In the age of the sound bite, politicians have learned to talk in snappy quotes.
Everyone from Dmitry Rogozin to John McCain has put that skill to use in this week’s round of sanctions between the West and Russia.
Indeed, the variations of “see if I care” reactions from both sides have, at times, been so creative, you have to wonder how long in advance they were scripted.
Take Vladislav Surkov, for example. Putin’s top aide offered this comeback when he found out he was on a list of people sanctioned by the U.S.:
“I see the decision by the administration in Washington as an acknowledgment of my service to Russia. It’s a big honor for me. I don’t have accounts abroad. The only things that interest me in the U.S. are Tupac Shakur, Allen Ginsberg, and Jackson Pollock. I don’t need a visa to access their work. I lose nothing.”
@MemphoNewsLady…Putin aide doesn’t care about U.S. sanctions. But he DOES care about Tupac. No joke.
But the successful rapper, shot to death in 1996, wasn’t the only one referenced by Surkov. He also professed his love for the works of beat poet Allen Ginsberg and of painter Jackson Pollock.
The message was clear: I’m so cultured and cool, I take the long-time view on the U.S. rather than be bothered by its current administration.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin found himself on the initial list of people hit by Western sanctions, and he had this reaction:
Comrade @BarackObama, what should do those who have neither accounts nor property abroad? Or U didn’t think about it?)http://bit.ly/1ebMXDM
In a subsequent Twitter post, Rogozin went on to suggest that the sanctions had been drawn up by “pranksters.” He also wished Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper luck in finding any overseas assets:
Canadian PM Stephen Harper put me on the list http://gazeta.ru/politics/news/ … Looks like they’re also looking for my accounts and villas)) They wish
Vladimir Yakunin, head of the Russian Railways state company, also had something to say upon finding himself on the latest list:
@KiritRadia..Yakunin reax: “I’m sorry that a country that calls itself democratic uses sanctions for an honest position and for honest statements”
@PaulSonne…Yakunin says the sanctions against him seem to reflect some sort of mental illness.
Meanwhile in the U.S., Republican senator and former presidential candidate John McCain decided that irony was the way to go in the face of Moscow’s actions. Upon finding his name on the list of banned U.S. citizens, McCain sent out this tweet, which was retweeted over 1,000 times.
@SenJohnMcCain…I guess this means my spring break in Siberia is off, Gazprom stock is lost & secret bank account in Moscow is frozen http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=fb0cfcb4-99c3-4ee5-b4ee-c761faa766a3 …
Others opted for a strong dose of pathos, like McCain’s fellow Republican member and speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner:
@SpeakerBoehner…Proud to be included on a list of those willing to stand against Putin’s aggression http://j.mp/1gCSPCr
And just when you thought that Tupac reference was as pop culture as it gets, other U.S. politicians decided that, clearly, this latest round in the escalating tension between Russia and the West needed its own hashtag. So, in a nod to Twitter conventions, enter #SanctionedByPutin:
@SenatorMenendez…If standing up for #democracy & sovereignty in #Ukraine means I’m #SanctionedByPutin, I’ll take it.
@SenatorReid…President Putin, it’s one thing to pick on me, but I wouldn’t mess with Mary. @SenLandrieu #SanctionedByPutin
@SenLandrieu…Being sanctioned by President Putin is a badge of honor. #SanctionedByPutin
In fact, after reading all these reactions, you could argue that recent sanctions have brought joy wherever they’ve been imposed:
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