Quote of the Day (Ian Frazier, on Putin and the Influence of Lenin’s Tactics at Home and in the U.S.)

“Unlike Marxism-Leninism, [Soviet dictator V.I.] Lenin’s tactics enjoy excellent health today. In a capitalist Russia, [Vladimir] Putin favors his friends, holds power closely and doesn’t compromise with rivals. In America, too, we’ve reached a point in our politics where the strictest partisanship rules. Steve Bannon, the head of the right-wing media organization Breitbart News, who went on to be an adviser to the president, told a reporter in 2013, ‘I’m a Leninist...I want to bring everything crashing down, and destroy today’s establishment.’ Of course he didn’t mean he admired Lenin’s ideology—far from it—but Lenin’s methods have a powerfully modern appeal. Lenin showed the world how well not compromising can work. A response to that revolutionary innovation of his has yet to be figured out.”—American writer and humorist Ian Frazier, “What Ever Happened to the Russian Revolution?,” Smithsonian Magazine, October 2017

In the wake of the midterms, cries of “reaching across the aisle to work for the good of the country” sound a bit less tinny now than they have in the past decade.

Still, it’s unlikely that much will come of this sentiment. Changes in campaigning and governance—dating back not just to Donald Trump, but even to Newt Gingrich holding sway on Capitol Hill in the 1990s—militate against that.

If there is any hope for bipartisanship, that may come in how Congress forces a change in administration policy regarding Ukraine.

It remains highly suspicious why Donald Trump watered down a proposed plank in the 2016 Republican Party platform on military aid to that embattled country, let alone why he has been so autocrat-friendly towards Putin since then.

If the GOP is serious about entering a more chastened, post-Trump era, its members in the House and Senate can start by reversing the President’s rank appeasement of the Russian dictator.

Will they start singing “Kumbaya” with the victorious Democrats now? Hardly. But aiding Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be an excellent way to work for the common good abroad—and in a way that will enhance American security at home.