Sen. Tom Cotton [R-AR] Statement on Russia's Arrest of Alexei Navalny

Senate.gov ^ | Jan 28, 2018 | Tom Cotton

[Mariner]

80+%.

Putin is broadly liked in his country, I know of no serous person who disputes that.

And he has a vehement, dedicated core of detractors. They come from two schools:

1. The thugs who want his empire for themselves. Navalny and his ilk.
2. Jeffersonian (d)emocrats who want to forge a republic not unlike the US. Too small in number to even warrant suppression.

[Maverick68]

Yes, they almost make up for Bill and Hill!

[GoldenState_Rose]

I do dispute it. Putin is widely credited for bringing order to the country. My observations there echo what Yekaterinburg mayor Evgeny Roizman said in an article today.

Most Russians at this point don’t “like” Putin. But they’re zombied out from the media and tired of revolutions. Some are just content to be better off than the 90s or retire with a basic pension. It’s the young people who have a pulse and want more for their lives and futures though.

[GOPJ]

Thugs in OUR 'intelligence services' are cut from the same cloth...

If McCabe, Clapper, Brennan, et al had a say they would have worked to nullify the election of a duly elected President here in the United States...

Oh wait, that's what they DID DO...

[GoldenState_Rose]

Clearly they learn from the best! Those figures you mention, in all their efforts to try to pin collusion onto Trump, are themselves the ones exhibiting “Russian-style” behavior.

[Sam Gamgee]

Russia at best is a kleptocracy. Year after year it is estimated that Putin has taken 80% of the Russian budget for himself and his lackeys.

My point is who would be insane enough to ever invest in Russia? Better off playing Russian roulette for money.

[Sam Gamgee]

Well, it only means they THINK he does represent them, all the while raping the annual budget for himself and others.

[NorseViking]

That’s nothing. WaPo has recently endorsed a Communist nomination to challenge Putin. They are for everything but the current Russian ‘regime’. Be it Bolshevik or Nazi is of no matter.
A little is written in media but DoS is planning to target every entity working with the Russian officials and certain industries, including sanctions on countries buying Russian armament.
The reason is to ‘de-fund aggression’ namely Crimea which is not going anywhere and ‘election meddling’ which is totally fictional.

[NorseViking]

“” “” Russia at best is a kleptocracy. Year after year it is estimated that Putin has taken 80% of the Russian budget for himself and his lackeys.

My point is who would be insane enough to ever invest in Russia? Better off playing Russian roulette for money.”” “”

Who estimated? The same people who told you about Saddam tossing babies out of incubators? Or maybe that stories of Germans tossing babies on bayonets prior to WWI?

It is not that the Russian stock market has grown twenty-fold during Putin’s presidency without theft. LOL.

[GOPJ]

Yes, they are...

[granada]

Russia, and China, are not good places for so called “free press” like CNN, NBC, BBC.......

No bad.

China, the fast growing economy, doesn’t even have the general election.

[granada]

Free, fair election?
A pro Russia, pro China candidate enjoyed the victory in Czech election.

Free and fair.

[GoldenState_Rose]

Not only does the Czech Republic have free elections but if you look up and compare life expectancy, Czechs live 10 years longer on avg than Russians do. Sure Milos Zeman is not a slave to the E.U.-crats in Brussels, that’s a good thing.

Do I like that he’s a former communist and buddies with Putin and crew? No. But from my understanding, he’s ultimately a Czech nationalist and he helped usher his country into the E.U./NATO fold. So what if he’s critical of NATO? So is Trump. The criticism is healthy and only forces the institution to get its act together.

I don’t think Zeman will bring his country to a dead end the way Putin has, and now that Trump is president, Czechs have more reason to trust America again.

Also: while influential, I hear his role is more ceremonial than anything. Unlike Russia, there’s actual balance of power in Czech govt.

[9YearLurker]

An anti-corruption candidate in Russia. Ever so much needed.

He doesn’t have to hold just every little view that you do to be a positive over there.

[NorseViking]

Vox Omninonpopuli Westernized Politician Distinguishing features: Tailored suits that actually fit; Euro-spectacles; ties knotted correctly; hair that is washed daily; squeaky way of speaking English; laptop with PowerPoint. Habitat: Ren-TV; Ekho Moskvy; trendy restaurants; Davos; Spaso House. Danger if Provoked: Medium. Vox Omninonpopuli has more bark than bite. If provoked by Kremlin authoritarian moves, it will register its displeasure with the Western media, which will temporarily lead to predictions of doom. But a simple threat to relocate it from its natural Rublevko habitat to a khrushebka has an uncanny calming effect. Mortal Weaknesses: Western journalists; open positions on boards of major finance, oil and industrial companies; interest-free loans.

[9YearLurker]

Ha ha ha!!!

[NorseViking]

That’s from Moscow’s US expat weekly from 15 years ago.
They had a field guide explaining types you might encounter in Russia.
Navalny is a newer v. 2.0.

[Mariner]

“An anti-corruption candidate in Russia. Ever so much needed.”

In a world of universal corruption, every corrupt candidate runs on an anti-corruption platform.

[9YearLurker]

Still needed.

[Sam Gamgee]

So you don’t believe the charges that Putin has stolen from the treasury to enrich him and his friends? The last time I heard the charge was from a French documentary.