Thursday, August 2, 2018

Will Faso take a stand on Trump" Letter to the editor Tom Denton

Will Faso Take a Stand on Trump?          
 
In his weekly newsletter, Republican Congressman John Faso offered a link to a New York Times op-ed piece by his fellow representative, Republican Will Hurd of Texas, about Congress’ response to “Putin’s Russia.”  Faso followed with this comment:  “I totally agree.”
 
He totally agreed.   He must agree, then, with Hurd’s lead paragraphs:
 
Over the course of my career as an undercover officer in the C.I.A., I saw Russian intelligence manipulate many people. I never thought I would see the day when an American president would be one of them.
The president’s failure to defend the United States intelligence community’s unanimous conclusions of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and condemn Russian covert counterinfluence campaigns and his standing idle on the world stage while a Russian dictator spouted lies confused many but should concern all Americans. By playing into Vladimir Putin’s hands, the leader of the free world actively participated in a Russian disinformation campaign that legitimized Russian denial and weakened the credibility of the United States to both our friends and foes abroad.
 
Hurd goes on to suggest that “lawmakers must fulfill our oversight duty as well as keep the American people informed of the current danger”--by implication, because Trump has not.  Faso, then, must agree.
 
Or does he?  Faso’s public pronouncements often conjure the image of the Greek god Janus, often depicted with two faces, one facing east, one west.  Faso, a self-proclaimed “moderate,” often wants to have it both ways.
 
Will his constituents hear Rep. Faso take a clear stand, in his own words?  Does he believe Donald Trump is a danger to America?  Does he trust Trump to defend our country’s interests?

Publishing history
Shawangunk Journal     8/2/18

New Paltz Times    8/2/18 

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