Soviet Union

More Defections From Republican Party And Trump Than Ever Since 1964 And Barry Goldwater!

The nation is witnessing more Republican Party defections from Donald Trump than from any Republican Presidential nominee in the past 60 years, since Barry Goldwater in 1964.

Goldwater, the most right wing Republican nominee ever, by comparison, is now seen belatedly as a libertarian. While definitely a right wing conservative who alienated the eastern liberal wing of the Republican Party, led by Nelson Rockeller, William Scranton, George Romney, and others, in retrospect, he was not as threatening as Donald Trump is.

Golcwater attacked the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and spoke of defeating Communism and the Soviet Union, including escalating the Vietnam War, but he did not call for the end of the Constitution, or prosecuting critics, or deporting millions of people as Donald Trump is advocating.

And in later times, Goldwater supported Abortion Rights and Gay Rights, so clearly, dramatically different than the present MAGA Republicans who swear by tyrant Donald Trump.

Goldwater was not personally corrupt as Trump is; did not have multiple marriages and divorces; did not promote the idea of overthrowing the results of an election; and did not personally promote character assassination of his opponent, Lyndon B. Johnson.

And most importantly, in 1974, ten years after his massive Presidential defeat, as again a sitting US Senator, he went to the White House and told Richard Nixon he should resign, or would face conviction on impeachment charges.

So Barry Goldwater was a decent loyal American, unlike Donald Trump, who makes Richard Nixon look like a “choir boy” by comparison!

One can be certain that he would repudiate Donald Trump, and would not have backed him in 2016 or 2020, as well as 2024!

Eisenhower And Reagan Commitment To Internationalism Being Rejected By Donald Trump And “America First” Extremism!

The Republican Party before World War II was dominated by America First Isolationism, led by Ohio Senator Robert Taft, “Mr Conservative Republican”, and Michigan Senator Arthur Vandenberg.

However, Vandenberg abandoned isolationism with the beginning of the Cold War with the Soviet Union after World War II, but with Taft still pursuing isolationism.

But in 1952, when Taft sought the Presidency, he was stopped by World War II hero Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was able to shift American foreign policy to support of the international community, including support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and commitment to fighting Communist expansion around the world.

The majority of Republicans who pursued bipartisanship in foreign policy continued, and reached a new peak under Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, and with the Presidencies of George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush.

However, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan provoked the emergence of a strong opposition to the policy of interventionism, and also led to those who started to see the Russian Federation that followed the downfall of the Soviet Union in 1991 as not a nation to be seen as “the enemy”.

Donald Trump became the leader of the attack on the interventionist past of the Republican Party from 1952-2016. Now, many Republicans in Congress back Trump on his isolationist bent, including his Vice Presidential running mate, JD Vance.

This is a dangerous trend, and cozying up to Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation with their war in Ukraine is an alarm bell in the middle of the night, as accepting authoritarianism is a trend toward Fascism!

From Ronald Reagan To Donald Trump: Complete Tranformation Of Republican Party!

The Republican Party of Ronald Reagan has completely transformed in the 40 years since, and has become alien to the beliefs of conservatives, due to the impact of Donald Trump.

Ronald Reagan believed the Soviet Union was a threat to world democracy, while Trump and MAGA supporters are openly pro Russian Federation, as well as friendly to North Korea and China, and also other authoritarian regimes around the world. So Trump and his supporters are isolationists, and do not give a damn about Ukraine.

Ronald Reagan believed in free trade, but now Donald Trump and his ilk promote protectionism, and pledge rise in tariffs if he elected, which would increase the cost of living for all Americans.

Roneld Reagan believed in supporting immigration as a strength of America, while Trump and his supporters are nativists, who wish to prevent all immigrants from anywhere but Europe.

The historical Republican Party is now dead, only kept alive by a small number of old line Republicans, who wish for a return to the ideals of Ronald Reagan.

Ronald Reagan had many faults and shortcomings, but it is clear he would not support the Donald Trump controlled Republican Party!

Harry Truman And Joe Biden

May 8th is the 140th Anniversary of President Harry Truman’s birth in 1884.

It is also the 79th Anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, and the defeat of Nazism and Fascism.

These are not just historical events to commemorate, but also relate to 2024.

Joe Biden is the updated Harry Truman, a man who was vilified and underrated, who took us through the early stages of the Cold War with the Soviet Union.

Joe Biden is vilified by the authoritarian Fascists led by Donald Trump, who has a love affair with Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, and is underrated in many public opinion polls in the upcoming Presidential Election of 2024, as Truman was in the Presidential Election of 1948.

Joe Biden will become known as “Give Them Hell Joe”, just as Truman came to be known as “Give Them Hell Harry” 76 years ago!

The Likelihood Of Further US Engagement In Overseas Conflicts

This author and blogger has the sense of foreboding, that the United States will soon become more involved in overseas conflicts in a more direct manner.

The Russia-Ukraine War and the Israel-Gaza Conflict are escalating dangerously, and both represent major problems for American foreign policy.

Attempting to promote more military aid to Ukraine has been a struggle, and the sense is that Russia is emboldened by the inability of the US being able to promote more aid to Ukraine, ironically likely insuring a wider conflict.

Russia is likely to attempt to expand the war against former Soviet Union held areas before 1989—Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. This would bring the US and NATO into a wider conflict.

