Say It With Me ... President Vance!
 

It's just a couple of double bacon cheeseburgers away.

Whereas expected, the selection is still a shocking sign of a bleak future.

He would be a puppet if he ever took the oath. No history or sign of executive ability. A 'decider' like George W.

Good choice for Dem's chances, given his fringe whacko drift.

I think he like the rest of the wannabes are hoping tRump cannot fulfill his term (if elected) and they then ascend to the presidency.

And, there it is. I think his comments on the attempt on TFG has rendered him radioactive to moderate Republicans as a potential POTUS stand-in, but the fringe craving a strong leader dictator are fully on board.

Not so fast. Seems plenty in the MAGAverse aren't happy with J.D.

https://youtu.be/Q1hJAy8h2BU?si=PulxquqhFfcSOGdt

Seems JD's got a little "diversity" in the closet. I guess he's not White Nationalist (racist) for some of the MAGA?

So, more of a liability than a draw as the chosen ventriloquist dummy.

MAGAts will do what Dear Leader demands.

I am surprised to learn that as recently as 2016, Vance was going around sounding intelligent. This interview from 2016 shows actual depth of thought and insight. Don't agree with all his points by any means, but he does often makes sense. Obviously, he's since learned not to go around speaking like this in the magaverse! https://www.theamericanconservative....s-poor-whites/

JD is a great choice. It is a strong indication that Trump intends to slow down the Ukraine gravy train.

I would have expected no other response from you, tovarich. Uncle Vlad appreciates it.

Number of deaths from the war in Donbas around 15,000 and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to 500,000 deaths.

That's Ukraine riding the gravy train?

In reality they were living peacefully until Putin decided to flex his muscles.

Now they probably now regret dismantling their nuclear arsenal while Iran sees the benefit of owning some.

I hope he's an indication that Trump won't do something as stupid as completely cancelling aid.

Appeasing an extortionist?
Yup, that'll work and they stop and go away, just like 1938.

Israel aid is forever. The Ukraine thing has become a plain hustle. Lindsey Graham is not even subtle.

Hey Gummy

Attachment 4265

I think your feelings shape your perceptions most dramatically in this! But I suspect we agree that if Lindsey Graham's principles were gunpowder, he wouldn't have enough to blow his nose.

Trump used to have some semblance of reason too, oh, maybe 20 years ago. Not that I agreed with him on much of anything but at least there was (some) logic and consistency to his train of thought.

I think some kind of weird paranoia/dementia/narcissism kicked in when he got that TV show and got to say "You're fired!" all the time. Either that or the syphilis just went into overdrive sometime around then.

Maybe a brain worm got him too.

Vance deliberately chose a very liberal enclave in the DC area to live (Delray in Alexandria, VA) a place known for a great quality of life, excellent schools, good restaurants and easy access to public transportation. He's just another member of the elite pretending to give a shit about the common man (just like Trump).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/elect...TM65WYT3J7H73Y

But make no mistake, they'll still vote for tRump the good little MAGA's they are.

Always been an untrustworthy conniving self-centered bully by training, now evolved to total asshole status. Vance will ride his coattails as his servile opportunist apprentice until it no longer serves his ambition. Then, who knows what leading the magamob from the rear with a weather vane like his predecessor will bring.

JD is intelligent: He is trying to project, explain to the Europeans that there is a limit to American largesse and that they should take that into consideration when they approach sacrificing their economy.

To the Americans: Time to spend more resources on internals.

By sacrificing their economies, you mean just what? Brexit?

Your post makes me nostalgic for the days I never really knew, when there was a movement that sang 'The Internationale unites the human race!"

And maybe somebody should explain to Mr. Vance the implications of Russia successfully taking over parts of Ukraine, which apparently Trump et. al have no problem with, as long we get to keep our money.

It's all about money with those guys.

Money and power. I think right-wingers are into Putin and anti-Ukraine because they have become very might-makes-right in their values. Literally.

America first will be America last when we abandon our allies to serve this self-centered self-destruction by facing our adversaries alone and isolated.
Bet the farm on it.

Mr Vance is saying that US resource is limited; that the US is over extended (Europe, Asia and the Middle East) and in view of this Europe should look more to her own devices.

At the start of the Biden admin there was a huge internal debate...Russia or China. Which one is more consequential, which one is the bigger threat. One faction supported by Lloyd Austin felt that China was the real deal. That faction lost the debate largely I suspect because of the heft of Mrs Kagan within the admin at that time.
Later Mrs Kagan, (the architect of the Ukrainian Project) was pushed out. I guess it was becoming clearer that Russia was a distraction and China was eating all the goodies.

