Four Years Ago On The Fourth

Lest we forget where seven Putin-aligned Republican Senators and one Representative were celebrating the Fourth of July four years ago, there's this:

"Seven senators — John Kennedy (R-LA), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Hoeven (R-ND), John Thune (R-SD), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) — and one House member, Kay Granger (R-TX), are all in Moscow over the Fourth of July holiday this week for talks with Russian lawmakers and officials, according to reporting from the Washington Post, NPR, and investigative reporter Julia Davis.

This news is shocking for a number of reasons.

First of all ... it was the Fourth of July, for crying out loud. On a day where America celebrates its independence from tyranny and the establishment of its democracy, Republicans broke with precedent to meet with a tyrannical regime that tried to undermine American democracy by meddling in the 2016 elections.

Secondly, this week marks the first time in four years that a U.S. congressional delegation has gone to Moscow, and the first time since Russia annexed Crimea, which set off a firestorm of international criticism and led the U.S. to impose sanctions on Russia. Recently, however, Trump has suggested that Russia should not be punished for its illegal annexation."  (our emphasis)

As the article notes, this betrayal came just 12 days before the Malignant Loser's meeting in Helsinki with Russian thug Putin, where he groveled and disgraced himself by coming to Putin's defense about the 2016 election meddling, and dismissing U.S. intelligence reports.

In particular, Ron Johnson continued to carry Russian thug Putin's water for him in the Senate, spreading Kremlin talking points undermining Ukraine's security and more. Recently, he's been mouthing anti-Putin statements since he's up for re-election this year, but his earlier willingness to spread Putin's propaganda are a matter of record and a stain he can't wash off.

(photo: The Dirty Eight. U.S. Senate and House official photos)