Print 
PDF
Vice President J.D. Vance warned European leaders in Munich Friday that the greatest challenges threatening democracy today are the internal impulses of Western governments to dismiss constituent frustrations over unchecked immigration and their moves to censor dissident speech.
“While the Trump administration is very concerned with European security and believes that we can come to a reasonable settlement between Russia and Ukraine,” Vance said, “the threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe … is the threat from within.”
Europe choked, while some in the US press tried to clear their throat.
Vance echoed the words of a Roman Senator about 2000 years ago as he tried to warn his own nation as it collapsed from the enemy within.
Be informed, not misled.
“A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his/her banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men (and women). He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.”
― Marcus Tullius Cicero
The vice president characterized the threat at the Munich Security Conference as “the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.”
He said, "For years, we’ve been told that everything we fund, and support is in the name of our shared democracy values. Everything from our Ukraine policy to digital censorship is billed as a defense of democracy, but when we see European courts canceling elections and senior officials threatening to cancel others, we ought to ask whether we’re holding ourselves to an appropriately high standard.”
The vice president referenced the December annulment of elections in Romania---a decision that was upheld by the European Court of Human Rights in January.
He called out the leaders in Brussels, Sweden, and the UK, including Scotland, where European governments have engaged in censoring and prosecution of political opponents.
He even called out the organizers of the very conference he was speaking to, for banning lawmakers representing populist parties on both the left and the right from participating in "these conversations."
Vance said, "Free speech, I fear, is in retreat, and in the interest of comity, my friends, but also in the interest of truth, I will admit that sometimes the loudest voices for censorship have come not from within Europe but from within my own country."
"So, I come here today not just with an observation but with an offer," he said. "In Washington, there is a new sheriff in town."
"And under Donald Trump's leadership, we may disagree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square."
The blowback.
NPR said, "Vice President Vance delivered a stinging message to European leaders when he took the stage at the Munich Security Conference on Friday: the biggest threat to their continent, he said, comes not from Russia or China, but from within."
The Public Radio voice that represents the Left most of the time said, "Vance scolded them for censoring conservative and right-wing views that he said shut people out from the democratic process. He downplayed interference from Russia in democratic elections and was critical of actions requiring social media companies to limit disinformation and hateful speech."
NPR concluded that Vance's speech was "extremely confrontational."
I saw it as refreshing.
Apparently, the Wall Street Journal did not.
Wall Street Journal twists Vance's words.
Town Hall is reporting that "Vice President J.D. Vance is accusing The Wall Street Journal of misrepresenting his comments in a Friday headline that suggested he had threatened to use military and economic force to pressure Russia into agreeing to a deal to end the war in Ukraine. Vance claims the headline distorted his words, asserting that he did not propose such extreme measures but was discussing potential diplomatic solutions and a shift in U.S. foreign policy. The controversy highlights ongoing tensions between Vance and the media over his statements on international relations."
The article titled “Vance Wields Threat of Sanctions, Military Action to Push Putin Into Ukraine Deal” twisted the vice president’s comments, claiming he threatened Russia with military intervention or sanction. Instead, he said that all options were on the table for President Donald Trump's negotiations between the two countries to end the war to continue, according to a transcript of the interview posted by Vance’s communications director, William Martin.
The back and forth between the Wall Street Journal and Martin took to social media and continued over the weekend.
Takeaway
Marcus Tullius Cicero was born on January 3, 106 BC, and murdered on December 7, 43 BC. His life coincided with the decline and fall of the Roman Republic, and he was an important player in many of its significant political events. His writings are now a valuable source of information about those events.
Probably the most notable example of his influence is St. Augustine’s claim that it was Cicero’s "exhortation to philosophy," the text of which is unfortunately lost, that turned him away from his sinful life and toward philosophy and ultimately to God.
Daniel Webster, a second-generation leader in our country, said, "If we abide in the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instruction and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity."
The vice president concluded by calling on the continent to defend itself and eliminate Soviet-style censorship.
“It is the business of democracy to adjudicate these big questions at the ballot box,” Vance said. “I believe that shutting down elections or shutting people out of the political process protects nothing.”
“In fact, it is the most surefire way to destroy democracy,” Vance added.
The vice president also finished by mocking the outrage over Elon Musk.
“If American democracy can survive 10 years of Greta Thunberg’s scolding, you can survive a few months of Elon Musk,” he said.
I personally believe our country is turning in the right direction.
Patrick Henry once said, "It is when people forget God that tyrants forge their chains."
The chains are being broken, and our nation is being politically set free.
Webster said, "God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it."
Remember, where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful.
