Monday, March 21, 2022

Come To Think of It Ukraine Edition

Beattie's observation rings true.

...When the stakes are Ukrainian sovereignty, Republicans are firm, united, and even fanatical. When the stakes are the gradual, explicit transformation of their own voters into fifth-class citizens, unity and enthusiasm evaporate.

In 2022 America, it is far easier for Republicans to demand World War 3 than it is for them to demand that their voters not be replaced from abroad, targeted with race hate propaganda in schools, or be herded off to prison for attending the wrong protest.

For the right, war is a permanent crutch, a way to ignore real issues (the issues where they are losing) and live in a comforting fantasy world of easy moral clarity and absolute American dominance. Demanding escalation in Eastern Europe is a way for Republicans to feel tough when they have totally lost control of their own country. In this darkly ironic fashion, Republicans actually do have something in common with the Ukrainians they wish to save: they are both patriotic to a country that they have no control over in the first place....

Rep. Fitzgerald dances on the question of providing MiGs to Ukraine, and cites his military training to bulk up his creds.  It would be nice if he would simply say "NOT OUR BUSINESS," but that would take guts.

Maybe he thinks the outcomes in Iraq and Afghanistan are just fine and dandy, based on his military training and all.

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