REPUBLICANS vs. DEMOCRATS ON RUSSIA
By Edgar B. Anderson, LAIKS Latvian Newspaper in USA, October 6-12, 2012
On behalf of Latvian newspaper Laiks, I had the opportunity to speak with a number of prominent Republicans and Democrats at their just completed national political conventions. While walking the arena floor and corridors amidst the din of speakers, cheering, music, and jostling crowds of thousands of delegates, party activists, and reporters, I was able to ask questions about Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, and recent developments relating to Latvia and her often threatening neighbor Russia. The following brief exchanges, I believe, reveal the two parties’ distinctly differing perspectives.
The Republicans met in Tampa, Florida, August 28-30, 2012, and nominated former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for President.
Tim Pawlenty, then Co-Chair of the Romney campaign and former Governor of Minnesota
EA: I wonder if you could talk to our readers and to Baltic people and Eastern Europeans why you think Mitt Romney would be a better protector of security interests than Obama.
TP: Well, there are a number of examples, but one example that we’ve seen in President Obama's leadership is when two of our great friends, the Czech Republic and Poland agreed to host missile defense systems under President Bush's administration. The leadership of the Czech Republic and Poland extended themselves on behalf of the United States’ request and in partnership, and then President Obama pulled the rug out from underneath them and reversed that decision. I thought that was a very bad decision, and it was, first of all, not the right decision in terms of defense capabilities, but also it wasn't the right decision on how you treat friends. You need to treat friends with consistency and reliability and that’s what Mitt Romney will do, and we haven't seen that always from President Obama.
Senator Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin
EA: Latvians are particularly concerned about Putin's Russia.
RJ: Yes, they should be.
EA: How do you believe a Romney Presidency would better deal with Russia than Obama?
RJ: Well, first of all, I have been to Latvia. We went to Georgia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, and, you know, certainly I saw firsthand how Russia is putting pressure on those fledgling democracies. Governor Romney understands that if we're going to have a secure nation, we first and foremost have to have a secure economy, we have to have a strong economy. He also understands the value of alliances and making sure that we have friends and that we honor those friendships. And so he certainly understands that that ring of democracies around the Soviet Union [sic] need to be supported. I certainly understand that, and I'll do everything I can to work with Romney to forge those strong relationships.
Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah
EA: Latvia is very concerned about its neighbor Mr. Putin, and I wonder how you believe a President Romney would deal with today's Russia differently than President Obama has done.
OH: Well, first of all, I love your country. I think you’ve got people who are heroic and really hard-working people, and America really should always be on your side. You know, Mr. Putin is a law unto himself. I do not appreciate some of the ways that he is handling politics in Russia, and over and over he wants power all garnished into one place. We in America believe power ought to be diffused so that no one person has all of the power, and frankly, you know, Mr.Putin is an interesting character. That's all I can say.
Phyllis Schlafly, 88 year old Missouri delegate and longtime conservative and anti-Communist activist and writer
EA: You know that Latvia and the rest of Eastern Europe are very worried about Putin’s Russia, and I wonder what your thoughts are why Romney would be a better guarantor of their freedom than Obama.
PS: Well, I believe that American military superiority is good not only for the United States but for the peace of the world. And Obama's trying to get a world that is a nuclear-free world. And that is a very dangerous situation because it leaves the advantage to evil people who might build and use nuclear weapons. And I think it is best if we have the best pile of weapons of all kinds, anti-missile as well as missiles, and I think if we do, Russia is safe. Russia knows we are not going to attack Russia or Latvia or any of those countries. The mere fact of American military and nuclear superiority will, I think, give us more peace in the world.
Representative Allen West, R-Florida
EA: I know you are a specialist in foreign affairs. I wonder if you could comment on Latvians and other Eastern Europeans. Why do you believe they would better off under Romney's protection than Obama's --
AW: [Laughs] There is no protection under Obama! So anything is better than nothing, I would say, okay? Look, tell the people in Eastern Europe, tell the people in the Baltic States, that we know that Russia under Vladimir Putin is a threat, and we will make sure that we show them we are partners with them in freedom.
John Bolton, former US ambassador to the United Nations
EA: How would you say a Romney administration would be different from an Obama Administration in dealing with Russia, Putin’s Russia?
JB: I think Governor Romney has a much clearer appreciation of the threat to American interests that a Putin’s Russia poses, and I think he said that, and, you know, Obama misperceived Russia right from the beginning -- the idea of pressing the reset button. What he's gotten in return for major American concessions is three Russian vetoes of Security Council sanctions resolutions on Syria, and, you know, the conversation between Obama and Medvedev to me is emblematic of everything that would be wrong in a second Obama term. I think that Governor Romney is very much in the tradition of Ronald Reagan’s “peace through strength” approach to America's role in the world generally and particularly as it applies to Moscow.
The Democrats gathered in Charlotte, North Carolina, September 4-6, 2012, to nominate President Barack Obama for a second term.
