Politics & Power Quote by Bob Schaffer

Schaffer’s line is less a lament than a prosecutorial brief, built to make “mysterious auto accidents” sound like the least mysterious thing in the world. The list does the heavy lifting: dead journalists, beaten journalists, shuttered news agencies, injured or killed politicians. It’s an accumulation strategy politicians love because it feels empirical even when it’s selective. Each clause tightens the vice, moving from intimidation to institutional silencing to outright elimination. By the time he lands on car crashes, the reader has been primed to treat coincidence as cover story.

The intent is twofold. First, it frames Ukraine’s post-Soviet political environment as a place where power doesn’t just contest narratives; it controls them through violence. Second, it internationalizes the moral stakes. For an American politician speaking about Ukraine, the implication is policy-facing: a country with that pattern is either a victim needing support, a cautionary tale about corruption, or a theater where “democracy promotion” can be justified. The quote doesn’t pick one; it keeps the charge broad enough to be useful across arguments.

Subtextually, “replete” gives the statement a curated, report-like chill, while “Most are killed” asserts statistical confidence without showing numbers. The final sentence is the rhetorical twist: it invites the audience to participate in the suspicion. You don’t need Schaffer to say “assassinations.” He lets the euphemism do it, and the wink is the point.