Like his idol SeĂąor Trumpanzee, North Carolina lunatic fringe congressman Madison Cawthorn-- widely considered a tie with high school drop out Lauren Boebert (R-CO) for the position of stupidest lunkhead in Congress-- is an embarrassment to a Republican Party desperately trying to pretend to have finally turned against Putin. A new poll, released this morning by the Wall Street Journal flies in the face of what Cawthorn and a small handful of Trumpist devotees have been spouting. These numbers are pretty astounding and I have a feeling even Putin public relations machine Tucker Carlson will back off a little (again).
Putin
Very favorable- 2%
Somewhat favorable- 1%
Somewhat unfavorable- 4%
Very Unfavorable- 86%
Zelenskyy
Very favorable- 47%
Somewhat favorable- 18%
Somewhat unfavorable- 4%
Very Unfavorable- 5%
Aaron Blake wrote this morning that the Washington Post "looked back through the Roper Centerâs polling archive to see how Putinâs new numbers compared to some of the most nefarious leaders in the recent past. The upshot: Putin is now in the territory of Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong Un, Fidel Castro and Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini."
Even Trump can read those numbers. And as you see in the video up top, Lindsey Graham and the GOP sure can. Cawthorn has never been a reader-- nor an understander. Elaine Godfrey wrote that "instead of falling in line behind Donald Trump, most congressional Republicans have denounced Putin just as loudly as Democrats have. This fact would not have been surprising just a few years ago. But itâs one of the more meaningful distinctions that rank-and-file members of the party have drawn recently between themselves and the former president, a man with an almost preternatural ability to turn anyone who questions him into a political pariah. At least temporarily, the war in Ukraine has established a cease-fire between Americaâs ever-dueling parties, and lowered the temperature on Capitol Hill by a few degrees. Many Republicans seem relieved, both for the reprieve and for the chance to distance themselves a bit from Trump. The break probably wonât last long."
A small minority on the right have been squishy on Ukraine and how to view Putinâs aggression. Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming has referred to this group as the âPutin wingâ of the party. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, for example, recently addressed a conference organized by a white nationalist who supports Putin; attendees chanted the Russian presidentâs name and Greene said nothing. Last month, Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida asked the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando about the necessity of defending Ukraine. Outside of Congress, Trump allies such as Tucker Carlson have spent weeks defending Putin.
...Many Republicans seem quite happy-- eager, even-- to use Ukraine as a way to distance themselves from Trump. In normal times, many of them have had difficulty mustering the will to challenge the former president when they might want to, given how much political power he wields. But in this particular case, questioning the GOP figurehead is safe. On Ukraine, Trump has been out of step with most Americans. âI agree with [Mike] Pence, that thereâs no room in our party for apologists for Putin,â Representative Mike Simpson of Idaho told me when I asked about Trumpâs comments. âIs most of the Republican conference with you on that?â I followed up. âYep,â Simpson quickly replied. Katko, from New York, was more direct: âPutin isnât a genius, and neither is Trump.â
Yesterday, the Senate took up and passed a $13.6 billion emergency package of military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. It was appended to a $1.5 trillion general spending bill which passed 68-31.
Also yesterday, the Senate voted down a joint resolution that would have signaled congressional disapproval of the proposed foreign military sale to Egypt and would have shit-canned $2.2 billion in Lockheed Martin-made aircraft. Two Republicans-- just two Republicans (Mike Lee and the resolution's author, Rand Paul)-- joined the 17 Democrats in opposition. Progressive champions with backbones like Bernie, Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley, Mazie Hirono and Ed Markey voted for the disapproval. Notorious military industrial complex whores Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Jim Risch (R-ID) led the fight against Paul's resolution, spouting their regular bullshit that by maintaining a military relationship with the brutal Egyptian regime, they can force some reforms. This idea is laughable and misleading.