With President Joe Biden now rolling over for Russian President Vladimir Putin on command, one must wonder: Where have the Democratic Russia-hawks gone?
For all his talk about standing up to Putin and supporting NATO, Biden decided to waive congressionally mandated sanctions that would have made it more difficult to complete the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline. It’s a big favor for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, but it’s even better for Putin as it makes Europe more dependent on Russia for energy while squeezing out Ukraine.
Obviously, had former President Donald Trump done the same thing, the media would light up the airwaves with charges of Russian collusion. Biden’s record on Russia and NATO so far has been weak even beyond this decision, most recently showing no teeth as Russian hackers shut down the Colonial Pipeline for ransom.
And yet, the Democrats who warned of the threat of Russia so feverishly for the last four years are nowhere to be found. California Rep. Adam Schiff, who lied about having “direct evidence” of collusion between Trump and the Russians, has gone missing. Schiff never found a camera he wouldn’t talk to about Trump and Russia.
But Biden and Russia? Crickets.
What about California Rep. Eric Swalwell, the House Intelligence Committee member compromised by a Chinese spy? He banged the drum of Russian collusion as loudly as anyone else, but he only has praise for Biden’s handling of Russia despite the constant capitulation to Putin. Hillary Clinton, who literally handed Russia’s foreign minister a reset button in 2009, even brought the Russian collusion hoax into 2021.
Biden’s four months of weakness? Radio silence.
This move would have been the top story for MSNBC’s prime-time hosts. Yet, the last two days, neither Rachel Maddow nor Chris Hayes has mentioned Russia on their programs. The only mention of Russia on Joy Reid’s show was about Andrew Giuliani going on Russian state television.
It didn’t get any mention on various CNN programs either. Not by Don Lemon or Chris Cuomo. On Wednesday, Jake Tapper talked about Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s meeting with Russia’s foreign minister, as well as Russia’s military activity in the Arctic. But there was no mention of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Trump was weak whenever he spoke about Putin or Russia, but his administration had always been tougher on Russia than Democrats and the liberal media cared to acknowledge. But being tough on Russia apparently was never a real concern because Biden’s four months of rolling over for Putin hasn’t been pushed by the voices who pushed the Russian collusion narrative the most.
