American isolationism is rising again along with authoritarianism. It seems like the themes are wedded at the hip. The "America First" slogan was first used by Woodrow Wilson in 1916 in an effort to keep America out of World War I. It was then associated with efforts to keep the US out of World War II. Most recently, starting in 2017, it was resurrected by Trump in a speech partially written by Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller. In line with his isolationist policies, Trump is insisting that aid to Ukraine would be better spent on border control. 1
Now, we are back facing isolationist Republican opposition to continuing aid to Ukraine in Congress. Back in September, when McCarthy was still Speaker and we were facing the initial threat of a government shutdown, Andy Biggs proposed an amendment to cut out all $300 million of aid for Ukraine in the proposed Senate version of the continuing resolution. 104 Republicans voted for that measure and against Ukraine. Matt Gaetz also proposed an amendment prohibiting aid for Ukraine. 93 Republicans voted for that amendment and against all further security aid to Ukraine. Just shy of half of Republicans in the House are against further aid. Marjorie Taylor Greene also got into the act with some procedural shenanigans. 2
So where does aid to Ukraine stand now? The NY Times reported on October 6 that there was still military aid in the pipeline, but the more pressing issue would be humanitarian aid and refugee support over the winter through March 2024. This is in large part due to Russia's intentional destruction of civilian infrastructure. There is some hope that the EU will provide additional support but they claim that only the US can rapidly provide the weapons and intelligence aid required. 3
A CNN poll back in August found that a majority of Americans already did not support further aid to Ukraine, with only 45% saying Congress should authorize more funding vs. 55% that said Congress should not. Support for Ukraine among Democrats remains strong but is underwater with independents and heavily against among Republicans4
Defeating Putin in Ukraine is the only defense against his further aggression in Europe and our NATO allies. He is trying to continue a war of attrition against the civilian population to chalk up a "win" in his column. Putin knows that it will be a certainty if Trump wins another term.
Speaker Johnson proposed on Friday that, in spite of his prior opposition to aid to Ukraine, he is now suggesting that the US government should confiscate Russian assets to pay for the aid. 5 Lawmakers have already introduced bills for funding for rebuilding Ukraine.
There are $300 billion in Russian assets globally that have been frozen since the beginning of the war, with at best $100 billion of that being accessible to the US. The idea carries risks that it will build support for Putin in Russia and likely violate international law. This is Speaker Johnson’s go-to game plan of offering foreign aid but looking to offset the funding in ways that are either pushing another agenda, as in the case tying aid to Israel to huge offsetting cuts to the IRS enforcement capabilities, or here with Ukraine, with something that may not be legal. Freezing and using assets are two very different things in terms of diplomacy and international law.
The question is, is this real or a stalling tactic to push isolationist policy positions aligned with Trump's position.? Where is the actual bill? Or is this cover or a bargaining chip to get the unorthodox “laddered” continuing resolution through Congress on Tuesday? Can a leopard change its spots?
Only time will tell.
Georgia,
Thanks for the Ukraine update. One aspect of being my age is that the ironies and convenient inconsistencies just keep piling up.
The GOP - or GQP as I call it (I do like the "FRP" as well :) was historically the war hawk in the room - opposing Russian aggression after WWII. We called it "communism" but Marx might have disagreed. It was really just another form of totalitarianism and Russian expansionism. The guys who killed the Romanoffs were not really much different from their victims. But I digress.
Now we have an FRP that cozies up to Russians that want to rebuild their empire. The GOP has really transformed itself. Where are those "defenders of democracy and freedom" now? The ironies are stunning. Where are the war mongering weapons manufacturers who gave us a couple of obscenely ineffective Trillion Dollar wars? Don't they see the next opportunity to transfer tax payer money to their coffers?
Is opposition to Ukrainian support just based on the fact that Democrats support Ukraine, therefore it must be opposed? Because everything Democrats do is wrong? Help me untwist my irony mangled brain.
Of course, he Republicans don't want to help Ukraine; trump hates Zelensky because he wouldn't help trump illegally by saying he, Zelensky, was investigating Biden. And Putin is trump's hero, a strongman, dictator. The Independents are opposed because our entertainment media (formerly known as the news media) isn't reporting accurately the events leading up to and continuing anti-Geneva Convention rules of war, Putin's direct attack on the civilian population of Ukraine, since they (Russia) are losing the military war.