Senate Republicans vote for Putin and Russian military aggression
Today’s GOP is the Donald Trump party. The old Republican leadership, staunchly muscular in its foreign policy, has been swept aside. This new GOP kowtows to Putin and supports dictatorships.
America’s leadership in rallying supporting for Ukraine should be a no brainer. Russia’s unprovoked military invasion threatens not just Ukraine, but broader border security throughout Europe. If Russia succeeds in redrawing the map of Europe by force, of erasing a democracy and imposing their Empire, most experts expect China to do the same in Asia. This is the path towards global war that the world traveled with disastrous results in the early 20th century.
Only American leadership and the courage of the Ukrainian people have prevented this outcome. Our investment in Ukraine’s defense has not only saved that country, but it has also massively degraded Russia’s military capacity. It’s a Win-Win.
Republicans used to champion this kind of leadership. Not anymore. This week the GOP voted down further aid the Ukraine.
Photo Credit: Kevin Lamarque for Reuters
Let’s understand this vote for what it is. Today’s GOP is the Donald Trump party. The old Republican leadership, staunchly muscular in its foreign policy, has been swept aside. This new GOP kowtows to Putin and supports dictatorships. Mr. Trump’s admiration for Putin is well documented. His first impeachment was about his efforts to force Ukraine to manufacture political dirt on Joe Biden in return for aid. Since the invasion Trump and his media acolytes have called the defense of Ukraine “Joe Biden’s War.” And they offered up this canard- that supporting Ukraine means not “defending” our southern border.
According to CNN, an August poll showed, the Republican talking points are making a difference. “Republicans broadly say that Congress should not authorize new funding (71%) and that the US has done enough to assist Ukraine (59%). Among Democrats, most say the opposite, 62% favor additional funding and 61% say that the US should do more.”
And there you have it, Democrats continue to support long standing US policy on Russian aggression while Republicans, echoing their leader, have flipped towards appeasement of Mr. Putin and tolerance of Russian military aggression.
This has nothing to do with the very real problems on our border. Rather, it has everything to do with American leadership in the world and the global fight between democracy and autocracy. Republicans used to understand the Russian military for what it is: a violent means for Russia to dominate eastern Europe, and the one of the biggest threats to global peace and stability. Now, for the sake of a potential Trump high rise in Moscow, Republicans have broken with our shared history, and opted to support the autocrats and to walk away from our leadership responsibilities.
To call this a disgrace is to be polite. There is nothing patriotic about using our immigration problems as an excuse for Russian aggression. Nor is it honest. Republicans backed out of an immigration deal in 2022. That wasn’t the first time. Since tanking the bi-partisan immigration reform deal negotiated during George W. Bush’s presidency, they’ve tanked bi-partisan deals three other times. Now Republicans will not negotiate at all, preferring a my-way or the highway approach, that does nothing but keep the issue alive for cynical use in the upcoming election.
Congress needs to fix our outdated immigration laws and fund border security. They do not need to undermine global peace and security to get it done.