Brent Budowsky: To Bush and Obama — speak out on Trump

With America’s commander in chief running rogue operations that grant new victories to the Russian dictator who attacks our democracy and the ISIS terrorists who would kill our people, after greenlighting war crimes against the Kurdish people by an authoritarian leader in Turkey and repeatedly calling on foreign leaders to help him get reelected, every living former president should speak out loudly and clearly.

Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, the two previous presidents of the 21st century, should lead the charge to speak the truth about the first principles of the American presidency and the way our interests, values and honor are under attack by the temporary occupant of the Oval Office.

{mosads}With the Department of State under siege by a president who runs a rogue foreign policy that insults and demeans internationally respected diplomats who serve with great patriotism and expertise, and a secretary of State who refuses to defend them and sometimes acts like a politician supporting a partisan campaign, every living former secretary of State, secretary of Defense, national security adviser, and CIA director should speak out in defense of our diplomacy and security.

With the honor of the party of Lincoln on life support, every Republican member of the House and Senate should — without exception — clearly and unequivocally condemn the betrayal caused by the rogue policy leading to war crimes against the Kurds and the un-American notion that any president should ask any foreign leader to attack any political opponent.

Columnist George Will, who stands at the epicenter of principled conservatism and patriotic Americanism, wrote last week that any Republican who fails to stand up for what is right should be defeated and lose the House, the Senate and the presidency.

Things are happening in America today that should never happen in America, have never happened in America before, and must never happen in America again. Now is the time for every living former president to publicly stand together for our democracy, our security and our Constitution.

The betrayal of the Kurds, who courageously stood with America after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, constitutes one of the most sickening and despicable derelictions of duty and honor in the history of the American presidency.

In real time today, Americans witness the criminal butchering, maiming and killing of Kurdish boys and girls, Kurdish mothers and fathers, and Kurdish fighters supporting our side in the death struggle against terror.

Every living former president and secretary of State should rise with outrage and alarm when the president greenlights war crimes against the Kurds, allowing ISIS terrorists to escape to kill again and giving a gigantic victory for the dictator of Russia, the butchering ruler of Syria, and the Iranians moving into the void.

Every former president, secretary of State, secretary of Defense, national security adviser and CIA director should rise with outrage, alarm and disgust when a president repeatedly, in two successive presidential campaigns, publicly asks dictators and enemies in Russia and China, and threatens and pressures our democratic ally in Ukraine that is under attack from Russia, to promote dirt and lies against his political opponents.

Let’s give a standing ovation to those in the Trump administration who defy illegitimate orders to commit obstruction of justice and offer their testimony of truth to Congress. Let’s give a standing ovation to whistleblowers who risk illegal threats to their job security and safety in the noblest expression of the highest tradition of patriotism!

Every living former president should rise with a righteous patriotism and fierce defense of our national security, national values and national honor when a president soils the sacred oath they all took by accusing a long list of prominent and patriotic Americans of being guilty of the capital offense of treason. This may be the biggest lie ever told in the history of the American presidency, by the biggest liar who ever disgraced the office and violated what Thomas Jefferson would call the decent opinion of mankind and womankind!

Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and former Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.), who was chief deputy majority whip of the House of Representatives. He holds an LLM in international financial law from the London School of Economics.