Here Are 11 Of The Congressional Republicans Owned By The Kremlin
Yesterday, we published a brief thoughtful essay by Thomas Neuburger about the Ukraine conundrum. At the same time, Punchbowl was looking at Ukraine from another perspective: domestic U.S. politics. Andrew Desiderio and Max Cohen reported that GOP hawks— you know, the old fashioned pre-Trump Republicans who aren’t tied to Putin— “want the Biden administration to allow Ukraine to strike deeper into Russian territory.” At the same time, Trump “won’t even say if he wants Ukraine to win the war, and he endorsed a plan that would likely require Ukraine to cede territory to Russia in order to end the conflict.” This represents the perspective of a fairly large segment of congressional Republicans… if not their base. Only 4% of GOP voters say they are more sympathetic with Russia than with Ukraine, while 58% of Republicans say they are more sympathetic with Ukraine. (33% either don’t know or doesn’t favor either side.)
Desiderio and Cohen wrote that “few Republicans are publicly acknowledging— and most are downplaying— the massive gulf between Trump and GOP defense hawks on an issue that’s divided the party and will continue to be a pressure point into 2025. The extreme edge of the MAGA contingent are overtly pro-Kremlin, like Marjorie Traitor Greene, or at least anti-Ukraine, like J.D. Vance. But, as Desiderio and Cohen noted, “Republicans aren’t going to say anything to undermine Trump or worsen the party’s divisions this close to the election. This is especially true for Senate Republicans, whose candidates in battleground states want to tie their fortunes to Trump’s. Many of those candidates are running behind Trump. So they need Trump more than he needs them.”
A polar-opposite view: Just a few hours before Trump refused to endorse a Ukrainian victory, dozens of lawmakers— including House Republicans who chair national-security committees— formally demanded that President Joe Biden lift remaining restrictions on Ukraine’s use of U.S.-provided Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS). This would give Ukraine’s military an edge as it looks to bolster an ongoing offensive inside Russia.
A slew of Republicans, including Sen. Roger Wicker (MS), the ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, signed a separate letter arguing that lifting the ATACMS restrictions would “fully enable Ukraine to achieve victory.”
But Trump’s stated plan could hardly be considered a victory for Ukraine. Trump has long telegraphed a desire to end the war through peace talks, which would almost certainly advantage Russia.
…Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who’s among the Senate’s most vocal Ukraine backers, gave Trump credit for not trying to derail the $60 billion Ukraine aid package that Congress approved earlier this year.
“He could use maybe more nuanced language, but the fact of the matter is, without his tacit support for a $64 billion supplemental, it would not have happened,” Tillis added.
Other Republicans weren’t so quick to rationalize Trump’s comments. Senate Minority Whip John Thune said “We want Ukraine to win the war for sure,” and noted that a majority of GOP senators supported the last Ukraine aid bill.
Pro-Ukraine Republicans called for continued U.S. backing.
“Ukraine’s the victim. They’re trying to be a democracy. They’re trying to embrace free markets,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) said. “We should support that. We should be unambiguous.”
The Putin wing of the Republican Party is also unambiguous. A few Republican senators have been nearly as pro-Kremlin as Trump has been and have consistently parroted Kremlin talking points:
J.D. Vance (R-OH): “I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another… We’ve sent billions to Ukraine, and where’s the accountability? We should focus on our own problems before sending money abroad.”
Josh Hawley (R-MO): “We need to be clear about our priorities, and defending Ukraine should not be one of them. Our real enemy is China, not Russia… I don’t think it’s in America’s best interest to endlessly fund a war in Ukraine while neglecting the threats posed by China and our own borders.”
Rand Paul (R-KY): “We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the U.S. economy… This is America's money, and we cannot continue to spend it on a war halfway around the world without any limits.”
Mike Lee (R-UT): “Our involvement in Ukraine is growing deeper, and there’s been no serious discussion about what the endgame is or what it means for American interests.”
Tommy Tuberville (R-AL): “We’ve got problems here at home, and sending billions to Ukraine isn’t solving them... We should be focused on securing our own borders, not Ukraine’s.”
It’s even worse in the House because fascism is very much in vogue there and many of the worst radicals represent districts which are filled with voters who make up that 4% of Republicans who are pro-Russia… Also because the House has more morons than the Senate does.
Marjorie Traitor Greene (R-GA): “We should not be sending another penny to Ukraine. We should be pushing for peace talks instead of funding a proxy war with Russia... We’re paying for a war that doesn’t benefit the American people.”
Matt Gaetz (R-FL): “Why should we send weapons to Ukraine to prolong a war that would have been over by now if not for U.S. interference?”
Paul Gosar (R-AZ): “This is not our fight, and we should not be risking American lives or resources to defend corrupt foreign governments like Ukraine... The U.S. should not be acting as a proxy in a European conflict that has nothing to do with us..”
Thomas Massie (R-KY): “This money should be used for our own infrastructure, not fueling a war overseas... Sending billions of dollars to Ukraine while Americans suffer is irresponsible and dangerous.”
Andy Biggs (R-AZ): “We have no business getting involved in this conflict. It’s time to prioritize America first... The U.S. is spending money it doesn’t have on a war it doesn’t need to be involved in.”
Lauren Boebert (R-CO): “American tax dollars should not be funding a war in Ukraine. Our focus should be on America, not on foreign conflicts… The Biden administration’s obsession with Ukraine is putting America last.”
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