US conservatives begin to pull away from Ukraine support?

 Julie Kelly:

A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words. But there are only a few profane words to describe the obscene scene as the two women closest in line for the presidency hoisted the Ukrainian flag from the dias of the House of Representatives while swooning over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Congress cheered on December 21. (This appears to be the first time in history the flag of another nation essentially flew inside the U.S. Capitol building.)

“They asked me to bring this flag to you, to the U.S. Congress, to members of the House of Representatives and senators whose decisions can save millions of people,” Zelenskyy said before handing the flag to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris. “This flag is a symbol of our victory in this war.”

But even more telling—sickening?—was the image in the same photo of a House staffer wearing a black face mask standing silently, eyes cast downward, behind a tri-folded American flag in a shadow box as the celebration ensued. The unintentional contrast said it all. Our once-thriving and free country is slowly dying at the hands of frauds, crooks, and cowards—and they’re not even trying to hide it from us. They are flaunting it. After two decades of gradually amassing power and control under the ruse of national security, the ruling class is exercising that power in a ruthless way.

Zelenskyy’s address to a joint session of Congress—his second this year—symbolizes how the regime is actively working against the interests of the American people. While Americans struggle to pay for gas, Zelenskyy traveled to Washington in a U.S. Air Force plane accompanied by an F-15 fighter jet. Government officials literally rolled out the red carpet for Zelenskyy when he landed before he enjoyed a full-blown motorcade to the White House.

As Zelenskyy entered the House chambers Wednesday night, his lapdog benefactors in Congress rose to their feet, wildly applauding and reaching out to touch him, mouths agape as if a rock star was in their presence. But real groupies have more dignity. It was a disgusting display all around; Zelenskyy, always in character, couldn’t even manage to wear a proper suit.

His attire, of course, didn’t matter as long as his costume had lots of pockets. Zelenskyy is set to receive $47 billion more in U.S. tax dollars when those same slobbering lawmakers pass a $1.7 trillion government spending bill this month—bringing Zelenskyy’s total grab to $100 billion and counting.

The omnibus package itself is one insult after another to the American people. As Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) detailed in a December 20 tweet thread, generous funding to secure the borders of other countries is included in the bill with little more than crumbs to protect our southern border, now dangerously wide open to human smugglers and drug runners. Billions more will be spent to promote gender equity, fight “structural racism,” expand access to abortion, and construct buildings and parks named after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, retiring Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ark.) and former First Lady Michelle Obama among others.

Perhaps the most outrageous provision in the bill is a hefty budget hike for the Department of Justice. Attorney General Merrick Garland, who spends the majority of his time and resources targeting Donald Trump, his associates, and his supporters, will receive a nearly 10 percent raise next year, bringing the Justice Department’s annual budget to $38.7 billion. More than $212 million is earmarked to hire almost 100 temporary government lawyers to help prosecute January 6 protesters, a caseload now nearing 1,000 Americans with promises to add another 1,000 more.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations will get $569 million more next year as that agency’s budget exceeds $11 billion for the first time. Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray have made it clear by word and deed that the imaginary threat of “domestic violent extremists,” i.e., those who dare to criticize the regime will remain their top priority. This means more predawn FBI raids of Capitol “trespassers,” more indefinite incarceration for those awaiting trial, more prison sentences for nonviolent offenses, more misery, and more destruction of Constitutional rights.
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I suspect this is happening because the supporters of the war effort in Ukraine have not bothered to make their case to the American people in a way that all of them could understand.  It has been typical of the Biden administration to just assume that most people agree with them even when many of their policies are absurd, such as their spending spree that caused inflation, their border policy that has been a disaster. 

The rationale for the Ukraine support has rarely been explained.  I believe that rationale is that supporting this war weakens the Russian threat to NATO and the US.  I think Putin already knows this so it is unclear why US leadership has been so reluctant to say it out loud.  

There is also the fact that the Biden administration and its DOJ have been making war on MAGA Republicans since being sworn in.  Their claims of trying to unify the country are hollow.