From Berlin to Budapest: How Republicans Surrendered the Fight for Freedom

Stuart Stevens

I was in Berlin with a film crew when the wall came down. A Congressman running for the Senate had family ties in East Germany, and we thought it could make for some powerful scenes reuniting with family members.

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My candidate was a Republican, of course, because I only worked for Republicans. Political consulting is like that. You pick a side and stick with it. If not, neither side will trust you.

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Now that Party is the beating heart of the pro-Putin movement in American politics.

Watching the scenes from Budapest the night of Viktor Orban’s defeat felt like Berlin when the wall came down. Strangers hugging one another, tears of explosive joy, a sense that the inevitable had been defeated. Darkness was a choice, not a fate, and human will could triumph over the state.

https://www.lincolnsquare.media/p/from-berlin-to-budapest-how-republicans