Paul Begala, the Democratic consultant and longtime adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton, is a reliable bellwether for the party’s centrist wing. As such, Begala rarely surprises, but last week he made a startling remark about how the U.S. should respond to Russian interference in last year’s presidential election. “We were and are under attack by a hostile foreign power,” Begala said on CNN, where he’s a contributor. “We should be debating how many sanctions we should place on Russia or whether we should blow up the KGB...”

Hmmm... uhh... so here's Paul Begala, top Clinton ally, saying Trump should consider bombing Russia. https://t.co/2tW1gI0Uxh pic.twitter.com/wo9BmJPNDb — Andrew Kirell (@AndrewKirell) July 13, 2017

Begala’s statement can’t be dismissed as the intemperate remarks of a courtier still disappointed over an electoral loss. Rather, it joins a steady stream of comments by prominent Democrats who talk as if the United States were at war with Russia—hyperbolic rhetoric that risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.



Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal, also last week on CNN, said that the Trump campaign’s meetings with Russian officials “could rise to the level of espionage and treason.” He added, “Remember, Russia is a dangerous adversary who attacked the United States. I’d argue to you that it was an act of war by an enemy...”

Blumenthal on the Don Jr. meeting: "It could rise to the level of espionage and treason." https://t.co/jqLQEKEHcu — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 13, 2017

Donna Brazile, the former interim Democratic National Committee chairwoman, has also used the phrase “act of war”—in echoing remarks by former Vice President Dick Cheney, no less. “I’ve never agreed with Dick Cheney in my entire life, but when he said this was an act of war, I have to agree with the former vice president,” she said in March. “It was an act of war.” Democrats in Congress have made similar statements. “I think this attack that we’ve experienced is a form of war, a form of war on our fundamental democratic principles,” Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey said. “This past election, our country was attacked,” Representative Eric Swalwell of California said. “We were attacked by Russia.”

Pew Research Center

These comments reflect a broader trend among Democrats. Historically, since 1990, a roughly equal percentage of Democrats and Republicans have considered Russia to be the “greatest danger” to America. But a Pew Research poll released in April found a sharp rise since 2014 in Democrats who believe as much, the highest percentage since the end of the Cold War: 39 percent believe Russia is the “greatest threat,” versus only 21 percent of Republicans.