Support for Ukraine in itself and constraining Russia is a very big deal. But the decision by US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to go ahead with the Ukraine aid vote cuts across everything. Matt Gaetz has been emasculated. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s howler monkey hoots have been answered with: go climb a tree and pick some fruit. Trump has been ignored. What happened yesterday has created a brand new/old dynamic – one of compromise. What a novel/ancient concept!
Compromise on this issue completely severs the ties and tends to disempower the radical extremist Putin wing of the Republican Party. In this political universe, anything can happen, and one cannot say that the war has been won. It’s more like the war is fully on within the Republican Party. Many now are moving to utterly crush the rabid monkeys.
Expect some wild things in coming days, weeks, and months. But the die is cast. The Republican Party will split in two, whether literally as legal party entities, or at least in political reality. We have the conservative realist supporters of democracy, and the antagonists of democracy. This face-off is what should have happened in 2016. But we are where we are, and finally it has happened. It’s now democracy versus autocracy within the Republican Party, finally. It’s reason backed by democracy against extremist militancy for the simple ugly sake of raising hell.
Extremist militancy will fight back. But they will lose. They lost in 1865, and they will lose again, hopefully without something worse than what we have already seen since Trump’s 2017-2021 reign of political terror against democracy. I anticipate worse, but whatever may come, democracy will win. Half of the Republican Party, while as conservative as ever, is squarely opposed to autocratic dictatorship – and that includes not just in Russia but at home, too.
Kremlin Blasts 'Dangerous' Macron Comments on Troops to Ukraine
Mike Johnson, for all the darts we Democrats have thrown (and may still throw issue by issue), did the right thing. It took enormous courage given the environment that Republicans have crafted over the past 15 years. For the radical militant extremists, it was a political earthquake of Magnitude 9. For all the rest of us – Democrats and Republican realist supporters of democracy, there is new hope – not just for Ukraine, but for America and for democracy worldwide.
As for Ukraine, you have a war to fight, and now some new and some more of the old tools with which to fight it. Sorry for the delays. Together, we’ll win, and we’ll bury Putin in the trash heap of brutal dictators and wannabe emperors.
The views expressed here are those of the author, not of his employer, and not necessarily of the Kyiv Post.
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Comments (5)
Rather well written OP.
I point out: : 'radical extremism' has been American Politics since the 1950's. Everyone wants 'more of their share.'
No radical wants a legitimate democracy, or republic.
well said!
Telling the Ukrainians they have a war to fight is a bit patronizing while you complain about American politics. Come grab a rifle and put your money where your mouth is.
The author calls legitimate opposition to spending money the US does not have as leading to autocracy. Meanwhile the President of Ukraine has done everything in the autocratic playbook since he took office. Let me remind you of Zelenskyy's actions. First he consolidated the country's television outlets and dissolved rival political parties. Now with the war going poorly, he has cancelled Presidential elections using the war as an excuse. Oh and let's not forget he removed a very popular military Chief of Staff.
From my office here in the US it appears to me Ukraine already is an autocracy. Zelinskyy is Ukraine's Putin. He will now do anything to hold onto power and we in the US are about to further consolidate that power by giving him $60B.
Meanwhile, in the US we will hold free and fair elections and choose our next round of leaders based on our representatives voting history. Doesn't look like an autocracy to me. It is loud and clear the US is a Democratic Republic and will endure!
@Bill, to say Zelenskyy is Ukraine’s Putin is just going to far. He has not commanded his military to conquer an adjacent country. He has been thrown into a crisis as the country’s elected leader requiring him to prevent Putin from eliminating his country. This has certainly required steps be taken that he would not have contemplated otherwise. To say he will do anything to hold power is a complete skewing of reality. The truth is he will do anything to save his country from annihilation. If, to the best of his ability, his actions don’t meet your standards for a smoothly running democracy in normal circumstances, tough.
Bill's dream world is touching but unreal. Repugs have NO legitimacy in refusing to perform the most basic functions of governance -- which Speaker Johnson recognizes in working with Democrats. Dr Kargel is 100% correct to describe the Marjorie Tritor Greene wing of the GQP as howler monkeys. Greene, Boebert, Gaetz & their ilk are all so throughly corrupted & compromised that no one with any sense, or integrity, mistakes them for statesmen. Heck, he probably sees George Santos (remember him?) as a paragon of civic virtue & moral rectitude!
The GQP has NO plans to engage in free & fair elections. Knowing how unpopular are their policies, they've abandoned any genuine efforts to secure votes through sound policies & reasoned discussion. Instead, they rely on vote suppression purging voter rolls, & most outrageous, seeking to throw election results they don't accept into the House, where Repugs will steal an honest election just like they claim Dems did in 2020.
As for Pres Zelensky, the choices he's made are of course debatable but mostly necessary and wise, even mild, considering Ukraine's desperate struggle for survival. Bill thinks that Ukrainians should fight with one hand tied behind their back while the Muscovites use every dirty, cruel weapon they have. He must want Putin's tyranny to triumph. Bah.
This opinion piece is a bit overdrawn. Because there is a left wing faction of the Democratic Party that is as adamantine in opposition to compromise as are the MAGAs. It was this opposition that wouldn't sign a discharge petition to put the Senate supplemental bill to a vote in the House. The supplemental was the fastest way to get this aid passed. As of April 12, the discharge had been signed by 195 House members. It needed 218. If the left wing Dems had signed, only 3 or 4 moderate Republicans would be needed. Dems wouldn't sign. The Republicans wouldn't kick in 20+ votes because the MAGAs would have removed the Speaker. Rumor has it that Dems agreed to protect Johnson if he put the aid to a vote.
Johnson's move to put four separate bills to a vote isolated the extremes. There weren't enough of them to stop passage. The middle took conrol. Democrats in the House will vote to keep Johnson as Speaker. Because he saved this aid. When his predecessor did the same with general government spending in October, the Dems voted with MAGAs to remove him as Speaker. We got chaos that lasted until this weekend. The Dems won't let that happen again.
So we're not losing democracy. But we have to help Ukraine win. Because they're saving democracy for us all. And if we give them all they need, they will win. Had we given them everything they need back in September 2022, this war would be over by now. I say this as a moderate Democrat. Slava Urkaini.
@Edlund, the problem is, a Ukrainian victory in 2022 would have only been temporary: Russia would simply regroup & attack again. This is what they do. It has been necessary to lure them into thinking they are on the verge of winning & sending in their last reserves. Only the total destruction of their armed forces & assets will do the job. That will now begin. Poo-tin will either go Russian skydiving or be sent to The Hague. Slava Ukraini :)