Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-VA07), speaking on MSNBC with José Díaz-Balart this morning, really nailed it on all fronts. Also, see below the MSNBC video for audio of Rep. Vindman’s tele-townhall last night, which 7,000 participated in, according to Rep. Vindman.
- “Well look it’s pretty significant…the ‘Five Eyes’ have been the bedrock of our intelligence sharing for decades now. They’re our most trusted partners. And they’re losing confidence that we’re a trusted partner. And if you think about the the first 45 days of this Administration, it’s truly been an abomination, whether you’re looking at domestic policy or foreign policy, our about face on Ukraine policy, turning towards dictators and away from our democratic allies is really problematic. And so how do you not lose confidence in this Administration and what they’re doing?”
- “Well look, we should be talking to our allies and our adversaries. We need to keep open lines of conversation. I mean, during the entire Cold War we obviously had a hot line to the Soviets. So we we need to continue to have those conversations. But that doesn’t mean we give away the farm before we even start negotiating, or pander to them, refusing to call a dictator a dictator and calling the democratic-elected leader of a a country fighting for its freedom and sovereignty a dictator, I mean that’s that’s outrageous. I think there’s a middle ground there. We’re nowhere near it, this is more of an about face and and folding – it’s weakness [rather] than keeping lines of communication open.”
- “It’s enormous, it’s basically the end of the post-WW2 rules-based order that the United States helped enshrine. I gave a speech on the floor right on the anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine talking about the end of of pax Americana. I mean, this is an enormous realignment. And I think it’s unfortunate because it’s based on some misunderstanding. The US is not the only partner. We’re the preferred partner for everybody, but we’re not the only partner and we’re seeing that with Ukraine and the European allies that are standing up and offering potentially an air umbrella, troops on the ground and additional resources. So it’s highly problematic, it’s damaging to our national security, our alliances. Our relationships overseas have been what made this country strong and allowed this country to prosper, provided some level of of predictability. And we’re seeing that evaporate and that’s having an impact already on our economy.”
- “I think it’s ridiculous. I mean again, these are folks that are fleeing oppression, aggression, their cities are being rained with bombs and it’s outrageous. They’re refugees, very much like I was a refugee when I first came to to this country, that are looking to the United States that has been a haven for generations and now we’re forsaking them. It’s unacceptable. And I don’t trust this administration at all to make the right decisions. I’m very disappointed.”
- “Up to this point, this country has always had the American dream, it’s been alive. When you come to this country as a refugee not speaking any English, but learning English, decades of of education, military service and end up in Congress representing almost 800,000 Americans, what better representation of the American dream is there? And that’s been true up until this point. But we’re seeing such a rapid retreat in these first 45 days; like I said, it’s an abomination. I’m hard pressed to think of a worse 45 days, self-inflicted by any Administration in this country’s history – whether it’s turning away from our values or the economy and predictability. I mean it’s terrible, and I think the American people are waking up to this threat and making their voices heard just like 7,000 did last night in the tele-townhall that I had.”
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