Posted on 09/12/2013 9:31:16 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Americans shouldn't let Vladimir Putin's opinions get under their skin because the Russian president is a one-time KGB officer whose primary interest is nationalism, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Thursday.
"While we have to deal with him as the president of Russia, we don't have to respect his views. We don't have to respect his opinions," said Gingrich, co-host of CNN's "Crossfire."
"And frankly, we should laugh at him when he tries to lecture America about exceptionalism, because he ain't exceptional. He's just one more in a long tradition of dictators and thugs."
Putin rattled some Americans, including high-profile figures in Washington, when he argued in a New York Times op-ed against U.S. military intervention in Syria. In the final paragraph, he took issue with the idea of America being the proverbial shining city on a hill.
"It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation," he wrote. ....
The former House speaker pointed to Putin's history as a former intelligence officer for the KGB, where he worked from 1975-1992.
Gingrich also argued Putin was behind the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008 and the conflict in Chechnya has killed thousands.
He expressed doubt the opinion piece was even written by Putin, saying it was likely penned by a Washington speechwriters.
"You can go through and read that document and you could find at every single stage find that it's a lie," Gingrich said. "For us to take it seriously is a sign that we have forgotten who Vladimir Putin is."
(Excerpt) Read more at politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com ...
We are an exceptional people because unlike any other country we believe in the sovereignty of the individual based on the the freedom given by God and not by the state. Anyone who has been steeped in the poison of state does not have a clue as to the sensation of freedom that burns in the heart of the truly free. He is a slave and we are truly free.
Cain was and is a carnival huckster.
The Shiite Ayatollah of Iran doesn’t seem to have any problem with his muslim ally Assad.
It helps them avoid the Pogo fact, "we've met the enemy and it is us." They just don't want to see the country that used to be is no more. The ruling elites appreciate the flag waving cover.
How an Iran armed with a nuclear weapon is going to be beneficial to a dozen Christians in some obscure village in Syria is a great mystery to me. How it's going to be harmful to the peace and stability of the Middle East and the whole world is not.
I'm really stunned that there are FReepers who actually believe that Putin is anything but what he's always been -- or don't even seem to know what that is.
Last I checked, conservatives are pro-American and don’t think that the U.S. is the real evil empire. Opposing the communist Obumbo is one thing. Turning against your country, embracing the communist propaganda from the Kremlin is another. I’m ashamed of you guys.
Ashamed of the actions of this country is what i am, and fearful that people like you would use patriotism as a cover for whats happening in this country.
I read all the responses here and am wondering, why hasn’t anyone touched on the possibility that putin didn’t even write this op-ed? He may have given the go ahead per say, but did he say these words and/or write them?
I fear there is so much back room evil plotting going on and who knows who is doing what these days!
My dread is that obama has now stirred up yet another enemy, or, this is just the latest ploy to distract us from what is crushing this nation.
I admit I know less about the working of the KBG et al then others here, that which I do know is downright chilling.
My only ‘cheer’ for putin was in relation to the anti-gay crap due to how it effects kids. If in fact that was the genuine motive. Maybe I’m misunderstanding it and even that was/is political in nature. It just seemed like such a necessary thing to do, regardless of who makes it happen.
I can’t cheer for barry, it’s not possible. But I surely can’t cheer for the likes of putin as our weakness gives him strength - that is a scarey reality, to me.
His alliance with Iran should enrage any thinking person!
“Ashamed of the actions of this country is what i am, and fearful that people like you would use patriotism as a cover for whats happening in this country.”
Provide evidence I’ve ever done that? You can oppose Obama and his policies. But you don’t dare touch the good name of this country. Sorry, but our country is still fundamentally populated by patriots, even if the guy in the White House isn’t. If you find yourself rooting for Russian soldiers over American soldiers, you’ve gone off the deep end.
"Turning against your country, embracing the communist propaganda from the Kremlin is another. I’m ashamed of you guys.
You really don't see whats going on, do you? You want to attack fellow freepers, and you really don't want to admit we are on the brink in this country. Denial is what its called.
I agree.
Anti-American? Ha! I love my country but I’m not so blind as to not recognize when she’s becoming a shell of her former self. There’s nothing shocking about someone being pro-Putin in regards to the way he’s conducted himself in the past and it does not mean we’re wanting to run off and become Russian citizens. No need for the vitriol.
I know right? My goodness what will it take for some people to put off the rose colored glasses and see things for how they really are. Not for how they WERE, but how they ARE.
No doubt there's duplicity everywhere. The one thing we have now which we did not have for most of the twentieth century were news outlets which actually tell the truth. The claim that journalism "used to be" objective is all rubbish. Read Blacklisted by History by M. Stanton Evans. This is probably one of the best quickly accessible treatments which includes a great many of the topics discussed on this thread. Among other things you'll discover that leftist "journalists" covering for far-left presidents and trashing American heroes for the sake of advancing communism and destroying American culture is not a new thing. It began nearly on the day the Bolsheviks finally attained full control of Russia, picked up steam when FDR became President, and was ruthlessly promoted during a time when the Soviets were supposedly our "friends."
As for the Russian anti-gay propaganda laws; a broken clock, and all that. I do find it mildly interesting that the Russians have outlawed the attempt to forward the homosexual agenda in their own country, but advancing that agenda was part of their programme for the United States. In other words, they aren't really all that opposed to it as a moral evil. They recognize it's bad for a nation, their nation, and a powerful weapon to be used against other ones.
>> My kneejerk reaction is that the Republican-Democrat Washington, DC Party is getting a bit defensive.
Indeed.
I’m no fan of Putin, in fact I hate his guts. I’d like to feed him to a shark. I think anyone who actually praises him is being foolish.
But Obama is also an enemy of this nation, maybe a bigger one. Putin didn’t eff up our healthcare system or put communists on our Supreme Court. I’m not rallying around the flag for that son a (gun). Certainly not cause that RINO moron Gingrich is telling me to.
Obama’s war for the Muslim brotherhood must be stopped before it starts. If Vladdie boy can stop it he’ll have helped us out for a change. This country’s reputation has already taken a nosedive because of Obama’s incompetence (and they didn’t like us before that), much more important are the American lives and taxpayer money that could be lost replacing one piece of shite regime with an even worse piece of shite regime.
I have been trying to tell FREEPERS for two weeks that Putin is a terrible person to honor, but sometimes even FREEPERS have blinders on when they honor their fans. It was stunning to see the cheerleading for Putin lately. Hopefully sanity is coming back to Free Republic among some of the pro-Putin folks. I just shake my head sometimes.
Litvinenko was a pro-muslim pro-chechen propaganda journalist. He promoted the theory that islamic terrorist attacks in Russia were false flag operations. He was denied refugee/dissident entry to the USA, probably because he was a kook. And yes, he did convert to islam.
I agree with Newt with one exception. America, under Obama, should not be laughing at anyone.
I read this as a barb against Obama, not the American people at large.
He wrote "people" (individuals) as opposed to "a people" (a nation). And Obama certainly has been encouraged by his masters to view himself as being exceptional.
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