When, oh, when will the Wisconsin congressional delegation take a loud, hard stand against new levels of outrageous policy coming out of the mind and mouth of President Donald Trump?
His policies on taking over Greenland and putting armed goons on the streets of Minneapolis and other cities are so outrageous that they demand to be confronted and reversed. He didn’t run on any such platforms in 2016, 2020 and 2024.
Let’s take these two affronts to rational American governance one at a time.
His bluster and early actions to annex Greenland either by threat or military power have profound potential consequences. Greenland is part of Denmark and, therefore, part of NATO. Our 80-year successful alliance on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean could be upended if the United States breaks ranks with Denmark.
That alliance has kept the peace in Europe, which historically has been the source of unending wars.
Like the families of many Americans, my father and uncle served in WWII to bring down fascism for once and for all. They and legions of other American veterans must be rolling in their graves as Trump becomes a tool for Vladimir Putin’s playbook.
There is a recent book out with the title “Putin’s Playbook” by Rebekah Koffler, who is a Russian-born and educated immigrant who, after immigrating to the United States, became a leading expert on what’s in the paranoid mind of Putin and his generals. In the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union, she records that Putin has on multiple occasions declared the United States and NATO as clear and imminent threats to the security of Russia. We are his enemy at the deepest level.
One of Putin’s foremost aims is to weaken the NATO alliance between the countries of Europe and the United States. Trump is doing his dirty work for him with his Greenland obsession that could fracture NATO.
We don’t need Greenland. It has no readily extractable oil that often drives Trump’s moves. We can negotiate for the purchase of its rare earth minerals. We don’t need to be a bully or use military force to cut such deals. Greenland has long allowed the creation of a U.S. military base on its soil, making it an ally.
Both Trump and Putin fail to understand that national prosperity and power do not come from land grabs. They come from a highly educated population, including smart and ambitious immigrants, who innovate products and services and start companies.
So, I ask the Wisconsin congressional delegation, why are we screwing around with such a misbegotten foreign endeavor? It looks like another Trump suck-up to Vladimir Putin, who is playing our President like a spinning top.
Of late, a few Republican leaders have suggested that a Trump blunder against NATO is grounds for impeachment. I concur. It’s that serious.
Similarly, turning loose barely trained, armed ICE cops comes off as completely un-American. Most voters never signed up to turn weapons and tear gas on American citizens who are trying to peaceably use their constitutional right to protest against the Trump administration’s masked, heavy-handed abuse of power to “disappear” immigrants.
I’m calling on our Wisconsin Republican congress people to immediately remove the federal thugs from our cities. Our governors and local officials can deal with the protests without federal help. Governors an call out the National Guard if necessary.
Please pick up the phone to call these congressmen at these numbers if you agree:
Sen. Ron Johnson (202-224-5323), Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (202.225.5101), Rep. Tom Tiffany (202.225.3365), Rep. Glenn Grothman (202.225.2476), Rep. Bryan Steil ((202) 225-3031), Rep. Derrick Van Orden (202.225.5506), Rep. Tony Weid (202.225.5665).
Ask them to advise the president to stay the hell out of Greenland and get the masked ICE goons out of our major cities.
P.S. Trump has proposed raising the defense budget from about $900 billion to $1.5 trillion per year. Yet he can’t see the enormous value of providing $40 billion per year for the Ukrainian defense of its country. The four-year war is punishing Russia mightily in terms of one million casualties and staggering economy to pay for the war.
Irony of all ironies: Putin’s misbegotten invasion has strengthened NATO, not weakened it. Sweden and Finland have joined NATO as a result.
