Except annexation is exactly what Putin has done. And they'll stay annexed until they're liberated. That's not appeasement, that's just reality. And I resent the accusation. You are deliberately taking the worst possible take on this and running with it as fact. I thought you weren't a Leftist anymore? Cause they're the only ones who really do that.
They are not 'annexed' in anyone's view but Russia's, and I guess CPAC's, and treating the farce of the referendum's as anything close to legit is a massive mistake on CPAC's part.
And this isn't me being a 'Leftist', this is me existing outside GOP echochambers most of the time, and seeing how this sort of messaging is likely to give the Left a wonderful chunk of ammo to add to their (previously mostly fictional) array of 'The GOP are Russia appeasers/Russia-friendly' stories.
PR doesn't have to be true to be effective, the Dems have proven that for years, and now CPAC just handed them a weapon against GOP that needs no spin or lies to push, just basic reading comprehension.
This was a massive unforced error and the Dems are likely to have a field day with it.
As for Fiscal Conservatism not holding sway outside the core GOP base...well, that's part of the fucking problem, now isn't it? Do people not understand how money works? We are so in debt that our grand children will be middle age by the time it's paid off. If it's ever paid off. Spending and printing money has been so reckless and out of control we are in serious danger of an economic collapse that makes the great depression look like a day at the park. I bet you it'll suddenly be on everyone's mind then when every penny and dime is precious. As it damn well should have been from the start.
This again ignores the role the Federal Reserve plays in screwing around with money via interest rates and their leverage on Wall Street, the impacts of going off the Gold Standard to fiat currency, and ignores that sovereign debt is not the same thing as personal debt.
It is also once trying to make this about the populace you and other parts of the old school GOP wish you were dealing with, instead adapting GOP messaging and tactics to the populace you actually have to deal with. Just because something plays great with Boomer-cons and the old school GOP base does not mean it is the same situation for the general election and the wider populace.
Ukraine will be a forgotten sideshow if and when that happens.
I highly doubt it.
Particularly given Putin's nuclear saber rattling and Ukraine's current bid for expedited NATO membership.
We also are no where near that sort of economic collapse; short of actually having a nuclear exchange or natural catastrophe that destroys the physical infrastructure keeping things going, the Federal Reserve and their tools will keep our economy chugging along, even if not 'well'.
