Speaker Johnson and his MAGA coterie are clearly in thrall to Donald Trump, who is in thrall to Putin. Johnson has not done a very good job of concealing the fact that his preferred outcome is no aid for Ukraine and no solution for border issues, so that MAGA types can make political hay during election season.
It's time for the Biden administration to stop negotiating and start playing hardball. Everyone knows what must be done -- seize the House from Republican extremists and hand it over to a moderate coalition of Democrats and Republicans. Pretending that a decent outcome is possible with a Speaker who is only pretending to negotiate is not the way out of this situation. There are political tools that can be used, and the time has come to use them.
Most of the current Republican crew are spineless followers. You only need to crack four or five Congressmen to get others to follow. I would suggest starting with the 14 Districts that were won by Republicans in 2022, but that President Biden also won. A few of those Republican Congressmen are going to need a lot of help to win, if they want to remain in Congress. https://ballotpedia.org/U.S._House_districts_represented_by_a_Republican_in_2022_and_won_by_Joe_Biden_in_2020
Along with wondering when/whether the US is going to renew aid to Ukraine, are our European allies also doing everything they can to increase support? I know they provide support already (lots of graphs posted recently showing how much), but I was curious what you may have heard at the meeting about additional steps and plans they may have. Because it seems clear that they might need a Plan B.
Yes they are already doing a lot more than 2 years ago. That’s an achievement that Biden should trumpet as he asks for more. And they are making contingency plans
Thank you for this update. I was in Vilnius last June and encourage others to visit this lovely city. They have good reason to fear the Russians given the repression and severe punishment many citizens endured during the 50 years as part of the USSR. I was unaware that more than 130,000 Lithuanians were deported to Siberia during that time. Support for Ukraine was evident, with many Ukrainian flags and signs, even on government buildings. My favorite sight in the Museum of Occupations & Freedom Fights was in one of the basement prison cells in the building: a full size cutout of Putin in an orange jumpsuit. One can only hope!
I read this today in the Guardian, a UK newspaper: [Republican ]”...Party believes Trump has lock on nomination and he wants to accuse Biden of being weak on immigration – meaning deal that linked aid to border security appears doomed...” Supposedly McConnell said as much yesterday. In other words, an agreement now to fix the border, (and renew assistance to Ukraine) would deprive Trump of a campaign issue, and they can’t let that happen. Is this fake news? Did McConnell actually say that?
Speaker Johnson and his MAGA coterie are clearly in thrall to Donald Trump, who is in thrall to Putin. Johnson has not done a very good job of concealing the fact that his preferred outcome is no aid for Ukraine and no solution for border issues, so that MAGA types can make political hay during election season.
It's time for the Biden administration to stop negotiating and start playing hardball. Everyone knows what must be done -- seize the House from Republican extremists and hand it over to a moderate coalition of Democrats and Republicans. Pretending that a decent outcome is possible with a Speaker who is only pretending to negotiate is not the way out of this situation. There are political tools that can be used, and the time has come to use them.
Great comment James, but respectfully, I wish I knew what political tools you speak of; and why the dems haven't used them already.
Please help me understsnd....
Most of the current Republican crew are spineless followers. You only need to crack four or five Congressmen to get others to follow. I would suggest starting with the 14 Districts that were won by Republicans in 2022, but that President Biden also won. A few of those Republican Congressmen are going to need a lot of help to win, if they want to remain in Congress. https://ballotpedia.org/U.S._House_districts_represented_by_a_Republican_in_2022_and_won_by_Joe_Biden_in_2020
Along with wondering when/whether the US is going to renew aid to Ukraine, are our European allies also doing everything they can to increase support? I know they provide support already (lots of graphs posted recently showing how much), but I was curious what you may have heard at the meeting about additional steps and plans they may have. Because it seems clear that they might need a Plan B.
Yes they are already doing a lot more than 2 years ago. That’s an achievement that Biden should trumpet as he asks for more. And they are making contingency plans
Thank you for this update. I was in Vilnius last June and encourage others to visit this lovely city. They have good reason to fear the Russians given the repression and severe punishment many citizens endured during the 50 years as part of the USSR. I was unaware that more than 130,000 Lithuanians were deported to Siberia during that time. Support for Ukraine was evident, with many Ukrainian flags and signs, even on government buildings. My favorite sight in the Museum of Occupations & Freedom Fights was in one of the basement prison cells in the building: a full size cutout of Putin in an orange jumpsuit. One can only hope!
I read this today in the Guardian, a UK newspaper: [Republican ]”...Party believes Trump has lock on nomination and he wants to accuse Biden of being weak on immigration – meaning deal that linked aid to border security appears doomed...” Supposedly McConnell said as much yesterday. In other words, an agreement now to fix the border, (and renew assistance to Ukraine) would deprive Trump of a campaign issue, and they can’t let that happen. Is this fake news? Did McConnell actually say that?