Great video, AND I agree with Ryan’s good v evil assessment...
I have told friends and I’ll say it here- I truly believe the sole reason many republicans are against supporting Ukraine is because most democrats are for it.
Ronald Regan, the president admired and often cited by conservatives (including me) would roll over in his grave if he saw the way in which many republicans dismiss the threat that Russian aggression poses to US interests and world allies. Russia needs to be kept in check, and free democracies need to be kept free. It’s just that simple.
KC, I totally agree with you. The only silverlining that I can see is that other NATO countries may step up there funding. We can only hope that they wake up. Outside of the Baltic States and Poland the other NATO member nations need to step up their FINANCIAL obligations not only to NATO itself but directly to Ukraine.
I would have to disagree with you, but also in some ways agree with you,
Not all Republicans against it just due to that, and to lump a whole party into a if your not my Friends you're my enemy doesn't do anyone justice. A few Republicans such as rand Paul make some valid points it's not like we are who's sitting on trillions of dollars in a gold pot. No We are in debt, borrowing money to send it to Ukraine from Japan China ECT,
From February 4 2022 to the end of September 2023. A total of 113 billion dollars, have been sent to ukraine that is 223 million dollars a day.
Well I do think it is honorable and necessary to give assistance to Ukraine and it's important as Ryan mentioned to fight evil. However You can't fight evil while you continue to borrow and dig your country into debt. I'm causing higher and higher inflation and degradation of the US dollar.
Republicans who said they would like to have a special inspector general put over the spending in Ukraine to make sure that our money isn't going to waste. I know there's been rumors of shipments being intercepted and or accidentally mishandled and sent to criminal gangs etc. However I haven't had the time to personally look into this
This is why support for Ukraine has wavered with some Republicans.
In the end it's the normal Republicans trying to cut what the Democrats want to spend on, and the Democrats saying no we're going to cut what you want to spend on.
We are largely in agreement... I’m also of the belief, as cold as it sounds, that helping Ukraine fight Russia NOW with money/weapons, regardless of the amount, is a far less-costly option (literally and figuratively) than fighting Russia with American lives later - which is a realistic possibility if Ukraine is defeated.
What’s causing inflation is the $15-20 minimum wage increase.... people who have never had money before are spending it in crazy wads on over priced goods... That’s what’s causing inflation. Do the math.
No, it’s corporate greed where executives receive up to 3,000% compensation over the employee. Corporations are hiking prices to increase profits. THIS drives the need to pay employees a greater wage to even maintain a standard of living.
We just can’t STOP Ukrainian assistance. If we do this, and stop funding... what’s it say to Dictators around the World? “Oh, it’s ok, eventually the US will lose faith one way or another, we just have to wait it out”! That’s exactly the message it sends.
I understand we have tons of problems that need to be solved here at home.... but we CAN NOT in good conscience leave a fledgling democracy hung out to dry like this. Do any of you remember OUR HISTORY? If it was not for the FRENCH, our little rebellion against the English in the 1770’s would have been handily defeated if not for the French ships and weapons! It would be the same thing IF THE FRENCH HAD DONE IT TO US. Let’s not start down that path. It leads to more wars.
Not to be a counterpoint, but didn't we back away when they later came to us for help?
I'm no historian, so maybe I have my dates off, or there was a lot more to it than we just didn't want to get involved... And didn't Winston Churchill say that Americans will always do the right thing after trying everything else?
This is a massive mistake on behalf of our country. It is unfortunate that the majority of the Republicans that are against funding the War in Ukraine are too young to remember The Cold War. At 57 and a history nerd, I sure the hell am old enough. I am also a Conservative Republican. Call me a "Reaganite" which I proudly am. I believe in defending freedom which we made a commit to do for the Ukrainians when the US signed the Minsk Accords during the Clinton Administration. Once again the US has reneged on a promise. This is an international embarrassment for the US. This, coupled with the humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan will come back to haunt us. It is becoming obvious that those in Washington have zero interest in how our international optics look. We can surely defend our southern border AND fund the War in Ukraine at the same time. The US Congress AND The Biden Administration are both clearly at fault. Neither has the willpower to stand up and do what is right. This has become a gold mine of propaganda for the Russians. Which they will surely exploit over the next 45 days and more. Propaganda is a very powerful tool in war as Ryan explained. Why would any US elected official would not clearly see this as a huge national security failure is also unbelievable.
