence is pretty clear that Donald Trump was indeed wiretapped or subjected to some form of electronic surveillance. Other commentators suggest that such an order is unlikely to have occurred without the president knowing about it, even if he didn’t directly order the two FISA requests.

Here’s what doesn’t make sense to me: Hillary Clinton’s policies toward Russia were far more favorable to Vladimir Putin than Donald Trump’s.

Remember Hillary’s reset with Russia, complete with her big, bright red reset button?

And remember how she and Obama nixed building a missile defense shield in Poland to show Putin how much we trust him?

Remember how an open mic caught Obama talking softly to the former Russian president that he (Obama) could be more “flexible” toward Russia after the 2012 election?

Remember how Obama ridiculed Mitt Romney when he characterized Russia as our “Number One geopolitical foe?”

Remember how Secretary of State Hillary Clinton allowed Russia to buy up a uranium company that…

“…gave the Russians control of one-fifth of all uranium production capacity in the United States. Since uranium is considered a strategic asset, with implications for national security, the deal had to be approved by a committee composed of representatives from a number of United States government agencies. Among the agencies that eventually signed off was the State Department, then headed by Mr. Clinton’s wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton.” [NEW YORK TIMES]

To make matters worse, the Clinton Foundation benefitted financially with contributions it received from these interests, suggesting more than a whiff of ‘quid pro quo.’

Do you remember all of that? I can’t imagine better friends to Vladimir Putin than Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

By the same token, do you remember what happened in the 2012 election cycle? Benghazi. Who did Obama and Ms. Clinton blame for the attack? An American filmmaker, even though they knew that was a lie. Even more, they knew that when the lie was exposed, the MSM would give them the free pass that will never be given to a President Trump.

Finally, I can’t help but remember the IRS scandal. Obama’s IRS targeted conservative interest groups and prevented them from getting registered as 501C corporations, effectively sidelining political opposition to Barack Obama.

Barack Obama has demonstrated a willingness to be ruthless to conservative opponents at the same he bows and scrapes to tyrants, thugs, and mass murderers. He had no qualms taking off the gloves when dirty politics was necessary to win an election.

So who is the bad guy in Russia gate? You be the judge.

3 Comments

  1. parrillaturi on March 7, 2017 at 11:06 pm

    Very interesting. Wouldn’t put it past Obama to engage in such larcenous activities.



  2. d. knapp on March 9, 2017 at 8:50 pm

    I saw his staying in Washington as a way to be available to resume the position in the case of Trump and Pence being run out of town (Nixon/Agnew).Such a thing would be unlikely given the #3 speaker of the house situation, but the congress has happily stopped using the powers that are theirs. I know Obama was raised in a part of the world not given to our style of gvt,, and he has shown no great love for the country as it was run before he arrived on the scene. I can’t imagine he’ll sit and watch all his fine work go down the tubes. He’d have been happy if HRC won. Barring that, I don’t think he’s above going to brand new (for us) tactics to stop it all going up in flames.



    • quinersdiner on March 10, 2017 at 10:51 am

      I think that’s an overreach, at least your scenario that he thinks he can regain the presidency. That can’t happen. I think he will exert his power in other ways.