Pat Buchanan has come out with something rather ⦠odd. In "Democracies & double standards" he argues that President Lincoln's behavior during the American Civil War justifies Putin's behavior in Russia now. What right did Lincoln have to
suspended habeas corpus, sent troops to prevent a free election in Maryland, sought to arrest Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, shut down newspapers, shot down rioters on the streets of New York and made himself dictator of the Union
or any of the other egregious actions he took during the Civil War? How does having a failure in our own history excuse the failure of others? If the south had managed to find allies, how would that have been different from France aiding us in our revolt from England? (On a side note, this is exactly what the Emancipation Proclamation was about: keeping England out of the war.) How can we NOT call Putin on his retreat towards totalitarianism? What sort of credibility would we have if we failed to? Basically, what in the world is going on in this articleâ½