Thank you from this Texan. The week of September 11th, 2001 President G.W. Bush was meant to travel to Mexico and finalize a bilateral (between the USA and Mexico) immigration bill authored by the Gang of Eight in the US Senate. This new policy would have seen increased border security, created a guest worker program, and provided a path to legalization. Sadly, the events of 9-11 allowed the anti-immigration hawks to play to American fears of a pending invasion of sleeper cells into the USA, and this never happened. How much stronger, safer, and focused would the USA be twenty years after a bipartisan approach to the challenges and benefits of immigration leaves me dreaming of the world we could have had. I used to routinely cross the border into Mexico at Big Bend National Park, and without the need for it to be monitored or patrolled. That is no longer the case. There are very few nonpartisan commission designed House districts anymore, and I think these carefully crafted safe districts for partisan incumbents eliminates the need to work toward common solutions. One can play to the extreme wings of a party, never propose or pass any meaningful legislation, and yet raise millions of dollars through fundraising, and spend a lot of time on tv being entertaining, but not productive at all for the people of this great republic. Elections in the USA really do have consequences, and unfortunately for the rest of the freedom loving world the impact can be even greater.
I used to swim the river over to Mexico in Big Bend. I would also simply drive on a nice dirt road around the southern end of Amistad and camp out in Mexico. I would easily cross the border in Del Rio and eat dinner over in Acuña at night.
There is a very simple solution to this: Biden is the commander and chief. He can simply say, "You give me the funding, you little slick-haired bastard Matt Gaetz, or I order air strikes on military targets in Russian held areas in Ukraine." Of course, Biden should also simply give the Republicans what they want on the border and agree to build the wall, much of which he has torn down, I believe: Ukraine is simply too important, and a border wall is actually a good idea even if you favour immigration because of how it would discourage drug traffickers, etc.
So, first he should offer to cave on the border and if they persist in not giving the money, he needs to threaten to deploy US forces. Even the threat of doing that will scare the anti-war wimps in the Republican party into submission.
The only left I agree with Republicans about. The Dems are finally starting to come around now that their cities are starting to feel the pain.... Something drastic needs to be done. This country has grown by over 125,000,000 in 30 years WHILE HAVING THE 3rd LOWEST BIRTH RATE AMONGST WESTERNISED COUNTRIES. Think about that one for a minute.....
Building a wall across the entire border is stupid. Congress could address the problem in a heart beat but it’s been too effective a weapon on one side and to effectively weaponized on the other. Meaning they can’t touch without admitting it’s a problem. Slava Ukraine and f the MAGAts.
There's a difference between an invasion and immigration. No one denies what Russia is doing to Ukraine is an invasion. The problem is there are those who pretend the chaos that is happening on the U.S. Southern border is immigration and not the invasion that it is. So, those handful of Congress Critters who are holding up funding for protecting the Ukrainian border while ours allows thousands to cross illegally on a daily basis, they're right to find a connection and call it out IMO.
What's happening on the Southern border isn't humane. It's malicious and destructive. That said, someone is benefiting from it. Ask yourself who benefits and is being enriched by allowing what is happening at the U.S. Southern border.
I unfortunately don't share your faith in the Republican House to "see the light" and support Ukraine. They have sworn fealty to Donald Trump, who has in turn sworn fealty to Vladimir Putin. The Republican party at this point is, for all intents and purposes, a Russian puppet political party embedded within the United States.
I'm not saying every single person identifying as a Republican is a Russian plant; I'm saying that the geopolitical effects of their actions are indistinguishable from a world where they were actual Russian plants. Putin is getting exactly what he wants out of the Republican party: sowing chaos in American government and impeding our ability to support our democratic ally against Russian expansionism.
It's a bit odd that the Republican Senators are generally so supportive of Ukraine while the House is aligned as anti-Ukraine. We used to call McConnell "Moscow Mitch". Now he's the only voice of reason in the Republican party supporting Ukraine. And it seems we're soon going to get a MAGA Speaker of the House who would rather keep the government shut down for months than to allow us to spend another dime on Ukraine. Russian plants indeed!
My only regret is that the Democrats voted to oust McCarthy. Now the House will spend the next 45 days trying to find a Speaker, not getting work done trying to pass a funding bill. And the next Speaker will almost certainly be worse (more MAGA) than McCarthy.
The Democrats should have voted against the motion to remove him from Speaker. He was at least willing to sit down with Biden, Jeffries and Schumer and have a dialogue. He was at least willing to keep the government open. The next asshat we get almost certainly will not do any of those things.
