My, how time flies. It was only a month ago that the United States Congress and Senate passed a sanctions package that drastically restricted Russian and Iranian resources fueling the war against Ukraine. It was called the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, to honor the South Carolina senator who died in July, just after returning from meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to assure him of U.S. support for Ukraine in its battle against Vladimir Putin’s Russian invasion.
Graham had been putting the bill together for nearly a year, and after his death, it easily breezed through Congress and the Senate (by a bipartisan vote of 86 to 11). Large majorities of both parties were in agreement: Putin’s lawless assault had to be stopped. Ukraine deserved our support.
The act sanctioned Russian officials, Russian banks, and a fleet of tankers that surreptitiously moves Russian oil to markets around the globe. It directed President Trump to impose 100 percent tariffs on the countries that were the five largest importers of Russian oil and natural gas. Trump signed the act on September 18th, and it appeared to be a real breakthrough at the time. Oh, how naive we were.
Less than three weeks later, Trump disregarded his own GOP-led Congress and Senate — and his own signature — and made a “deal” with Russia that not only waived all sanctions against that country, it committed the U.S. to buy Russian oil. Thanks to Trump, the United States went from punishing nations that imported Russian fuel to becoming one of those nations. We went from trying to stop Russia’s murderous attacks on Ukrainian civilians to helping to pay for them. The U.S. is now aligned with a war criminal, which makes us war criminals. Us.
With one authoritarian move, Trump made Graham’s signature accomplishment as meaningless as the dozens of “ceasefires” and “complete victories” and “we control the Strait of Hormuz” announcements that Trump has spewed out over the past eight months, and about as real as the “$1.99 gas” sign he claimed to see from the window of his limo the other day.
Americans need to face it: The word of the president of the United States is about as reliable as a piece of wet Charmin.
Opposition to Trump’s deal was vociferous from both sides of the aisle. North Carolina GOP Senator Thom Tillis said, “What part of enforcing a law passed 86-11 by the Senate do the president and his advisors not understand? It’s unconscionable that this administration is capitulating to a Russian dictator.”
Florida GOP Senator Rick Scott said, “I think it’s clear Russia is the aggressor, and we’ve got to do everything we can to put economic pressure on Russia.” Several other Republican senators, including Texas’ John Cornyn, Susan Collins of Maine, and the spectral remains of Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell also found the courage to castigate Trump.
Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn was one of three no-shows for the sanctions package vote. If you were wondering what she had to say about the president aligning our country with Putin … well, as I write this, the answer would be zip. Nada. Bupkis.
However, she did release an AI video of herself dancing to a Kendrick Lamar song and attended a UT game with Pete Hegseth, so it’s not like she’s just, you know, lying low and trying not to offend her dwindling MAGA base. She’s also made sure we know she’s not going to eat Chinese fortune cookies or allow schools to perform trans surgery at lunchtime and send Jimmy home as Tammy.
As easy as it is to make fun of Blackburn’s tone-deaf campaign, the truth is that electing her puts a Trump toady at the head of Tennessee’s state government for four more years. She is the president writ small: a side-stepping lightweight who can be counted on to align with corporate interests, the NRA, and the billionaires who build the data centers now polluting our air, water, and peace and quiet — and driving up our utility bills.
Trump’s approval rating has fallen to 33 percent nationally. Democrats are leading in the polls in red states all over the country. Two-thirds of Americans appear to have finally caught on to the fact that Donald Trump is a lying con-man. There’s never been a better opportunity to turn Tennessee blue. Don’t let it pass. Vote.
