Image by Sammi Cardoso
By Leana Pardo
Why isn’t anything in American politics bipartisan anymore? According to a Pew Research study, “Republicans and Democrats are more divided along ideological lines – and partisan antipathy is deeper and more extensive – than at any point in the last two decades (Center, 2014).” But aren’t there a lot of issues that require bipartisan support? How did the Violence Against Women Act become a “liberal cause?” Understandably The GOP wasn’t a fan of the additions to the bill including transgender women and Native American women on reservations, but really guys, we can’t even agree on giving money to domestic violence and rape centers to protect women? What about denying that a country <cough, cough> Russia has influenced the 2016 election? Is that enough to get both sides support? What will it take?
We began 2017 with controversial cabinet confirmation hearings, a historic Women’s March, a ban on refugees, deportation of non-violent illegal felons, airport protests, a ban on travelers from seven Muslim countries, White House leaks, media wars, top official’s resignations, and this was only one month of Donald Trump being in office! It has been hard to prioritize the biggest news stories that require the most attention, because there have been and continues to be too many. However, there is one that should have been at the top of every American’s list: Russia. This isn’t a regular news story. This is THE NEWS STORY. And unfortunately Russia’s infiltration isn’t getting the attention it deserves or the bipartisan support it needs to be fully investigated.
There were several times during campaign season where The Democratic National Committee’s computer system had been hacked. “After closer investigation, these emails were traced to hackers signing in Clinton’s teams’ accounts from a region in Ukraine” (Lipton, Sanger, & Shane , 2016). Each month there were documents dumped onto WikiLeaks which hurt the Clinton campaign. The press focused more on the server Clinton used instead of how and why the emails were readily available for the world to see. With all of the fake news accusations circulating, it’s becoming harder to distinguish fact from alternative fact. Russian hacking was overshadowed with Trump’s knack for grabbing female genitalia. However, there was a turning point in the Russian accusations that should have received much more attention and outrage from both parties. In early December, the CIA concluded that Russia tried tipping the American election in Trump’s favor (Kelly, 2016). Later 17 government agencies, including the FBI and NSA, determined that Russia had, in fact, interfered with the election. This should have been Washington’s main focus. On a bipartisan level, the government should have halted and investigated these conclusions further. However, it was business as usual on the American political-crazy-train. Although it should be noted that President Obama made all Russian diplomats leave the country and created sanctions on Russia as retaliation.
There have been a few red flags along the way. Questions arose as to why billionaire Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson had been appointed Secretary of State. Tillerson has close ties to Russia. He has even been awarded the Order of Friendship by Vladimir Putin in 2011–one of the highest honors Russia can award a foreign citizen. Concerns were raised during Tillerson’s confirmation hearings but ultimately he was confirmed. Another recent red flag was when British ex-spy, Christopher Steele, compiled the infamous dossier detailing Trump’s dealings with Russia. “Mr. Steele has an excellent reputation with American and British intelligence colleagues and had done work for the F.B.I. on the investigation of bribery at FIFA, soccer’s global governing body” (Shane , Confessore , & Rosenberg, 2017). Although many Americans fixated on Trump’s alleged sexual acts involving prostitutes and streams of urine, more than embarrassing sex tapes was outlined. The dossier summarized, “real estate deals that were intended as bribes and coordination with Russian intelligence of the hacking of Democrats” (Shane , Confessore , & Rosenberg, 2017). The most recent bombshell involving Russia unleashed when National Security Advisor Michael Flynn resigned from his position. “Flynn is under fire for a discussion he had with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak on the day that the U.S. announced sanctions for cyber-hacking that occurred during the U.S. election” (Harrington & Naylor, 2017). Earlier this year, the Department of Justice and the former Attorney General, Sally Yates, who was fired by Trump, warned the White House that Michael Flynn could be susceptible to blackmail by Russia. Donald Trump was told of Michael Flynn’s conversation with the Russian official on January 26th, 2017, but it wasn’t until mid-February that any action was taken. There are so many unanswered questions. It has become extremely difficult to get any information since President Trump dismisses anything Russian-related as fake news.
The threat of Russia’s infiltration of the American government has become increasingly real. It’s shocking that this has somehow become a partisan issue. In our extreme polarized political state, bipartisanship has become nearly extinct. It’s difficult to defect on your political party when the other side seems remote from your own ideology, but at times it must be done. It has taken me years into President Obama’s term to admit aloud that I disagreed with his foreign policy and his disciplinary actions of whistle-blowers. I felt like a traitor. But I had to admit it; in my eyes, he was a drone-airstrike-loving bully with opposite foreign policy views than my own. He is still my favorite president, and I believe the good outweighed the bad. However, I had to start admitting his flaws, or I wouldn’t be true to myself. Attention must be given to Trump’s ties with Russia immediately. Democrats are the minority in Washington right now, and the only way this can be done is with Republican support. There is a major crisis in the American government, and it cannot withstand being brushed aside and divided by party lines. This should be enraging people who call themselves an American. You can be pro-Trump and/or pro-Republican and still be concerned about Russia. The two aren’t mutually exclusive. To request an investigation into Russia and demand answers regarding a foreign country subverting our democracy doesn’t make anyone a traitor for going against Trump. It makes them a patriot.
Bibliography
Center, P. R. (2014, June 12). Political Polarization in the American Public. Retrieved February 2017, 20, from Pew Research: http://www.people-press.org/2014/06/12/political-polarization-in-the-american-public/
Harrington , D., & Naylor, B. (2017, February 14). 6 Unanswered Questions After Michael Flynn’s Resignation. Retrieved January 21, 2017, from NPR.org: v
Kelly, M. L. (2016, December 10 ). CIA Concludes Russian Interference Aimed To Elect Trump. Retrieved 21 2017, February , from NPR.org: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/12/10/505072304/cia-concludes-russian-interference-aimed-to-elect-trump
Lipton , E., Sanger, D. E., & Shane , S. (2016, December 13). The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S. Retrieved December 13, 2016, from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/us/politics/russia-hack-election-dnc.html
Shane , S., Confessore , N., & Rosenberg, M. (2017, January 11). How a Sensational, Unverified Dossier Became a Crisis for Donald Trump. Retrieved February 21, 2017, from The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/us/politics/donald-trump-russia-intelligence.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=a-lede-package-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
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