Americans must support President Biden during the greatest threat to world security since 1939 | Opinion – pennlive.com

The German army invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. As German soldiers moved across the border, the Luftwaffe bombed military installations, airfields and whatever Polish resistance they encountered. It was the beginning of World War 2.

The American poet, W.H. Auden, knew what was coming. He wrote:

The unmentionable odour of death

Offends the September night. . .

We must love one another or die.

We are at a point in time that requires the undivided attention of our nation and its leaders to react to the situation in Ukraine. The unprovoked and unjustified invasion is as onerous as the warfare that erupted 83 years ago. It requires a forceful response from NATO and the West. The entire free world is, once again, looking to America and its president to face down the aggression of an arrogant thug.

But there is a different odour that may distract us from our responsibilities to Ukraine and its people. That smell you detect is coming from the fires of hyper partisanship that rears its ugly head in America even as we should be rallying behind the President and his ordeal.

Note that all of the Republican candidates who are blanketing the airwaves in Pennsylvania are sending whatever desperate signals they can to the former president and current cult leader. One wants you to remember that Trump appointed him as a U.S. Attorney. Another uses a video clip of his opponent with a former First Lady of the United States and some school children as evidence that he dances the night away with his liberal friends.

And add a touch of racism into the mix. One commercial puts children on the screen and suggests that an education that includes anything that is not painted in vanilla shades becomes critical race theory. God forbid that we address slavery or any other difficult historical issue.

Others simply use tried-and-true dog whistles to make sure that MAGA world remains on their side. One proclaims that he is anti-woke, anti-political correctness, anti-socialism, and anti-liberals. A word salad that adds nothing but rancor to the early discourse. These commercials add up to a campaign of crazy. A cacophony of meaningless noise.

The world of Pennsylvania politics became trivial the moment that Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. President Biden and world leaders understand the threat to the west and the blatant opportunism of Putin. Rational leaders of both parties are doing their best to support their President as he makes crucial decisions to avert another world war. The moment calls for patriotism; not political stupidity.

But stupidity and subversion are what we are getting from the egomaniac from Mar-a-Lago.

In the battle for Western civilization versus Putins Communist adventurism, Trump is choosing Putin. The former guy says that Putin is a genius and just like when he was in office, he cannot hide his admiration for the autocratic thug.

It is time for Republicans at all levels and candidates for every office across the land to choose sides. Are you a legitimate leader with noble intentions? Or are you part of the cult that is undermining the nation and its responsibility to ensure world peace?

I am waiting for candidates to break free of the stranglehold of Trumpism. The dumpster that is unloaded on us every day on TV only adds to the fire of animosity that the cult demands. Republicans must square their shoulders and bring us back to a semblance of civility. They can put aside the clown show and stand for those principles that made the Grand Old Party in the first place. They can engage in reasonable partisan debate on real issues.

But, at the very least, they should reject the ravings of a former Ppesident whose only interest is himself. The oath of office requires that elected officials protect the Constitution and the country from enemies both foreign and domestic. I remind us all that the Fourteenth Amendment, Section 3 clearly spells out the penalties for insurrection and rebellion. Also, take a look at 18 U.S. Code, Section 2381 for what constitutes treason.

I ask every candidate running for office this year:

Do you support the current president in opposing the greatest threat to world peace since 1939? Or, do you, like the Mar-a-Lago cult leader think Putin is a genius? Will you separate yourself from the former guy who now represents a domestic threat and a clear and present danger to our country?

I stand with President Biden in this time of war. Our candidates and elected officials should be strong enough to do the same. When it comes to world peace, American democracy matters. For American democracy to flourish, our leaders need to do the right thing.

Mark S. Singel is a former Democratic Lieutenant Governor and Acting Governor of Pennsylvania.

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Americans must support President Biden during the greatest threat to world security since 1939 | Opinion - pennlive.com