It’s been two months since the U.S. Senate passed a $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and Taiwan, and House Speaker Mike Johnson has not yet found the courage to bring it to a vote.
It is even more urgent that he do so now — even if it costs him his job.
Ukraine is running out of ammunition, a top U.S general warned last week. Russia, which invaded its neighbor two years ago, is stepping up attacks on Ukrainian civilians using weapons supplied by our adversaries North Korea and Iran. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put it bluntly last week: “If the Congress doesn’t help Ukraine, Ukraine will lose the war.”
That would be a disaster, and not just for Ukraine.
Victory for Russia would embolden Vladimir Putin to invade other sovereign nations on its border. If Putin attacks our NATO allies in Europe, the United States will be obligated to defend them with American boots on the ground. China also is watching; failing to keep our promise to Ukraine makes Taiwan more vulnerable to a takeover by mainland China.
“America first,” cries the Trumpist Republican Party, pressing incoherent demands for border security. They can do both – and passed up the chance by tanking a bipartisan border bill in February.
Most (but not all) Republicans refuse to see that helping Ukraine is in America’s national interest. That extends to the fact that most of the $60 billion aid package for Ukraine goes to U.S. companies replenishing the arms the Pentagon is providing.
To quote John Adams, “Facts are stubborn things.” But don’t expect facts to get in the way of the far-right GOP faction threatening to sack Speaker Johnson if he brings a Ukraine aid bill to a vote.
They are doing the bidding of former President Donald Trump, whose antipathy for NATO led him to invite Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO allies that don’t meet their military spending targets.
If only it were that easy to put a price tag on peace.
Since its formation 75 years ago in the aftermath of World War II, the NATO alliance has kept Europe at peace through the Cold War, the nuclear arms race, the fall of the Soviet Union and ethnic conflict in the Baltic states. The only time NATO invoked its “attack against one is an attack against all” pact was in defense of the United States after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
As the war in Ukraine reaches a decisive moment, it’s time for Johnson to lead and for the Republican majority in Congress to govern. That includes Central New York Rep. Brandon Williams, R-Sennett.
Make the tough decision. Act like a superpower. Keep America’s promises to its allies. Help Ukraine defend itself. Pass the aid bill for Ukraine.
South Carolina Gamecocks players celebrate their championship win over the Iowa Hawkeyes during the NCAA Women’s Final Four championship game at Rocket Mortgage John Kuntz, cleveland.com
Another win for women’s sports
Last week, we wrote about the boom in girls’ and women’s sports at all levels. Here’s an exclamation point for the end of the sentence.
The NCAA March Madness women’s basketball championship game between Iowa and South Carolina drew 18.9 million viewers. That was 4 million more viewers than tuned in to watch the men’s final featuring the University of Connecticut and Purdue.
It’s not quite an apples-to-apples comparison. The women’s game was on broadcast TV on Sunday afternoon, while the men played late Monday night on a cable network. Still, the women’s final game drew an audience 90% larger than last year’s final.
There can be no argument that there is an audience for women’s hoops — and it’s growing by leaps and bounds.
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