Half-Hawk, Half-Isolationist: It's GQP!

 

At the moment, the GOP is making the blogosphere and pundit rounds excoriating Biden's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine while vacillating about whether to criticize Trump's best-bud, Putin, or to praise him.  It's an exercise in professional bullshitting that has had few parallels outside Trump himself during his four year extended shitposting on Twitter during his excuse for a presidency, but it deserves some examination, just so that we all remember the folks we're dealing with, before their treason and stupidity disappears down the oubliette of the 2022 or 2024 election campaigns.

Here are some things to remember while watching the GQP blame Biden for Putin's invasion of Ukraine:

• Trump spent four years aiding Putin's aim of weakening NATO
•  Trump LITERALLY withheld aid to Ukraine against Russia in an attempt to extort illegal foreign help in corrupting US elections, and the ENTIRE REPUBLICAN PARTY was on board with it
• Trump LITERALLY just announced in no uncertain terms that he agrees with Putin's view that national sovereignty is not a thing, calling Putin's move "genius," and not a single Republican has the fucking balls to criticize TRUMP over that stance, still pinning their hopes for political power on wooing the Trumpist base while mealy-mouthing platitudes about the Ukrainian "tragedy" and seeking to pin the blame on Biden
• In other words, Trump consistently sided with Putin and is entirely aligned with Putin's aim of weakening US international commitments, and the entire Republican Party is too spineless to admit it

But let's name names and, in Mike Pence's words, "be clear about" some of the folks of whom we're speaking.

JD Vance, the Ohio piece of shit running for Senate in 2022 and who abased himself before Trump at Mar A Lago after Trump's win, deleting all of his previous commentary online about what a fucking clown Trump is, currently is trying to have it both ways. 

After publicly declaring nobody should care about Ukraine's fate, suddenly he's on the anti-Putin bandwagon, but the problem is (as always) "elites" and "globalists." Taking action against Putin is still bad, sanctions (against Russian elites, no less) are also bad, nay, "worthless", and the only "solution" is for us to adopt Trump's nationalist isolation policies. Any commentary on Trump's aggravation of the problem? Of course not!

Of course, how Trumpian isolationism is supposed to address tyranny abroad is devoid of any explanation, but what else would you expect from a hypocritical piece of shit who once claimed Trump's policy proposals ranged "from immoral to absurd" then promptly reversed himself when Trump won election saying he thought Trump was a good president?

Jane Timken, running against JD Vance, is also vying for the GOP's Grandest American Traitor award. Gone are the days when the GOP demanded unity of everyone behind any government efforts to protect democracy. Nosirree, today's strategy is that no criticism is too low to slither beneath when attacking a non-Republican president. Timken, attempting to repaint the Trumpian racist America First brand came out strong on two fronts-- the War Against Democrats and the War for Trumpist Support: “I believe ‘America First’ means protecting American security interests at home and abroad.” Simultaneously, “Putin is playing Biden like a drum. It is not a pretty thing to watch!” But which is it? Under Trump's vision of America First, we shouldn't be going to war for anyone but ourselves, so how does Timken think the US response should play out OTHER than through an international response that avoids direct war and the spilling of American blood?

Well, you know... consistency being the hobgoblin of small minds, Timken doesn't actually have a plan beyond Putin good, Biden bad, so don't expect her to lay out a strategy.

Or to offer an honest assessment of the former president's worsening of Ukraine's situation.

Elise Stefanik, the piece of shit the GOP has decided to primary Liz Cheney with, now says that Putin is a "gutless, bloodthirsty, authoritarian dictator," but the problem is Biden's lack of leadership. Any word on Trump's aggravation of Ukraine's already weak position, while Trump was in power? Nope. Nary a word on Trump's continued commitment to Putin. Instead, the finely detailed solution she offers, in its entirety, is for the US to project "strength."

I'm not kidding. That's it. Putin is bad. Biden is bad. Solution is "strength." Toute finis.

Josh Hawley, insurrection co-conspirator, after spending most of his time arguing that no one should give a shit about Ukraine, because the real threat is China, is now demanding action from Biden. "“President Biden must act now to hit Vladimir Putin where it hurts...The Biden administration should sanction Russian energy production to a halt, and help arm the Ukrainians to defend themselves."

Get that? After spending all his time fellating Trump and refusing to hold him accountable for HOLDING UP SHIPMENTS OF ARMAMENT TO UKRAINE in exchange for libeling Biden during the election, Hawley is now demanding Biden arm Ukraine.

If you look up "feces" in the encyclopedia, you'll find a full color portrait of Josh Hawley.

Reichsmarshal Lindsey Graham, after breakfasting with Trump on Thursday, laid the Republican strategy bare in a refreshingly candid comment, "Number one, the Republican Party is going to rally around the idea that Putin is a thug and a crook. I have no doubt that the overwhelming majority of Republican senators see what’s happening to Ukraine is detrimental to our national security and well-being." Then in a sop to the Trumpist base, softened the condemnation by referring to his boss' romantic overtures to Putin by saying he wasn’t a fan of Trump’s “genius” comment about Putin, “but I understood what the president was trying to say.”

Of course, we should always expect refreshing honesty from Lady Graham, who famously admitted before the fact that he would violate his oath of office and his oath to be an objective juror in Trump's impeachment trial over having degraded Ukrainian security in an attempt to extort illegal election help. So there you go.

Ron DeSantis, ever the feckless talking head whose chief antagonists are reality and the facts, weighed in with the “USA is in no position to ‘promote democracy’ abroad while our own country is falling apart.” Of course, our own country is "falling apart" precisely because of his party's assault on OUR democracy, up to and including complicity in the January 6th coup attempt that was led by none other than Donald Trump, so the "democracy falling apart" complaint seems a bit like the Menendez Brothers throwing themselves on the mercy of the court because they're orphans.

Mitch McConnell has been very clear about stating that Putin is a "bad guy" whom we need to "do everything we can to stop..." Everything short of actually working across the aisle in a bipartisan manner for the good of the country, one can assume. Pressed to provide a response to Trump's ongoing praise of Putin, McConnell demurred.

Doing "everything we can" also appears not to include criticizing the de facto leader of one's own party when that person is actively aiding and abetting a hostile foreign power. But I guess we already knew that after two impeachments of Trump where McConnell led the charge to ignore or even hide evidence in favor of a presumptive-- and factually baseless-- exoneration.

And what about Mike Pence? You know, the guy most likely to be hung on a gallows at the behest of Trump? Well, he's also working on two fronts, criticizing Putin while also blaming Biden. Pence's spokes-critter issued a statement for the former Vice Presidential punching bag: “No one in the GOP should be praising Vladimir Putin. He’s a former KGB officer and a dictator and a thug. We should be clear about that."

Pence's position is that Biden's sweeping sanctions "don't go far enough" and that we should "continue to arm Ukraine." Presumably with weapons Trump withheld while trying to strongarm Zelensky into fraudulently tarring Biden during the 2020 election-- a nice bit of extortion that Pence apparently had no problem with, because he saw nothing and heard nothing and please stop asking about it.

In fact, there is a silver lining for Pence and the GOP-- Republicans' and Pence's efforts to restart the Keystone Pipeline (irrespective of the fact that the US would see none of the Canadian oil the pipeline would carry to factories shipping to, of all places, the GOP's current bogeyman-- China).

I'm sure none of them stand to make a trumppence off of such an action.

Anyway, all of this is a long way to go to say that the GOP is still intent on harming American interests in order to gain or retain power, by wrapping themselves in the flag and pretending to be anything but traitors to American ideals. Which is shocking, I know, but still needs to be said, loudly and often.