Posted on 03/23/2023 8:52:13 AM PDT by SoConPubbie
After attempting to navigate through the politics in order to curry favor with the base Republican voters on a Ukraine position, when confronted by Piers Morgan who is a pro-NATO war voice, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis now says his former position on Ukraine has been “mischaracterized” and Vladimir Putin “is a war criminal.”
The walk back highlights once again that Ron DeSantis is an empty vessel using poll testing to formulate his policy stances.
The reversing comments on Vladimir Putin and Ukraine come from the interview DeSantis gave to Piers Morgan as noted in a recent New York Post article:
(Piers Morgan, NY Post) – Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis has branded Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” and demanded he be “held accountable” for his barbaric invasion of Ukraine.
Taking a tougher tone from his statement last week appearing to dismiss the year-long war as a “territorial dispute,” DeSantis now says Russia was WRONG to invade Ukraine and was WRONG to invade and take over Crimea in 2014, and won’t win the war. And he’s made his strongest attack yet on Russia’s dictator, calling him a loser who is “basically a gas station with a bunch of nuclear weapons.”
His assertion, in a statement to Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, that it is not in America’s “vital national interests” to become “further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia” was strongly criticized by numerous senior Republicans — including Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Marco Rubio.
When I asked him specifically if he regretted using the phrase “territorial dispute,” DeSantis replied, “Well, I think it’s been mischaracterized. Obviously, Russia invaded (last year) — that was wrong. They invaded Crimea and took that in 2014 — That was wrong.
[…] “There is a move now to hold [Vladimir Putin] accountable for war crimes,” I told DeSantis, “bombing maternity hospitals and genocidal activity in parts of Ukraine wiping out whole cities like Mariupol. Would you support that?”
“I think he is a war criminal,” he replied. “This ICC … we have not done that in the US because we’re concerned about our soldiers or people being brought under it. So, I don’t know about that route, but I do think that he should be held accountable.” DeSantis is convinced Ukraine will eventually prevail in the war. (read more)
The DeSantis team has also hired the notorious dirtbag, Jeff Roe.
You might remember Roe as the former 2016 campaign manager for Ted Cruz who falsely told the people of Iowa, on the night before the primary caucus, that Dr. Ben Carson dropped out of the race. The Cruz Crew amplified this false message, and duped Carson caucus supporters who subsequently switched candidates on election day to support Ted Cruz. Jeff Roe created the lie, then tried to deny it.
(Via Politico) – […] Jeff Roe, who previously ran Sen. Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign, has signed on to be an adviser to the super PAC, Never Back Down, according to an operative with direct knowledge of the move.
Never Back Down is being spearheaded by executive director Chris Jankowski, another seasoned Republican operative. Ken Cuccinelli, a former top Homeland Security official to Donald Trump, is serving as chair of the super PAC. Over the last several weeks, Cuccinelli has visited four key early GOP primary states. (read more)
A DeSantis political group that would hire Jeff Roe highlights, yet again, how the DeSantis 2024 campaign is a mirror of Ted Cruz campaign in 2016.
Factually, almost all of the 2016 never-Trump Cruz Crew are now members of the 2024 never-Trump Desantis Crew. To assist this overall ‘never-Trump’ endeavor, in 2024 Vivek Ramaswamy is now playing the former role of Evan McMullin in 2016.
The professional political class of the GOPe, the DeceptiCons, are never as vicious against Democrats as they are against candidates who do not conform to the Republican UniParty orthodoxy. If you want to see the Republicans fight dirty, just become a Republican political candidate that does not comply with them. Then, and only then, will you see a side of the Republican wing that doesn’t surface against Democrats.
Threaten their GOPe Wall Street multinational corporate interests, ie. ‘their money‘, and the DeceptiCons get vicious.
If the professional Republicans are NOT targeting a Republican politician, you can be assured that Republican politician is a member of the GOPe club operation.
Yes, it really is that simple, and Ron DeSantis is a member of that club.
Apparently you have not been reading the daily propaganda dumps here. I suggest you do, it’s quite entertaining. Makes me wonder if they are paid trolls trying to prop up support for the laundromat.
DeBacktrack Placemarker
To add...
EU/US reneged on Minsk, as Merkle said.
Nato continued to expand eastward, despite assurances.
VP of US showed up in Ukraine and suggested they join Nato.
Lil Z stated Uke would pursue nukes.
Putin tried to get resolution via International forums and was denied.
I might have done the same thing if in charge of a country. No options left.
Invasion of neighboring Ukraine for territorial gain. Sending an invading army to capture a European capitol?
Well then you would be a warmonger like Putin, who violates multiple international treaties Russia signed, promising to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity.
He’s flip-flopping phony. Anyone in bed with the neocons and Chamber of Commerce cheap labor types is nothing but the second coming of George W. Bush.
Let's not ask why NATO is so popular cos then people might realize there's a reason that niether Austria nor Switzerland are concerned by being surrounded by this "hostile, aggressive alliance" and seeking protection from it.
“He removed children from a war zone”
Is that anything like bussing them to Martha’s Vineyard?
wy69
I will clap. That was a marvelous performandce taking hiself out of serious contention for the Presidency like that, permanently. Looks like he realized he didn’t have the stuff to make it in the big leagues.
That statement is so devoid of critical thinking and understanding it deserves no explanation.
Austria cannot join NATO per their Constitution. It was a condition for the Soviets leaving their zone of occupied Austria and allowing Austria to reunite and become an independent country, whereas Germany remained divided until 1990.
Trying to have it both ways now, like he’s Joe Manchin or something.
Very bad week for DeSantis.
Austria has also willing oriented their business interests east. They make a lot money off Russia and don’t intend to stop.
1. He started a war.
2. He’s a criminal.
QED
There is no moral equivalence between invader Russia and invadee Ukraine. Suggesting such is intellectually weak and lazy. Conservatives are better than that. Or at least we use to be.
It appears he was taken to the woodshed by his GOPe handlers
In any event, I’m sick and tired of the phrase “held accountable,” and those who repeat it ought to be he....
Yeah...its exactly like that. 🤪
What a douche
There are many ways to intelligently express opposition to US involvement in Ukraine
But Desantis quickly resorted to the stupidest of deep-state/neocon slogans.
He will never beat Trump now.
A check of my old posts will show that I was very sympathetic to Putin before the invasion. The US (and NATO) treated Russia as if it were some little backwater country, one that could be bullied or ignored at will.
This was a combination of stupidity and arrogance.
However, I stand by my comment that Putin overreacted. He sent tanks across a sovereign border. He is now killing innocents and breaking things. Nope, I cannot defend that.
Bush II also overreacted when he invaded Iraq. That makes Bush II a war criminal as well. I’ll go even further, and say that Bush is the worse of the two. Iraq was no threat to the United States. So Bush just manufactured a threat.
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