Lex Bainbridge

[Lex Bainbridge @Lex_Bainbridge]

@Dave_Eby If you are going to take credit for the rents coming down, are you going to take credit for grocery prices going up too? Both have very little to do with your ineffective policies.

[Lex Bainbridge @Lex_Bainbridge]

@ashatku Calling the enforcement of signed Investment Canada Act pledges “Venezuela” proves you don’t understand trade contracts. Foreign buyers don’t get to sign binding labor guarantees and tear them up when convenient.

[Dr. Alice Frost @PoliSciChick84]

There was a time in the not-too-distant past when conservatives stood against the Soviet Union, stood up for NATO, and defended democratic values. The record wasn't perfect, but there was a consensus that democratic values and the global rules-based order were worth defending.

Today's MAGA-dominated conservative movement is a loose bag of nationalism, nativism, isolationism, and right-wing populism blended with a nearly religious devotion to one man. Anyone who does not prostrate themselves before his altar is suspect; his every grievance is their grievance. The contortions they perform to demonstrate their fidelity are impressive.

Their claim is that NATO was surrounding Russia and Ukraine brought the invasion on itself by seeking to join NATO. This is utter nonsense. Countries do not go through the difficult process of joining a defensive alliance without perceiving a security benefit, often in response to a threat. Finland and Sweden maintained their longstanding policies of military nonalignment until Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 prompted them to seek NATO membership. NATO membership provides the Baltic states with a credible deterrent against Russian aggression. Ukraine, meanwhile, was outside NATO when Russia invaded. It must also be said that NATO doesn't enlarge on its own. Countries request to join, and then every NATO member has to approve their accession. It can be a lengthy process.

Nor does the historical record support the claim that Ukraine's NATO aspirations provoked Russia's initial invasion. Ukraine adopted a policy of nonalignment in 2010 and retained it when Russia invaded Crimea in 2014. Ukraine wanted closer ties to the West, particularly the European Union. In 2013, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, under pressure from Vladimir Putin, abruptly suspended preparations for an EU Association Agreement, choosing instead to pursue closer ties with Russia. Ukrainians who wanted closer ties to the EU protested in the Maidan, and Yanukovych eventually fled the country amid the ensuing political crisis. Shortly thereafter, Russia invaded Crimea. Ukraine abandoned its nonaligned status only after Russia's aggression.

Russia is a hegemonic state that does not respect the sovereignty of other countries. Its track record in Georgia and Moldova clearly demonstrates this. Ukraine's alignment with the West and its desire to join NATO were logical responses to the threat posed by a ruthless and expansionist power.

But now, because Trump repeatedly accommodates Putin, much of MAGA chooses to excuse Russian aggression, attacking Zelenskyy for wanting to defend his people and claiming that Ukraine will inevitably lose, even as Russian territorial gains have slowed dramatically and the Russian economy is under severe strain, compounded by Ukraine's successful campaign against Russian oil refineries. They expect Ukraine to show restraint while not applying the same standard to Russia. They claim that it is Europe's war and not America's, even as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are increasingly cooperating through sanctions evasion, military technology, troops, munitions, and intelligence support.

They erect a pile of half-truths, outright lies, and conspiracy theories to excuse Putin, a ruthless thug responsible for extraordinary suffering and atrocities, while finding every excuse to punish Ukraine.

Ronald Reagan would have been disgusted with what has become of much of the modern conservative movement. There is nothing patriotic about making excuses for a tyrant who invades his neighbours, murders civilians, and seeks to destroy a sovereign nation. Whatever their intentions, those who defend and excuse his aggression while undermining Ukraine's right to defend itself are advancing the interests of the Kremlin, not those of the United States.

[Lex Bainbridge @Lex_Bainbridge]

@TerryGlavin Not to worry… if Trump retains the house and senate in the midterms, the war will be over in less than a day…. 🤦‍♂️

[🇺🇸Jerry Mander🇺🇦 @realpublicius]

Banana Republic of America

[REPUBLICANS AGAINST MAGA @michaelt5656]

Dear Republican Cowards …

[Spencer Fernando @SpencerFernando]

Pressuring Ukraine Instead of Russia Demonstrates Trump’s Weakness.

[JerryRigEverything @ZacksJerryRig]

Using AI because real farm bankruptcies are up 46% from last year.

