“The United States is not to blame,” Sasse said in a statement. “America wants a good relationship with the Russian people but Vladimir Putin and his thugs are responsible for Soviet-style aggression. When the President plays these moral equivalence games, he gives Putin a propaganda win he desperately needs.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4028244&forum_id=2#36443744)

“The American people deserve the truth, & to disregard the legitimacy of our intelligence officials is a disservice to the men & women who serve this country,” Kinzinger said, adding that Putin “is not our friend; he’s an enemy to our freedom.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4028244&forum_id=2#36443748)

“Vladimir Putin is not our friend and never has been,” he said. “Nor does he want to be our friend. His regime’s actions prove it. We must make clear that the United States will not tolerate hostile Russian activities against us or our allies.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4028244&forum_id=2#36443753)

“With all I have seen on House Intel Comm & additional indictments of 12 Russian officers last week, it is clear Russia’s intentions. President Trump missed opportunity to hold Putin publicly accountable,” he said.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4028244&forum_id=2#36443758)

“I never thought I would see the day when our American President would stand on the stage with the Russian President and place blame on the United States for Russian aggression,” Flake said in a tweet.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4028244&forum_id=2#36443766)

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Monday expressed his approval of President Donald Trump’s handling of Russia despite the tsunami of criticism the president faced after his press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“It’s gotten so ridiculous that someone has to stand up and say we should try to engage even our adversaries and open up our lines of communication,” Paul told Politico after the controversial press conference.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4028244&forum_id=2#36443771)

“Claiming a moral equivalence between the United States and Russia not only defies reason and history, it undermines our national integrity and impairs our global credibility,” Romney said in a statement.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4028244&forum_id=2#36443783)

In a statement, the Arizona Republican said that Trump “proved not only unable, but unwilling to stand up to Putin” and that the two leaders “seemed to be speaking from the same script” at Monday’s news conference.

“The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naivete, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate. But it is clear that the summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake,” McCain said. He added that “no prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4028244&forum_id=2#36443772)

"Republicans that are making the criticism are either the pro-war Republicans like McCain and Graham or the anti-Trump ones like Sasse ... They are motivated by their persistent and consistent dislike of the president."

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4028244&forum_id=2#36443774)

“As I have said repeatedly, the Russians are not our friends, and I entirely agree with the assessment of our intelligence community,” McConnell said.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4028244&forum_id=2#36443778)

"Yes, the vast majority of the foreign policy community, the bipartisan consensus said you shouldn't meet with Putin," Paul said. "They also said he shouldn't meet with Kim and this is an extraordinary thing about President Trump that should be lauded and not belittled is that he is willing to meet with adversaries to try to prevent us from having World War 3."

"We have to deal with the world as it is, not as we wish it to be, and if we're only going to talk to people who have perfect constitutional republics, we're going to have a very small audience and we're going to have a lot of potential conflicts with no outlet for diplomacy," he added.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4028244&forum_id=2#36443785)

That's exactly what they want. Neocon 101.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4028244&forum_id=2#36443800)

Citing the findings of U.S. intelligence agencies as well as the House Intelligence Committee, Ryan said in a statement that “there is no question” that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election and continues to work against democracy in the United States and around the globe.

“The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally,” said Ryan, who is retiring at the end of his term. “There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals. The United States must be focused on holding Russia accountable and putting an end to its vile attacks on democracy.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=4028244&forum_id=2#36443794)