NATO is what's been keeping Russia from going after Europe. With tRump in office NATO would lose U.S. participation. NATO would lose major leverage of keeping Putin at bay. tRump has said he'd let Putin do whatever he wants so the tRumplican party would let Putin do whatever he wants. It would be up to the other member nations to hold him to only Ukraine.

And Trump will take the US nukes out of the picture, so only French and British weapons are available to deter Putin.

The old domino effect.
No serious analyst believes that. Russia can hardly hold occupied Ukraine while dealing wirh second tiered US weapons, how it is going to roll up Europe?

The US wasted a lot of time and resources in the Middle East and Afghanistan. In that time China has dramatically improved its trade in many parts of Asia, captured the trade in South America (Colombia being the exception) and turned Africa into an extension of China. The US fell asleep with respect to its vital interests. It belatedly realized that China is where it's at. WTF South Korea was ordering ships from China!!! Even Biden with his initial comment "Come on man, China?" kept the Trump tariffs and eventually added to them.
Some thoughts of a planner:
Now Ukraine! Let us see if we can use it to cut off Europe, especially Germany, from cheap Russian energy. Damn! That should make Ted Cruz happy: the Europeans have to buy more costly energy from US - for a long time Trump was pushing that. Wow the Europeans really got f^^ked...in addition they are buying Russian energy through India but at a higher price.
We do not really want to get bogged down in this Ukraine thing which has been going on for some time. However this can be a means to weaken Russia. Ukraine is willing to sign on to a deal with Russia but we are going send Boris Johnson to tell them not to. We believe based upon the pathetic display of the Russian military in the initial stage of the invasion we can arm Ukraine to defeat the Russians.
We will even announce the plan. We are going to arm Ukraine so they can split the Russian defence lines and head for the Sea of Azov. Even an important US general can explain the plan on TV.

But lo and behold the newly armed Ukrainians in their push for the Sea encountered Surovikin Line. That threw a spanner in everything. The Surovikin Line was so deep and effective it held the Ukrainians and saved the Russians and Putin. It gave the Russians enough time to adjust and reorganize.
After that the word stalemate was a no no.
The ejection of Mrs Kagan is an indication that Biden admin is playing out the clock and the promotion of JD means that Trump deems Ukraine as mainly a European matter.

I

Serious analysts in the Baltic countries, Sweden, Finland, and Poland most certainly believe it (as they should). FYI, Tucker Carlson and JD Vance are not serious analysts.

It still should puzzle me the complete change in the rights stance on Russia. How they have now become staunch isolationists.

When in mine and most alive today they were the complete opposite. Still will get foaming at the mouth crazy about communism or socialism when painting Democrats with that brush.

Yet since their leader has overtaken their party times have changed on Russia.

The Republicans need remember if you leave the world stage as a player, choosing to stay home. Then you can't complain when the world makes moves leaving you behind.

You cannot have it both ways:
Russia is militarily pathetic.
Russia is going to overrun Europe.

Russia seems to have little regard for the lives of their military or foe. With little to no way for the population to voice opposition. So any war fought is high in casualties.

Has not seemed to have stopped them from moving forward in reclaiming quasi-control of former USSR countries.

With the climate warming and the north pole being open more. The possibility of oil and gas to pump.

Russia would love for the USA to bury their head in the sand.

Russia is not militarily pathetic. Who says they are.
Russia would indeed go after Europe, one piece at a time. Without aid from the West, in large part from the U.S., Ukraine would have been overrun many moons ago
Stop singing to Vladimir...

https://tse1.explicit.bing.net/th?id...=Api&P=0&h=220

;Many inputs on this site.

They still have nukes and they still want to overrun and control the former Soviet republics. Even though his military has proven second rate (to the surprise of Western military analysts and Putin alike), Putin has no qualms about throwing hundreds of thousands of his citizens to their deaths trying to reverse what he called the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century" (the collapse of the USSR). His actions in Georgia, Moldova, Belarus, Estonia and Ukraine (not to mention his many acts of sabotage/murder in the West) show that he means it.

I'm still baffled about your complete lack of understanding of Putin's motives. It's all about (re)building an empire and not allowing Russia to sway again away from autocratic rule (he is an outspoken critic of Nicholas II and Gorbachev not ruthlessly maintaining their autocratic power).

He wants to recreate a bipolar world order, this time pitting autocracy vs democracy instead of communism vs capitalism. It's the only way he and his gangsters can hang on to power and he knows that Russia (a great country in terms of size and resources) simply cannot compete with the West in terms of economic vibrancy, cultural influence and quality of life. He's a murderous thug in charge of a mafia state.