Former Massachusetts Governor and 1988 Democratic Presidential nominee Michael Dukakis
EA: I know from Massachusetts you are very familiar with all the East Europeans. Latvians and other Balts and Eastern Europeans are a little worried, some of them, when they heard a couple of months ago Barack Obama say to Medvedev that after the election he can be very flexible, more flexible. That's a bit worrisome. What would you say to our people?
MD: Well, the first thing I’d say to them is that spending four billion America dollars, which we don't have, on an ABM system in Poland I think is absurd. Now there's a threat out there. We all know what it is. It’s terrorism. It's got nothing to do with ABM systems. So the fact that I and others like me hope that the US will stop doing that kind of stuff doesn't reflect a lack of concern for our friends in Eastern Europe and the Baltic nations. We just think it's a colossal waste of money, which by the way we do not have, and that there are much better ways to integrate those countries into the European Community in the best possible way and build lasting peace in Europe. And that's my personal view. I’m not reflecting the President. That's all I can tell you. I’d like to see us moving in that direction as a country and the sooner the better frankly. But the notion that Mitt Romney will be better for these countries for those of us who have seen him in action in Massachusetts is absurd. I mean he's such a naif on foreign policy. I mean, you saw the six days he spent outside the United States. It's kind of frightening. And if I were one of the Baltic nations, I would not be putting my confidence in Mitt Romney, believe me.
Senator Bob Casey, Jr., D-Pennsylvania
EA: You are on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I believe, and, of course, many Latvians and other Eastern European people are worried about this Administration turning its back on Poland and the Czechs on missile defense. And then the other day we see President Obama off mic telling Medvedev that he's ready to deal with Putin after the election when he doesn't have to answer to the public. This is a matter of great concern. What do you have to tell our readership?
BC: Well, I'll tell you one thing. I've got a record as a United States Senator. No one has a stronger record making sure that we’re being as tough as we should be with the Russians or anyone else. And I’ll let folks here from the Administration speak for themselves, but I'll tell you what my record is. It’s a record of being tough with those folks and unyielding in the best interests of our national security.
EA: nd what's the status of this Magnitsky bill [which introduces targeted sanctions against Russian human rights violators]? Are you working n that? What's happening with that now?
BC: Yes, well, first, I think it's got a lot of bipartisan upport, and like a lot of things in the Senate it hasn't received the onsideration that it should.
EA: And the Obama Administration s not in favor of that --
BC: Well, I'll just tell you what we're doing in the Senate, and think there’s a lot of support for it.
Representative Adam Schiff, D-CA (Los Angeles County)
EA: I talked to you four years ago, and I know that you have some ancestors from Lithuania.
AS: Yes, I sure do.
EA: You know the Latvians, the Lithuanians, the Estonians, and many others were a little disturbed the other day when they heard Obama whisper to Medvedev that that after the election when he doesn't have to answer to the voters he can wheel and deal and be very flexible with Putin. Why shouldn't the Latvians and the rest of the Eastern Europeans be worried?
AS: Well, I don't know that I would read that conclusion into the president's remarks, and I'd have to go back and see what the context was that they were discussing, but you know I have full confidence in the president, and I think he's done an extraordinary job in terms of our foreign policy and balancing a very difficult relationship with Russia. So I'm optimistic.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire
EA: You are on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Latvians and other Baltic and Eastern European people were petrified when they heard Barack Obama tell Medvedev that after the election he can be flexible. What does that mean? Why should they support Obama over Romney?
JS: Because I think President Obama understands that the Baltic States are very important to an integrated Europe, to Europe that is free and whole and at peace, and we will continue to support them as we're supporting all of the former Soviet republics in moving towards democracy and in continuing their drive to economic prosperity.
EA: What did you make of that off mic comment?
JS: I think it was taken out of context, and he understands the importance of making sure that Russia doesn't threaten the territorial integrity of the Baltic States or any of the former Soviet republics.
Representative Eliot Engel, D-NY (Bronx, Westchester and Rockland Counties), member of House Committee on Foreign Affairs
EA: There is a lot of concern among Latvians and other Eastern Europeans about Obama after the reversal on the missile shield for Poland and the Czech Republic and then the other day the off-mic statement to Medvedev that he was willing to deal with Putin after the election. That's rather worrisome to Latvians, Balts, and other Eastern Europeans. What you have to say to those people?
EE: Well, I think Barack Obama has been a strong president for the United States internationally. I mean, he found and killed Osama bin Laden. He understands that the United States has to have a strong defense and that the United States needs to be engaged. Russia is obviously an important country, and it's a country that we have to work with, but we should be under no illusions about Putin or any illusions about Russia, and I do believe that President Obama understands that while it's important to try to have friendly relations with Russia their goals are not our goals. And I believe that the president understands fully our commitments to NATO and our commitments to the Free World and particularly Latvia, which was part of the former Soviet Union and knows better than most what it was like to be behind the Iron Curtain. So I think you will see strong policies. I'm not worried of what one remark is made that a camera or microphone may have picked up. This president understands American strength and knows that the Russians are not going to be allowed to encroach on any of the free countries that we have now in both Eastern and Western Europe.
Comments