Democrats find Putin on Ukraine’s doorstep after years of downplaying the Russian threat

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As Russia amasses hundreds of thousands of troops along the Ukraine border, prompting fears of an imminent invasion, Democrats are left to contemplate years they spent downplaying the threat that Russia poses to the West and acting as if the Kremlin could be tamed.

‘Right out of the 80s’

During his third presidential debate with then-GOP candidate Mitt Romney in October 2012, former President Obama scoffed at his opponent for naming Russia as the primary adversary of the United States. During a back-and-forth regarding foreign policy, Romney had expressed concern that al Qaeda and other radical Islamist groups are “rushing in” amid revolutions that were sweeping the Muslim world.

“Gov. Romney, I’m glad that you recognize that al Qaeda is a threat,” Obama said. “Because a few months ago when you were asked what’s the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said Russia.”

“The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold War’s been over for 20 years,” Obama added.

John Kerry, who later became secretary of state, said at the time that Romney’s opinion regarding Russia was a “preposterous notion,” and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said the candidate had “little understanding of what is actually going on in the 21st century.”

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Their sentiments were echoed by Obama’s then-Vice President Joe Biden, who tweeted, “These debates have exposed that Gov. Romney and Paul Ryan have a foreign policy right out of the ’80s, a social policy out of the ’50s.”

Just months before, in March 2012, Obama was caught on a hot mic during what he thought was a private conversation about arms control with then-Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. Obama assured Medvedev that he would “have more flexibility” after his re-election, which the Russian president said he would “transmit to Vladimir.”

‘Russian reset’

Other members of the Obama administration claimed the U.S. can work with Russia and “reset” its relationship with the former Cold War adversary.

In March 2009, shortly after Obama was first elected, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with a red button emblazoned with what she thought was the Russian word for “reset,” in a symbolic gesture of diplomacy. The translation was wrong, and the “reset” has not taken hold.

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U.S. relations with Russia began to deteriorate in Obama’s second term following the passage of the Magnitsky Act in 2012 and the Russian annexation of Crimea and unrest in Ukraine in 2014.

Following the election of Donald Trump in 2016, Democrats began to blame Russia for meddling in the presidential election. Trump’s presidency was plagued with constant accusations of having colluded with Russian President Vladimir Putin and not being hard enough on the country.

‘Predictable and rational’

In June, Biden met with Putin in Geneva hoping for a “predictable and rational” relationship. “I think it’s always better to meet face to face, try to determine where we have mutual interest, cooperate,” Biden said. By having the meeting and calling Russia and the U.S. “two great powers,” he elevated Russia to a status on a par with the U.S., critics said.

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That same month, Biden lifted sanctions on the Russia-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline in a move that critics said would fast-track the pipeline for completion and make Europe more dependent on Russian gas.

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During a marathon press conference last week, Biden raised eyebrows when he said action by NATO following a Russian incursion “depends” on the size of the invasion.

“It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion, and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do, et cetera,” he said. “But if they actually do what they’re capable of doing with the forces amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia if they further invade Ukraine.”