GOP attacks on Biden's Ukraine visit are worse than partisanship -- they really want Russia to win
Far-right Republicans won't come right out in support of Putin, yet they agree with his anti-democratic agenda
By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 22, 2023 6:07AM (EST)
(Salon) To most people, both at home and abroad, the purpose of President Joe Biden's recent trip to Ukraine is not mysterious: The United States would like the nation to prevail in its war against Russia's invading army, and this show of support is valuable for moralizing Ukraine's supporters while demoralizing Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Far-right Republicans, on the other hand, tied themselves into knots in trying to diss Biden without coming right out and saying they want Ukraine to lose.
Some, like the American Nazi supporters of WWII, tried to package their stance as mere isolationism. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, for instance, exploited the Ohio train wreck catastrophe to argue "Biden is ditching America for Ukraine."
Others, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, went full incoherence, raving, "It's becoming more like a U.S.- China war through the Ukraine — Russia war."
And some went for puerile race-baiting, such as Rep. Greg Murphy yelling about "the war zone [Biden] created at our southern border." (In reality, the refugee crisis at the U.S.-Mexican border was created by Donald Trump's anti-immigration policies that Biden has been prevented from fixing by the GOP-controlled Supreme Court.)
Perhaps the biggest show of pretzel logic came courtesy of Florida's GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, who tried to leverage the past year's successes against Russia as evidence that the U.S. should drop the support for Ukraine. "I think they've shown themselves to be a third-rate military power," he said of Russia on Fox News, as if that justified rolling over and letting Putin take Ukraine.
....(snip)....
Sure, these people would oppose puppies and rainbows if Biden said he liked those things, but there's a deeper reason why so many Republicans are going out of their way to undermine American support for Ukraine. It's because they agree with Putin's anti-democracy cause and share his hopes that defeating Ukraine will demoralize pro-democracy forces around the world.
So it's probably a good thing that so few MAGA Republicans — including Trump himself — feel comfortable expressing direct support for Putin and direct opposition to Ukraine. It means it's still taboo, even in the GOP ranks, to be proudly fascist, much less openly supportive of war crimes.
The pretense that MAGA Republicans believe in democracy is still being maintained, even as it's obvious that they would prefer to get to the part of the story where president-for-life Donald Trump cancels all future elections. .............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2023/02/22/on-bidens-uk...nt-to-win/
Far-right Republicans won't come right out in support of Putin, yet they agree with his anti-democratic agenda
By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 22, 2023 6:07AM (EST)
(Salon) To most people, both at home and abroad, the purpose of President Joe Biden's recent trip to Ukraine is not mysterious: The United States would like the nation to prevail in its war against Russia's invading army, and this show of support is valuable for moralizing Ukraine's supporters while demoralizing Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Far-right Republicans, on the other hand, tied themselves into knots in trying to diss Biden without coming right out and saying they want Ukraine to lose.
Some, like the American Nazi supporters of WWII, tried to package their stance as mere isolationism. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, for instance, exploited the Ohio train wreck catastrophe to argue "Biden is ditching America for Ukraine."
Others, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, went full incoherence, raving, "It's becoming more like a U.S.- China war through the Ukraine — Russia war."
And some went for puerile race-baiting, such as Rep. Greg Murphy yelling about "the war zone [Biden] created at our southern border." (In reality, the refugee crisis at the U.S.-Mexican border was created by Donald Trump's anti-immigration policies that Biden has been prevented from fixing by the GOP-controlled Supreme Court.)
Perhaps the biggest show of pretzel logic came courtesy of Florida's GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, who tried to leverage the past year's successes against Russia as evidence that the U.S. should drop the support for Ukraine. "I think they've shown themselves to be a third-rate military power," he said of Russia on Fox News, as if that justified rolling over and letting Putin take Ukraine.
....(snip)....
Sure, these people would oppose puppies and rainbows if Biden said he liked those things, but there's a deeper reason why so many Republicans are going out of their way to undermine American support for Ukraine. It's because they agree with Putin's anti-democracy cause and share his hopes that defeating Ukraine will demoralize pro-democracy forces around the world.
So it's probably a good thing that so few MAGA Republicans — including Trump himself — feel comfortable expressing direct support for Putin and direct opposition to Ukraine. It means it's still taboo, even in the GOP ranks, to be proudly fascist, much less openly supportive of war crimes.
The pretense that MAGA Republicans believe in democracy is still being maintained, even as it's obvious that they would prefer to get to the part of the story where president-for-life Donald Trump cancels all future elections. .............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2023/02/22/on-bidens-uk...nt-to-win/
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