The Israel-Gaza conflict is likely to escalate with Iranian involvement, and will put America into the cross hairs of supporting a right wing Israeli government, which has shown no concern about human rights in its war on Hamas, sadly making the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to suffer massive loss of civilians.

All that these two conflicts are doing is complicating Joe Biden’s Presidential campaign.

One would expect that there could be wider war soon, against all desires, and if that happens, as sad as that is, it would help insure Joe Biden’s victory, despite vehement anger of many, as no President has ever lost an election for another term in a time of war!

NATO Has 75th Anniversary, Crucial Alliance Threatened By Donald Trump!

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, was created 75 years ago on April 4, 1949.

It protected 13 European nations, Canada, and the United States in the emerging Cold War with the Soviet Union, which had occupied Eastern European countries by that date.

Today, NATO has 32 nations in its alliance, and they are the bulwark against aggression by the Russian Federation under Vladimir Putin.

They are working together to support Ukraine in its war against the invading Russians, now a war in its third year and nearing 800 days in duration and counting.

Donald Trump represents a dire threat to NATO, as he has been hostile toward the organization, and is threatening to abandon NATO if he is returned to the White House in 2025!

The need for the US to support NATO, and promote more aid to Ukraine, is urgent and essential!

Most Dangerous Time In Foreign Affairs Since World War II!

America has been through a lot of crises in foreign affairs since World War II, with the 45 Years Cold War with the Soviet Union ending in 1991.

But now in 2024, we not only have to face the twin crises of the Russia-Ukraine War (the most massive war on the European continent since World War II), but also the Israel-Hamas War, which could spread throughout the Middle East.

And we have a former President, Donald Trump, seeking to come back to the White House, who consorts with autocratic leaders, including Vladimir Putin along with many others.

Trump promotes a return to the “America First” mentality advocated by Charles Lindbergh, Henry Ford, and their ilk in the years before World War II, and the first two years and three months of that war, before Japan pushed America into prosecution of that war.

With eight months to go, the crisis facing America is totally horrifying, and with some public opinion polls showing Trump defeating President Joe Biden!

This cannot be allowed to happen, as it portends the end of American democracy and the rule of law, and the promotion of Fascist authoritarianism, autocracy, and the destruction of the 250th anniversary of independence in 2026!

Republicans And Russia: Complete Reversal Of Party History

The Republican Party historically was always seen as strongly anti Soviet Union, accusing Democrats of being “soft on Communism”.

It made the careers of such individuals as Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin (McCarthyism Red Scare) in the early 1950s; Congressman, Senator, Vice President and President Richard Nixon in the 1940s and 1950s; Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona from the early 1950s onward through his Presidential campaign in 1964 and beyond; and California Governor and President Ronald Reagan from the 1950s onward.

All of these Republican leaders would be astounded by the pro Russian, pro Vladimir Putin bent of present day Republicans in both houses of Congress, led by Donald Trump, who conspired to fix the Presidential Election of 2016, and is once again trying to bring about another conspiracy, with the intention of establishing an authoritarian government in the vein of the Russian Federation.

It is shocking how Republicans have destroyed their reputations, and that they are more concerned with keeping control and power, than being concerned about the national security of the American people!

Henry Kissinger, Most Controversial Diplomat Since World War II, Is Dead At 100!

Henry Kissinger, the most controversial diplomat since World War II, is dead at age 100!

The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the end of the Vietnam War, he is seen by many as having been an international outlaw and criminal for his involvement in spreading the Vietnam War into Cambodia; his support and promotion of a right wing government in Chile, destroying that democracy for a generation; and his lack of concern about human rights and loss of freedom in so many places around the world besides Chile, including Argentina.

As National Security Adviser and then Secretary of State to President Richard Nixon, and later to President Gerald Ford, he engaged in many unethical, if not illegal, actions.

A believer in Realpolitik in international relations, he was seen as lacking ethics and morality to the extreme, and was noted for his egotism and lack of concern about his reputation.

He is noted for helping to open up relations with the People’s Republic of China, and his dealings with the Soviet Union, and the Middle East cauldron. He also is criticized for backing Pakistan in the Bangladesh-India War for Independence of what had been East Pakistan, undermining relations with the largest populated nation, India, beyond China, and also encouraging the corrupt Shah of Iran during the energy crisis!

Seen as a brilliant and yet to many an evil man, he clashed with many other diplomatic and political figures, and stood out as diametrically opposite to many, including President Jimmy Carter, who survived him and one hopes will reach age 100 in ten months!

Foreign Policy Of America In Danger From Donald Trump!

American foreign policy is in great danger from the threat of Donald Trump possibly being reelected to the Presidency in 2024.

His well known admiration for authoritarians in Russia, North Korea, and China; and his hostility toward the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are alarm bells in the night!

His willingness to abandon Ukraine, and allow Vladimir Putin to seize more of that nation, is an encouragement that will trigger World War III, as what would stop Putin from trying to restore the old Soviet Union, by attacking Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and more territory?

America’s relationship with Asian nations, which now are 60 percent of the world’s population are also in danger!

And our relationship with Canada and Latin America would be in disarray as well!

To imagine that Trump would be President again is like imagining that Charles Lindbergh or Henry Ford had been President in the 1930s and 1940s, cozying up to Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy during World War II!

President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has worked very hard to promote and strengthen our alliances with nations around the world, and one must remember his vast experience in foreign policy, as a US Senator, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and eight years as Vice President under Barack Obama!