Political Quotes

“Madam President, if reports are true that Russia has been paying a bounty to the Taliban to kill American soldiers, this is a very serious escalation of what Russia expert Edward Lucas dubbed ``The New Cold War.'' Mr. Lucas said that back in 2008. This sort of movement by Russia, if it is proven--and there are a lot who believe with Russia it is possible--it demands a strong response. And I don't mean a diplomatic response. We have had previous things like this happen with Russia. President Bush tried playing nice with Russia, then talking tough when Putin showed his true nature. President Obama repeated this cycle--you know the word--``resetting'' relations, despite Russia having just occupied parts of our ally Georgia, and then switching gears when Russia invaded Ukraine. Putin is a KGB guy who understands only strength. His popularity has taken a hit lately. It makes him very unpredictable. That may be why he is doing these things, even though Russia has a reputation for doing them all the time. So we need to increase deterrence on NATO's eastern flank. We should also hit back where it hurts. Dictators like Putin fear their own people--and, of course, for good reason. Putin and his cronies have enriched themselves at the expense of ordinary Russians. This week Russia is having a referendum on waiving term limits, allowing Putin to stay in power when his term is up. Of course, Russia will probably be conducting a rigged election.…”