Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is but one example of this genuinely absurd phenomenon we are all bearing witness to: the “garbage in, garbage out” White House. (Photo: Andrew Harrer-Pool / Getty Images)
Let’s play a little mental game, you and me.
Cast your mind back about three years and imagine a scenario in which alleged Russian meddling in US elections was a matter of great and growing concern. Evidence of this meddling has been piling up, and all signs indicate the Russians will seek to further disrupt elections to come. Without saying why, President Obama has not authorized any of the agencies tasked to defend against such intrusions to take any protective actions, despite being fully funded for such a request.
Now imagine a reporter asking Secretary of State John Kerry about protecting that most fundamental element of US democracy — the vote — against Russian interference, only to have him reply: “If it’s their intention to interfere, they’re going to find ways to do that. And we can take steps we can take, but this is something that once they decide they are going to do it, it’s very difficult to pre-empt it.”
Imagine what would happen next. Conservative rage would blast the mantle of the Earth into orbit around Neptune. They would still be hunting Kerry with dogs somewhere in the Maryland countryside, and Mr. Obama would be plying his new trade as a yak herder in Outer Mongolia. Probably, though, the Republicans still wouldn’t have done anything about the potential for Russian meddling.
And so much for mental games, because that astonishing little quote actually came from none other than current Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, in an interview he gave to Fox News last month. Short form: The Russians are clearly our superiors, there’s no point in resisting, so have those precious bodily fluids labeled and ready for transport. “I can’t think of one administration in my lifetime,” wrote Charles P. Pierce this week, “that wouldn’t have thrown Tillerson out the…