As the New York Times’ Jonathan Weisman reports, attempts by some Republicans to portray President Joe Biden as weak during the escalating standoff with the Russian Federation over a threatened invasion of eastern Ukraine are running into a serious problem–a faction of the Republican Party that has over the course of years come to admire Russian President Vladimir Putin in a similar fashion to ex-U.S. President Donald Trump:
Republican leaders, by and large, have struck an aggressive posture, encouraging Mr. Biden to get tougher on Russia, through immediate sanctions on Russian energy exports and more lethal aid to Ukraine’s military. But that message has been undermined by the party’s far right, which has questioned why the United States would side with Ukraine at all, and has obliquely suggested with no evidence that the president is bolstering his son Hunter Biden’s business interests…
The Republican representatives Matt Rosendale of Montana, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, [Pols emphasis] Paul Gosar of Arizona, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia; the Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance; and Donald Trump Jr. have weighed in to oppose confronting Russia or to suggest nefarious intentions on Mr. Biden’s part. Mr. Trump told the conservative podcast host Lou Dobbs that Mr. Biden’s reported plan to send as many as 50,000 troops to bolster Europe’s defenses was “crazy.”
The Times cites an interview last November in which Fox News prime time-agogue Tucker Carlson, who has recently come out as a fanboy of old-school Eastern European authoritarianism espoused by Hungarian strongman Viktor Orban, actually suggested that the U.S. should “take Russia’s side” in the conflict–resulting in a bitter dispute with Republican Rep. Mike Turner:
“But hold on,” Carlson interjected. “Why would we take Ukraine’s side and not Russia’s side? It’s a sincere question. If you’re looking at America’s perspective, why? Who’s got the energy reserves? Who’s the major player in world affairs? Who’s the potential counterbalance against China, which is the actual threat? Why would we take Ukraine’s side? Why wouldn’t we be on Russia’s side? I’m totally confused.”
…Turner cited Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
“How did that hurt America exactly?” Carlson replied. “They came into Crimea. I guess I’m against that, but I didn’t notice a detectable decline in American living standards.”
For Republicans who took pride in America’s victory in the Cold War over the USSR and the subsequent expansion of liberal democracy eastward across what was formerly known as the “Iron Curtain”–and that used to be 100% of Republicans–the complete lack of willingness on the part of close supporters of former President Trump to stand up to Vladimir Putin as he tries to roll back history and retake control of former Eastern Bloc countries is an unthinkable betrayal. Putin is not only demanding that NATO abandon Ukraine to its fate, but also to kick new NATO members like Poland and the Baltic republics out of the alliance. Could America possibly do any more to project weakness and bad faith to the rest of the world? This shouldn’t be a partisan or even a particularly divisive issue.
If you really support abandoning the free nations of Eastern Europe that America spent half a century liberating to Russian authoritarianism only three decades after the end of the Cold War, all we can say is Ronald Reagan never knew ye.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
BY: joe_burly
IN: Colorado Pols is 20 Years Old!!!
BY: 2Jung2Die
IN: Colorado Pols is 20 Years Old!!!
BY: notaskinnycook
IN: Monday Open Thread
BY: notaskinnycook
IN: Monday Open Thread
BY: davebarnes
IN: Holy Crap Boebert Bestie Matt Gaetz’s Ethics Report Is Bad
BY: MarsBird
IN: It’s Long Past Time to Ban Body Armor
BY: Ben Folds5
IN: Holy Crap Boebert Bestie Matt Gaetz’s Ethics Report Is Bad
BY: The realist
IN: Monday Open Thread
BY: coloradosane
IN: Holy Crap Boebert Bestie Matt Gaetz’s Ethics Report Is Bad
BY: coloradosane
IN: Monday Open Thread
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay in the loop with regular updates!
Shame on BoBo. Politics stops at the water's edge, no? Tucker gets a pass, as he comes from the tradition that argued the exact thing about Hitler in the late 30s.
Let me guess…
BoBo is an expert on foreign relations and international security because … she frequently eats at the International House of Pancakes? Once vacationed in Puerto Vallarta? Claims she can see Russia from the window of her double wide trailer?
And in reality, the only thing she's an expert on is giving people the runs.
Everything she says is the ramblings of a nasty
old mansuffering from dementia.Oh, you just know that in her fevered little empty head, she’s still drooling and dreaming about mercilessly punishing Ukraine for its part with Hunter Biden and whatever other anti-Ttumpspiracy that’s currently making its slithering Russian disinformation rounds on NewsMax and their Q-tinuum.
And speaking of seeing Russia from her window…
Sarah Palin, unvaccinated and having tested positive, again dines out, flouting NYC health measures (msn.com)
This one can see an Italian restaurant from her COVID sickbed. So, she gets up and goes…
I guess she likes kleptocratic authoritarians a whole lot better than she likes anyone who isn’t?
A Dictatorship of the Kleptocracy, with a dash of Faux Religiosity — can you tell me the difference between Putin's Russia and today's GOP?
Sure, what’s the harm with a murderous, corrupt dictatorship taking over the Ukraine? I’m sure Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania would be fine with having them on the border. This is like when Trump asked why we spend so much money to have troops and bases in South Korea. Just basic cluelessness.
Korea would be a different problem if the north wasn't multi-generationally paranoid.
There is no saving a party that openly supports a lethal adversary of the United States. It's not a shock that republicans are continuing their betrayal of America, because they've been goosestepping down the path of autocracy and fascism for decades.
That is certainly true. Fascism is the ideal government model with which to implement a purely capitalistic (Shareholders only, please), Neo-feudal Free Market.
A small circle of super wealthy royalty, serviced by a loyal 10% who make things run and get the lions share, and a sea of desperate workers and the poor. The stuff of neo-con dreams.
America forced the right to abandon democracy entirely when we elected a Kenyan socialist to the White House. They stopped pretending and went for the kill shot by elevating a crime boss to the presidency.
A Putin wannabe is exactly what they wanna see. That way, all those "other" people don't get a say in how things go.
Pretty simple, really.
Feudal times weren't capitalist, Duke. Kings and nobles ran everything. Capitalists and smugglers were the free market guys. That's standard Marxist analysis, by the way.
You are correct, of course. I added the "Neo" part to allow for historical changes, but in structure, it is the authoritarian part I want to emphasize.
To many, the ransacking of the trains in LA was committed by criminals. Others think it was just another raid by Robin Hood. You are right. They are capitalists, too.
Boobert is dangerously stupid. Palin at least knew what direction Russia was in; Calamity Jane couldn’t find it on a map.
She’s a deep and bottomless pit. Only by comparison to Boebert could Palin ever manage to be considered somehow less dangerously stupid.
Identity Signaling and Brand Management
We are into dog whistling 2.0 and Boebert is following the normal Republican marketing strategy. Facts are irrelevant; perception is everything… and she isn't talking to any of us.