David French: The War in Ukraine is a Blow to the Nationalist Post-Liberal Right
The best possible outcome for Ukrainians at this point would be for something to convince Putin to back his army out of their country and leave it alone. Of all of the former Soviet republics that became independent and democratic after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine's independence, and liberty, is the biggest problem for the autocratic fascism of its big neighbor, Russia, because in just a little over thirty years, Ukrainians have not only developed a sense of national unity and pride, but they are economically prosperous and a free people with a representative democracy.
Public opinion in the United States can shift rapidly as a result of circumstances. There are several historical events which have contributed to an almost complete change of opinion following their occurrence. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor shifted a divided American public, in which the majority favored an isolationist, "America First" mindset, dragging their feet on help for Britain and not wanting to intervene against Nazi Germany. The 9-11 attack on the World Trade Center made it possible for President Bush to manipulate public anti-Islamic fervor for support to attack Iraq for the purpose of "regime change," even though Saddam Hussein had no involvement at all in the attacks.
The images coming out of Ukraine, not just in media reports, but through social media as well, has caused another shift in American public opinion and it has caught the Republican Party completely off guard. Most of them believe, or at least they act like they believe, the majority of Americans are ignorant, stupid people who forget things after a few days or are confused by what direction they are pointed. They are desperately hoping that memory of all of the first Trump impeachment, especially the stonewalling and the illegal use of congressionally appropriated funds to bribe the Ukranian President into lying about then Democratic nominee Joe Biden, will slip from people's memory.
But there are people committed to keeping their behavior and their actions favoring Putin, fawning on him, their words of praise and admiration, and the positions they've taken which led us to the present circumstances, right in the public eye. While Republicans and Trump were fawning all over Putin, and defending Trump's indefensible withholding of aid to Ukraine, Putin had already whacked off part of the Donbas region in Eastern Ukraine, and taken the Crimea. He had an ally in Trump, who had distanced the United States from its NATO allies, criticized the alliance and claimed, falsely, that only the United States was keeping up with its financial obligations.
Trump, and the Republicans who follow him around with tissues and toilet paper (yeah, figure that out, OK?), think that their base is bottomlessly naive and hopelessly ignorant. They're probably right about that, I'm not going to argue the point. But this isn't for the base. This is for those Americans who still think we are in a traditional, two-party political mold and since the Democrats don't seem to be delivering on all of their pre-election requests, they might just stay away from the polls in November, or vote for Republicans here and there to teach the Democrats a lesson. Sorry, but the days of traditional, two-party politics with that traditional give and take are long since over and gone. The core of Trump loyalists, which I refer to as "Trumpies," and which others call "Trumpians," is not interested in compromise, they are interested in takeover.
And once they accomplish that, if we let them do so, it will be winner take all. That will be the end of the constitution, the peaceful transition of power, any negotiations in good faith, and the end of free and fair elections. So get past the pettiness, the traditional politics, the griping and complaining that goes along with it, wake up, smell the coffee and any other cliche which directs attention to what is transpiring in the real world.
Republican Duplicity is Indisputably on the Record
Public opinion has shifted. The President's job approval and favorability ratings have soared since the State of the Union, and since the Russians did exactly what his administration's intelligence said they would, they invaded Ukraine and opened up a campaign full of wartime atrocities. Unfortunately, for the GOP, the Trump administration, and multiple members of their party and their Fox News propaganda team, they are also very recently on the record as being pro-Putin, anti-NATO, and opposed to giving any kind of help to the Ukrainian government.
Do they really think that their sudden shift in rhetoric is something a majority of Americans are going to buy? Well, yes, they do think that. And some, those who are clueless, uneducated, uniformed and living under a rock, will buy it. Most, and that's a percentage I'd put at upwards of 75% to 85%, will be on the bandwagon for supporting Ukraine. And ultimately, that will translate into mid-term votes with the invasion of Ukraine being one of the top issues influencing the outcome of the 2022 election.
Trying to keep the critical focus on President Biden has failed dismally, at least as far as the perception of the voters goes. It was President Biden who revived the NATO alliance quckly and effectively. It was the Biden administration, headed by the President, who decided to publish the intellingence about Putin's intentions as a tactic to put pressure on him and to gain the trust of the allies, who had lost trust in America because of Trump's failed leadership. It was President Biden and the Democrats whose committees crafted the Ukraine aid bill that just passed through Congress.
It was the Republicans who have been chasing after Putin, following Trump's lead, protesting the sanctions President Obama laid down when Russia went into the Donbas and the Crimea. It was the Republicans who voted to defend Trump's inexcusable withholding of vital aid to Ukraine which, in light of their complaining and pushing over the plane exchange deal with Poland, makes this look even worse for them.
Enjoy the Reading and the Video
I hope this is inspirational, not only for a personal reminder about exactly what needs to be followed through to justice related to Trump's incitement of the January 6th insurrection, but in helping Democrats get up out of their chair and work to make sure that the GOP loses seats in both houses and emerges from the mid-terms without a clear candidate for President in 2024.
Share this, post it on your social media, the links are excellent and this may be the only place where these two things come together.
No comments:
Post a Comment