Putin – and blaming others

Vladimir Putin took a page out of the Democrat playbook and called Ukrainians “Nazis” as justification for invading. Democrats prefer to call Republican voters, or anyone else they disagree with now, “white supremacists,” but you get the idea. Make up a pejorative label, have your media pawns repeat it, and use it to justify what you want to do. Both Joseph Goebbels and Saul Alinsky would be proud of the Democrats and Putin.

Under the feckless Biden regime and its rising oil prices, Russia is all over Ukraine. Biden is so mad at Russia about this that he has imposed bold new sanctions on Joe Rogan.

Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union message and spoke about this war. Hundreds of thousands of Americans tuned in to witness his take on the ongoing battle between Biden and the English language.

Who would have thought just a few months ago that the Ukrainian city of Chernobyl would be the safest in the country? Putin is saving Chernobyl for a tourist attraction, like Disneyland. It has tourist name recognition and the mice there are already six feet tall.

If World War III starts, it will reconstruct the old-world order of war: England will bring its navy, Germany its infantry, the U.S. its air force and missiles. And, of course, France will be asked to bring the refreshments.

We do know that this happened under Obama and Biden, not Trump. Because the Dems hampered U.S. drilling for oil and shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline, gas prices at our pumps have gone from $1.85 a gallon to more than $4.00. High oil prices only embolden Putin’s ambitions and weaken the U.S.

Bad U.S. energy policy by Democrats cannot be ignored. Putin has one real asset: Russia’s oil and gas reserves, which fund his nefarious exploits. The role that oil prices per barrel play in lubricating the wheels of Russian conflict can become ignored.

A simple look back at past aggressions by Putin (the billionaire who runs a communist/socialist country with his kleptocracy oil profits) reveals a strong correlation between soaring oil prices and Moscow’s willingness to aggressively assert its will beyond its own borders.

Putin’s net worth is estimated at $274 billion, which he has managed on just a $140,000 annual salary. Some people think he may be corrupt, but I think he saved that much money by being sensible with his spending.  He only buys store brands and always takes the bus to work so he does not have to pay the outrageous Kremlin parking fees.

Just imagine if Putin were not a socialistic, share-the-wealth type guy but a free- market capitalist, how rich he’d be. As a government worker/public servant in a socialist country, those are Harry Reid, Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi types of increase in net worth over their years in politics.

You can imagine how mad Biden is about this invasion. Ukraine was his family’s money laundering honey-hole.

During Russia’s previous two military attacks on its former Soviet neighbors – the 2008 war in Georgia and its 2014 seizure of Crimea and then the Donbas region of Ukraine – oil prices per barrel were at historically elevated levels ($125 and $102 respectively for global benchmark Brent crude).

Oil prices are on the ascent again, reaching seven-year highs on Tuesday with U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude topping $106 a barrel. Them’s some invading money numbers! Last year we imported more oil from Russia than we have in over a decade.

Those gains fill Moscow’s coffers and might imbue the Kremlin with a sense of immunity from the threat of further Western sanctions or economic isolation.

You cannot help but correlate misguided Democrat energy policy and the spike in oil prices with Ukraine and other aggressions. The best way to wage a bloodless war against Putin is for the U.S. to “drill baby drill” and become energy independent again. It would do wonders for inflation, which under Biden is at a 40-year high, and it would stimulate U.S. business.

Upon getting control of Ukraine, Putin will sit on it like it’s a New York rent-controlled apartment.

At the end of the day, Russians soldiers brave winter conditions, fight bears, drink vodka 24/7 and fight with World War II-era Kalashnikov machine guns. Our boys do Snap Chat dance videos, live in their parents’ basements into their 20s and fear women. We probably ought to just lay low on this war.

Ron Hart is a syndicated op-ed humorist, award-winning author, and TV/radio commentator; you can reach him at Ron@RonaldHart.com or Twitter @RonaldHart.