The Republican leadership in the US House of Representatives is responsible for keeping the 210 (more or less) members of its caucus focused and working on the party’s objectives, but that task is especially difficult when a politically popular ex-president is sitting down in Florida and pursuing his own agenda. Some members undoubtedly feel that they must serve two masters, and some make a conscious decision to defy their party hierarchy and follow the dictates of Trump.
Nowhere is this schism within the party clearer than it is with regard to the on-going Russian assault on Ukraine. At the outset of fighting Trump described Russian leader Valdimir Putin in glowing terms like “smart” and “savvy,” and he even referred to the Russian leader as “a genius.” Some of that public adulation toward Putin has spread out among other elements of the party, and it seems to be particularly strong with “Christian nationalists.”
Donald Trump, who some believe has aspirations to secure business opportunities within Russia, and who has apparently leased and sold many properties to Russian oligarchs and businessmen, has long been seen as having an uncomfortably close relationship to Putin.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson has also been roundly criticized for promoting what some refer to as “Russian talking points” with regard to the war in Ukraine on his show.
The words of Trump and Tucker Carlson taken together give a certain degree of right-wing cover for politicians to question the US support for Ukraine and to perhaps even provide some moral support to Russia - positions not held by the Republican members of the House leadership.
Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican of Wyoming, has called this group “The Putin Wing of the GOP."
Madison Cawhorn, a congressman from North Carolina, early on referred to President Zelensky of Ukraine a “thug.” Zelensky donned military fatigues at the outset of the war, picked up a rifle, and joined his troops in an active and very dangerous defense of their homeland. Cawthorn went on to describe the Ukrainian government as “very evil.”
Matt Gaetz, a congressman from Florida who is currently undergoing an FBI investigation on sex-trafficking allegations, has publicly questioned the “necessity” of defending Ukraine.
Three Republican members of the House voted against a bipartisan resolution to stand “steadfastly” with the people of the Ukraine. They were: Paul Gosar of Arizona, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Matt Rosendale of Montana. More that four hundred members of the House, from both parties, voted in support of the measure.
Representative Marjory Taylor Greene of Georgia, another Republican, has stated that she has reservations of giving US aid to Ukraine because she fears it might wind up benefiting Nazis who reside within the nation. Greene has shown no concerns regarding the activities of Nazis residing within the United States, and, in fact, even spoke at a gathering of the America First Political Action Caucus last month in Florida, a group that some claim represents authoritarian elements of American politics. Members of the group cheered Russia at the national conference, a gathering at which Greene and Congressman Paul Gosar of Arizona were featured speakers.
And so it goes. President Joe Biden and a big majority of elected officials in both parties support the efforts of Ukraine to preserve its freedom and independence, but a handful of Republicans prefer to be swept along in the fawning admiration that Donald Trump expresses for Putin. Some might question the patriotism of those Republicans who carry water for Russia, and all should at least question their intelligence.
Liz Cheney may not be right about everything, but when it comes to the “Putin Wing of the GOP,” she knows what she is talking about. Putin is not a friend of democracy, and that seems to be just one with certain members of the GOP. Eisenhower would be appalled. Hell, even Nixon would be appalled!
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