Headline of the Day Poll
Is Rex Tillerson a good pick for Secretary of State?
No, he is too close to Russia’s Vladimir Putin
Yes, he has tremendous experience in international trade
What does he add? Bolton can do it. This guy has too much baggage.
I have a problem with Islam. I don’t have a problem with Russia.
Didn’t we beat Russia in the Cold War for a reason?
...
I thought we beat the Soviet Union.
Look, these people hate Putin because he is a nationalist, and thumbs his nose at the globalist agenda.
Trump understands that. He knows Putin is a tough guy that will do whatever advances his agenda. But Trump respects that, and feels he can deal with him . . . in some ways better than with the smarmy back-stabbing globalists.
????? Rex Tillerson Is ‘Wrong Man for State’?????
Because the selection standards that gave us Secretaries of State like Madeleine Albright, Connie Rice, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry have worked out so well for the nation.
How very compelling.
Look, everyone, I have a news flash for you. There's no way that every Trump supporter is going to be delighted with every single nomination that he makes.
So I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that we give President-elect Trump the benefit of the doubt and let him have his choice of nominees.
If there's any real problem with any of these nominees, I'm sure our beloved US Senate will adequately fulfill its "advise and consent" role...
” Mr. Trump needs a Secretary of State unencumbered by any perceived pro-Kremlin alignment. So does our country.”
I would rather have a guy out there representing our country who maintains a quality rapport with our enemies as well as our allies, and Tillerson appears to be that person.
He knows the World players, and he knows he’s got a boss covering his back. Now all he needs is someone on our side that knows the Sec. of State staff, and their idiotsyncracies to go in there, and kick some butt. I think Bolton would do the job as Undersecretary of State quite well.
Given that the troika of McQueeg, Linda & Bubbles were quite happy with Zero (or helping Hillary), I’d say their opinion on this subject isn’t worth a pile of manure.
Why are conservatives such busybodies these days?
John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio – have already expressed concerns about a Tillerson nomination.
...........................................................
My, my, seems the gang of eight buddies are at it again. Reason enough to like Tillerson for me when these three idiots are against him. I’ll go with Trump’s instincts any day over McCain, Graham, and Rubio.
We contained the Soviet Union for 4 decades based on a strategy that was first articulated in Dean Acheson's Long Telegram. The Soviet Union imploded for many reasons. We didn't "beat" the Soviet Union or Russia.
Our objective was not to make only America the lone influential world power. If that is the criterion, then we failed. China is certainly rivaling the US in global economic and military power. We viewed the threat of Communism to ourselves and our allies as the reason for containing the imperialistic and totalitarian ambitions of the Soviets and liberating the many people that they oppressed.
It seems like Trump might not have a problem with there being another world power; not very Reagan-like.
Trump is dealing with the existing reality. Russia and China are world powers. They are not going away. We had relations with both during the Cold War, including under Ronald Reagan.
Gaffney is Joe Biden, or some Democrat progIslam; he's a patriot hero, and if he's against Tillerson, so am I.
Gaffney is a pundit and sometime politically appointed government employee, not a hero. Gaffney began his government career in the 1970s, working as an aide in the office of Democratic Senator Henry M. Jackson, under Richard Perle. From August 1983 until November 1987, Gaffney held the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy in the Reagan Administration, again serving under Perle.
In April 1987, Gaffney was nominated to the position of Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. He served as the acting Assistant Secretary for seven months. During this time, despite his official post, he was excluded by senior Reagan administration officials from the then-ongoing arms control talks with the Soviet Union. Gaffney was ultimately forced out of the Pentagon; The Washington Post observed at the time that within four days of Frank Carlucci's appointment as Secretary of Defense, "Gaffney's belongings were boxed and he was gone". Following his departure from government, he immediately set about criticizing Ronald Reagan's pursuit of an arms control agreement with the USSR.
Putin enables Muslim Islam terror all over, especially when he's helping Iran build a nuke.
Putin is not an enabler of radical Muslim terrorists. Have you ever heard of the Chechen Republic? Or the First and Second Chechen Wars? Russia has a Muslim problem. It is far more vulnerable to Islamic motivated attacks. Muslims make up 10-15% of the population.
Russia is selling multiple nuclear reactors to Iran, which is not a good thing. Of course, the US was in the process of selling nuclear reactors to the Shah prior to his removal. The Russians have always sought to have political influence in Iran beginning with its support of the Tudeh party in Iran. It was one of the reasons we helped to overthrow Mosaddegh and install the Shah. The Soviet Union sought to expand their influence in the region after WWII.
Rex Tillerson as SecState poses no great threat to our country. He will work for the President and implement Trump's policies. He is not some autonomous actor who determines what our foreign policy will be throughout the world. He will do the President's bidding like any other Cabinet Officer. If he does not, Trump will fire him since he serves at the discretion of the President.
Mobile-Exxon has mandatory retirement at 65. Rex has about a year left. If he leaves before that date, the business ties with Putin end.
Personally, I do not think it is a bad thing to be on good terms with Russia.
Rex gave a very good speech to the Economic Club in DC. Opened my eyes to the energy needs of nations and what is happening around the world. Rex is a wise pick.
If McCain and Graham are against this guy then I’m all for him.
Probably a little above my pay grade, but I disagree. First of all, Lindsay, McCain and Rubio have been wrong about everything all the time. Their “concern” alone would make me favor Tillerson. Second, I don’t understand this desire to continue with the Cold War. We had a problem with the Soviets because they wanted to spread socialism all over the world. Reagan tossed them onto the dustbin of history. Now, we have Russia, which is a major world power, but doesn’t really have any particular designs on the world other than regular maximization of their power and influence and wealth the same as every other country in the world. I don’t see a problem with it. Are they as free and democratic as we are? No, but they never have been, so we’re not going to change that.
Trump would be smart to have an alliance with Russia to check China...seems to be what he’s heading toward.
More pants-wetting by the #NeverTrumpers
Tillerson is NOT tied to Putin, and he is one of the few few in the world who can challenge Lavrov intellectually. Lavrov is twice as smart as Putin and half again as wily. And four times smarter and three times wilier than any of the other people whose names were bandied about as Secretary of State.
While Russia is not our enemy like Hillary, 0bama McCain and Graham claim, they are not our friend either, and will only respect strength from our President and Secretary of State. Having dealt with them successfully as a businessman, he (Tillerson) knows their trick and is smart enough to counter them.
If Gaffney is on the same side as McCain and Graham, then he might want to rethink what he’s saying.
Come on, folks. I’m inclined to trust Trump’s judgment. He obviously knows things and sees things that we don’t.