Before reading any further, please do read the actual text of the letter that the Congressional Progressive Caucus sent to President Joe Biden on Ukraine. It’s right here.
“We write with appreciation for your commitment to Ukraine’s legitimate struggle against Russia’s war of aggression,” the letter begins. “Your support for the self-defense of an independent, sovereign, and democratic state has been supported by Congress, including through various appropriations of military, economic and humanitarian aid in furtherance of this cause. Your administration’s policy was critical to enable the Ukrainian people, through their courageous fighting and heroic sacrifices, to deal a historic military defeat to Russia, forcing Russia to dramatically scale back the stated goals of the invasion.”
RO KHANNA STANDS BY ‘COMMON SENSE’ LETTER TO BIDEN URGING DIPLOMACY IN UKRAINE
Sounds totally reasonable.
The letter does go on to say, “We also believe it is in the interests of Ukraine, the United States, and the world to avoid a prolonged conflict,” and it urges Biden to “pair the military and economic support the United States has provided to Ukraine with a proactive diplomatic push, redoubling efforts to seek a realistic framework for a ceasefire.”
Again, this sounds reasonable. Especially considering that, as the letter notes, Biden himself has said, “There’s going to have to be a negotiated settlement here.”
So why the big freak-out? Why the intense pressure against progressives until Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), the chairwoman of the Progressive Caucus, issued a statement retracting the letter?
The answer has nothing to do with Ukraine’s new counteroffensive or Russia’s use of Iranian drones to target civilians.
The answer has everything to do with the fact that the Democrats are about to get pounded in the midterm elections, and one of the big arguments they are making to voters in the final two weeks is that a vote for Republicans is really a vote for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Just ask this anonymous member of Democratic House leadership who told Politico, “That bone-headed letter just put Dems in the same league as Kevin McCarthy.”
Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the House minority leader, doesn’t support Putin. That’s just ridiculous. But Democrats want voters to think he does. That’s why when McCarthy innocently said a Republican House majority was not “going to write a blank check to Ukraine,” Democrats pounced.
“They said that if they win, they’re not likely to fund, to continue to fund, Ukraine,” Biden said at a political fundraiser last week.
That’s not what McCarthy said at all. And the Progressive Caucus didn’t threaten to cut off funding either.
One can support Ukraine and its fight against Russia while at the same time criticizing its tactics. The national security interests of Ukraine and the United States overlap significantly, especially in relation to fighting Putin, but they don’t match up 100%.
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It should be perfectly reasonable for progressives on the Left and conservatives on the Right to raise questions about just how far we are willing to support Ukraine’s goals and tactics.
But allowing that debate would expose the Democrats’ attacks, portraying Republicans as Putin stooges, as a cynical fraud, hence the pressure on the progressives to rescind their letter and throw their own staff under the bus.