[Lex Bainbridge @Lex_Bainbridge]

@MarcNixon24 The sign of true leadership. Trump is a genius peacemaker. Ukraine should have never started this war. Together Trump and Putin will bring world peace. To all the MAGA fuckwits that are about to like this post, I’m being sarcastic and you are gullible fools.

[Peter Schiff @PeterSchiff]

Trump claims the fake news refuses to report that we're taking in trillions of dollars in tariffs from foreign countries. The news doesn't report it because it's not true. We're not taking in anywhere near a trillion dollars in tariffs, and American consumers are the ones paying.

[Jay Kay 🇺🇸 @jayjkkay]

A message to all sane Republicans:

He pardoned 1,600 violent criminals.
You said nothing.

He bulldozed the East Wing.
You said nothing.

He interfered with the release of the Epstein files.
You said nothing.

He took over the Kennedy Center and renamed it after himself.
You said nothing.

He accepted a $400 million airplane as a personal gift. You said nothing.

He threatened Canada, Cuba, Denmark, Greenland, Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil.
You said nothing.

He tariffed just about everyone but Russia, causing inflation and instability worldwide.
You said nothing.

He attacked a nation during mediated negotiations.
You said nothing.

His ill-conceived war killed 175 children on day one.
You said nothing.

He alienated and insulted our allies.
You said nothing.

His ICE Army terrorized and murdered
U.S. citizens.
You said nothing.

He committed murder on the high seas.
You said nothing.

He co-opted the Justice Department and directed it to prosecute his political enemies.
You said nothing.

It's time to start talking!

[Lex Bainbridge @Lex_Bainbridge]

@freedombunkr You didn't pay "over half in Canada" unless you're an ultra-high earner, and you can't pay 7.2% in the US when FICA alone is 7.65%. Throw in US monthly premiums, co-pays, and deductibles, and Americans pay far more per capita for healthcare.

[Lex Bainbridge @Lex_Bainbridge]

@ashatku “You had a deal, doesn't mean it was fair”? TRUMP negotiated and signed USMCA, calling it the "greatest trade deal ever." Whining that signed legal treaties are unfair when you want to break them isn't leadership—it’s contract default disguised as swagger.

[Jessica Tarlov @JessicaTarlov]

Between this and his “midterm surprise,” the time to prepare for him to try to steal an election is now.

[Lex Bainbridge @Lex_Bainbridge]

@markwalker5555 If you are one of the people that believes everything Trump spews, please do the world a favor and delete all your forms of mass communication. Insta, X, Facebook, TikTok, etc, get rid of it all. You don’t belong in any adult interactions.

[Lex Bainbridge @Lex_Bainbridge]

@abc123jjj If you think taxes are bad now, wait until Alberta is a landlocked non-country with zero trade agreements, no ocean port access, and a collapsed credit rating. “Option 2” is emotional vandalism.

[Lex Bainbridge @Lex_Bainbridge]

@GuntherEagleman Trump can’t even fix a ballooning US deficit, prevent trade backfires, or keep judicial injunctions off his desk, let alone fix another nation. Canadians look south with alarm at the economic chaos, not looking for a savior. Keep your wrench.

[Lex Bainbridge @Lex_Bainbridge]

@MPelletierCIO Success should be punished.

[Martin Pelletier @MPelletierCIO]

Why do we keep going after our doctors in this country? Trudeau called them tax cheats and went after their corps., and now Eby is saying they need to pay the second highest taxes in the world?

I had dinner with a pediatric neurologist the other night. works 65 hours a week and in his early 60s. The overtime time pay boost is an additional $13/hour. But they do it because there is a dire need for their services.

Our doctors are a core part of our health care system that is breaking under the stress, and we need to support them instead of attacking them. Full stop.

[Jason Kenney 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇮🇱 @jkenney]

Disappointing to see the PQ elected in Quebec, but encouraging to see that 72% of Quebecers voted for parties opposed to a secession referendum.

It's clear that the PQ was denied a majority, winning only 28% of popular vote, because of its commitment to holding a referendum.

In Quebec, no government dares to hold a referendum on something so divisive and consequential as secession unless they are elected with a clear democratic mandate to do so, which this government lacks.

Huge congratulations to my good friend of 30 years, the brilliant @E_Duhaime, on the historic @PconservateurQc breakthrough. He has won the first Conservative presence in the National Assembly in nearly a century!