In the 1998 movie "Ronin," Robert de Niro's character is asked by Sean Bean, "Did you ever kill anybody?" De Niro replies, "I hurt somebody's feelings once." Even though JD Vance didn't slay anyone at the Munich Security Conference, his speech definitely hurt some feelings.
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Not the least bruised was Vance's host, Munich Security Conference Chairman Christoph Heusgen. In his closing remarks, Heusgen was in actual tears, which, I suppose, is acceptable behavior for effete Euro-trash politicos, but it doesn't project courage, strength, confidence, or, dare I say manliness.
With aval Ewald von Kleist, this conference started as a transatlantic conference. After the speech of Vice President Vance on Friday, we have to fear that our common value base is not that common anymore. I'm very grateful to all those European politicians that spoke out and reaffirmed the values and principles that they are defending. No one did this better than president Zelensky. Let me conclude and this becomes difficult...
Naturally, the low-T crowd went wild when he broke down into a blubbering mess because it was a metaphor for the state of Europe.
While you try to look away when a grown man is humiliating himself, this time, it is appropriate to point and snicker. Back in 2018, Heusgen was one of the clutch of German politicians laughing at President Trump as he warned them of the danger of sole dependence upon Russian natural gas for their energy.
Just as Trump warned them about the national security risks, and, quite honestly, had the Germans not been totally reliant upon the goodwill of Russia to run their economy, the Russians would probably never have invaded Ukraine, Vance warned them about the cultural rot of untrammeled immigration by people who hate Europe's culture and have made no secret of their desire to supplant it. Vance warned them of the creeping totalitarianism of, as he put it, commissars who view the ordinary people as problems to be managed and not a source of national strength.
Heusgen is right; the common ground we've had with Europe since our founding has frayed to the breaking point. The Europeans, particularly the British and Germans, have elected to follow the Communist Chinese model of democracy, where you can say whatever you want so long as the government approves. Initiative and ambition have been replaced by a dull, gray bureaucracy that isn't terribly bright and highly resentful of those who are. They are seeing the American gravy train coming to an end. Instead of American youth and treasure safeguarding Europe, they will either have to pony up for their own defense or welcome their Chinese and Russian overlords.
They laughed at Trump. They aren't laughing at Vance.
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