GOP Blames Obama For ‘Delegitimizing’ The PEOTUS, And Putin Is Loving It


A surprising outcome of the assessment that Russia infiltrated the U.S. presidential election is the denial that it happened. Especially from a President-elect who is dismissive of the foundations of our nation’s own national security.

More telling is how persistent Republicans are to use the President’s sanctions against Russia against him. For instance, last week, Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) said that President Obama’s sanctions were trying to delegitimize Donald Trump’s election.

Like many Republicans, Franks called out the President for responding with sanction too late. He said the President should have responded to Russia when they were supporting Assad’s bombing of civilians in Syria. But this is only another extension of what Republicans have always believed, which is to instigate another war in the Middle East.

In 2013, the President called for military action against Assad after using chemical weapons against his own people. Congress, however, decided to do nothing, so the administration cut a deal with the Syria’s moderators, the Russians, to remove the chemical weapons.

Trent Franks Hardens Trump Team View Of Russian Sanctions

It’s noted that Trent Franks’ accusation falls in line with what the Trump transition team established, which is that any claims of Russia’s involvement are designed to delegitimize Trump’s election. It should also be noted that it wasn’t until October that both the FBI and the CIA presented their conclusions. The Obama administration decided to wait to respond until after the election to not add to partisan politics already at play.

To Republicans, however, it wouldn’t matter if the President had acted then. Americans who were hoping for the promised proportional response by the administration were wondering when it would happen. Franks’ criticism of the Obama administration not imposing sanctions on Syria neglects the sanctions already put in place.

Even the press, who have been accused of being the “Liberal media” have said that there is no evidence to say that Russian interference manipulated the vote tabulation process. This does not matter to either the Trump transition team or Republicans like Franks, who says:

“I am completely convinced that Barack Obama’s primary motivation here is to try to delegitimize the election here.”

Republican Double Standard

At the same time, Franks says that he’s harder on Russia than anyone else. He appears to acknowledge Russia’s expansionism across the world, but also suggested that Russia did a better job at presenting accurate information to the American people than the press had. To many, this is no different than to say that Vladimir Putin is a much stronger president than Obama is.

Throughout the campaign, other Republicans have had no problem “flattering” Putin. One article by PoliticusUSA rounds up the responses from both sides over new sanctions. It too points to Trent Franks, but also to the idea that the Republican Party is more accepting of Putin’s involvement today. The few Republicans furiously opposed to Putin are already standing out.

In a similar tone of opposition, the President’s exit from the White House is likely going to be the last we see of the opposition against Obama.

GOP Prepares To Protect Vladimir Putin

With the chance that the Republican Party will fast track as many laws as possible in the same weekend as Trump’s inauguration – with the complete support of a president-elect who is willing to get rid of all of Obama’s executive actions, Obama might not even be blamed for the “failed” policies of the past when he leaves office, much less be acknowledged at all.

With Russian president Putin taking “the high road” rather than retaliate against sanctions, Obama is already forgotten. Blaming Obama for trying to “delegitimize” Trump’s election has no reinforcement than with the Trump transition team saying so.

Republicans who feel the need to say something, know they might have Trump’s supporters to answer to. They are also aware of the need to fall in with the party’s line. Blaming the outgoing president until he’s out of office is a sign of things to come for the party Democrats.  Now, all opposed will have a Republican Party that has become more loyal to Vladimir Putin to answer to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWXLM6cW2mw

Featured Image President Obama / Trent Franks by John Viirok/Gage Skidmore via Flickr | combined, resized, cropped, manipulated by JonMarkDraws | Under Creative Commons Attribution (ShareAlike) 2.0 Generic License