Politics is full of surprises. But after several decades of practicing, covering and writing about politics, I still never thought I’d see a time like this.

I never thought I’d see the day when Russia would invade a neighboring country, slaughtering tens of thousands of innocent civilians, and Republicans would refuse to come to Ukraine’s defense. I never thought I’d see the day when the government of Russia would assassinate its chief critic and the Republican Party’s leading presidential candidate would say nothing for four days. I never thought I’d see the day when the party of Ronald Reagan became the party of Vladimir Putin.

But, sadly, here we are. To be clear, the Russia Reagan condemned as the “evil empire” hasn’t changed. It’s still the country where there are no free elections, freedom of expression or freedom of speech. It still allows no political dissent. It’s the country where countless Russians are in prison today for daring........

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