Finally, a (not retiring) Republican Congressman admits Trump is being manipulated by Putin

Wow. Haven't seen this diaried yet, but endangered Republican Congressman Will Hurd (TX-23) has told the truth about Trump in a way no other Congressman running for re-election has done yet.


TRUMP IS BEING MANIPULATED BY PUTIN. WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

Hurd is a former CIA agent who is being challenged by an outstanding Democrat, Gina Ortiz Jones, and is trying to save his career. But whatever the reason, its good to see endangered Republicans feel pressure to speak out against Trump as he commits treason in plain sight.

In explaining Trump as a manipulated Russian asset, Hurd writes:

(Trump) actively participated in a Russian disinformation campaign that legitimized Russian denial and weakened the credibility of the United States to both our friends and foes abroad.



Make no mistake, Russian disinformation campaigns are working.

Of course, what with Hurd being a weasel Republican, you won't be surprised that, What should we do? amounts to virtually nothing substantive.

The problem with his Op-Ed is that if the President is being manipulated by a hostile enemy (and Hurd makes clear Russia is our enemy and hostile to freedom and the US), then there is only one solution: That President must be removed from office.

But Hurd is too chicken to call for that. His answers to the what should we do question are toothless, like passing a budget to fund our intelligence community and providing more oversight (without specifying what that oversight would seek to accomplish), and maybe to arm Ukraine if necessary. Oh, and he promises work with my colleagues to ensure that the administration is taking the Russian threat seriously, which really means nothing at all.

All of that said, and even though Hurd is too chicken to call for actually doing anything serious, I still think this is Op-Ed is a big deal, for four reasons.

1) He's the first Republican who isn't retired or retiring to really speak out like this. Despite the lack of action, its still important that a Republican in this climate is willing to openly tell the public that the President is being manipulated by Russian intelligence and to accuse him of weakening the credibility of the US around the world.

2) Other endangered Republicans will take note. it will be safer now for them to speak out.

3) Words always come before actions. Once you admit that the President is a manipulated Russian asset, it becomes much easier to accept that real action is needed.

4) Once credible Republicans start to say that what we're saying about the President is true, then and only then do we have a chance to break through. As long as no serious Republican elected officials break ranks, they can dismiss Trump's treason as just something we're saying for partisan reasons But when credible Republicans echo what we are saying, the public can finally realize that this isn't just a partisan food fight, but something serious.

PS. If you are mad that Hurd didn't have the guts to offer real action, even though he spoke out against Putin's puppet, go donate to Gina Ortiz Jones here.

Thursday, Jul 19, 2018 · 10:50:19 PM MST · dcg2
Update: I should have noted that on the same day Hurd published this, he voted against increasing funding for election security. I still think it is helpful to have an endangered Congressman openly telling people that Trump is being manipulated by Russia, but his vote shows that Hurd is just trying to save his own political career, not trying to save the country.

Think about it logically: You know Russia is hostile to freedom. You know Russia hacked our election and succeeded. You know the President is being manipulated by them.

But you are still too cowardly to vote to fund election security?

Blade, Nobody I know has said that Trump didn't win the election even though he was behind twelve million popular votes. The thing is, Trump incredible narcism won't let him let it go. He may be the worst POTUS in US history, but he is the legitimate president. The Democratic Party has never, to my knowledge denied this. He is the President of the United States, much to our misfortune. Now that this is settled, I hope that the Mueller investigation uncovers the fact that at best he is a Russian asset, at worst a traitor. DUMP THE TRUMP!

Blade, Nobody I know has said that Trump didn't win the election even though he was behind twelve million popular votes. The thing is, Trump incredible narcism won't let him let it go. He may be the worst POTUS in US history, but he is the legitimate president. The Democratic Party has never, to my knowledge denied this. He is the President of the United States, much to our misfortune. Now that this is settled, I hope that the Mueller investigation uncovers the fact that at best he is a Russian asset, at worst a traitor. DUMP THE TRUMP!