Unfortunately I feel that Ryan, in an attempt to remain "not political" has completely glossed over the obvious connection many (not all) top Republicans have to Russian money. The internal GOP group known as the MAGA movement is very connected to Russia and has often been sympathetic to Putin. It's a little disconcerting when your private intel guy ignores a major driver to geopolitical issues.
1) Ukraine is not a democracy. It’s a corrupt, totalitarian state.
2) Military aid does not help Ukrainians. It increases our casualties and is used merely to utilize us as canon fodder in a proxy war against Russia. Zelensky is a corrupt puppet who could have stopped the war last March or April when Russians realized there would be no easy invasion. Instead, he went with the desires of his owners in the UK and the US, who demanded continuation of the war in exchange for letting him enrich himself and his circle and keep assets he parked at the territories and offshore destinations they control.
3) I don’t know any Ukrainians who want to fight - those who wished to are already dead or badly wounded. In my circle, people pay $3-10k to bribe a draftsman, a medical commissioner, or a volunteering organization to be recognized as inadmissible for service or get a permit to leave the country as a fake volunteer. People are afraid to speak up because they will be arrested, punished, or simply drafted and sent to the frontline. The only people who want to continue the war are the ones who have nothing to lose, usually middle-aged unmarried women or women whose male family members escaped Ukraine - Karens of Ukraine - and retirees for some reason.
4) The USA, where I have lived for over ten years, should focus on domestic issues - homelessness, degradation of the elites at the state and federal level, deindustrialization, fentanyl pandemic, interracial issues, lobbyism, and Super PACs, etc. Internationally, China is erasing America’s relevance and dominance and should be an area of focused effort.
5) I wish every Neocon to get stage 4 rectal cancer.
Great video, AND I agree with Ryan’s good v evil assessment...
I have told friends and I’ll say it here- I truly believe the sole reason many republicans are against supporting Ukraine is because most democrats are for it.
Ronald Regan, the president admired and often cited by conservatives (including me) would roll over in his grave if he saw the way in which many republicans dismiss the threat that Russian aggression poses to US interests and world allies. Russia needs to be kept in check, and free democracies need to be kept free. It’s just that simple.
KC, I totally agree with you. The only silverlining that I can see is that other NATO countries may step up there funding. We can only hope that they wake up. Outside of the Baltic States and Poland the other NATO member nations need to step up their FINANCIAL obligations not only to NATO itself but directly to Ukraine.
Totally agree, NATO nations need to step up more than they are. Absolutely.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing”
(give or take a word)
I would have to disagree with you, but also in some ways agree with you,
Not all Republicans against it just due to that, and to lump a whole party into a if your not my Friends you're my enemy doesn't do anyone justice. A few Republicans such as rand Paul make some valid points it's not like we are who's sitting on trillions of dollars in a gold pot. No We are in debt, borrowing money to send it to Ukraine from Japan China ECT,
From February 4 2022 to the end of September 2023. A total of 113 billion dollars, have been sent to ukraine that is 223 million dollars a day.
Well I do think it is honorable and necessary to give assistance to Ukraine and it's important as Ryan mentioned to fight evil. However You can't fight evil while you continue to borrow and dig your country into debt. I'm causing higher and higher inflation and degradation of the US dollar.
Republicans who said they would like to have a special inspector general put over the spending in Ukraine to make sure that our money isn't going to waste. I know there's been rumors of shipments being intercepted and or accidentally mishandled and sent to criminal gangs etc. However I haven't had the time to personally look into this
This is why support for Ukraine has wavered with some Republicans.
In the end it's the normal Republicans trying to cut what the Democrats want to spend on, and the Democrats saying no we're going to cut what you want to spend on.
I said MANY republicans...
We are largely in agreement... I’m also of the belief, as cold as it sounds, that helping Ukraine fight Russia NOW with money/weapons, regardless of the amount, is a far less-costly option (literally and figuratively) than fighting Russia with American lives later - which is a realistic possibility if Ukraine is defeated.
What’s causing inflation is the $15-20 minimum wage increase.... people who have never had money before are spending it in crazy wads on over priced goods... That’s what’s causing inflation. Do the math.
No, it’s corporate greed where executives receive up to 3,000% compensation over the employee. Corporations are hiking prices to increase profits. THIS drives the need to pay employees a greater wage to even maintain a standard of living.
We just can’t STOP Ukrainian assistance. If we do this, and stop funding... what’s it say to Dictators around the World? “Oh, it’s ok, eventually the US will lose faith one way or another, we just have to wait it out”! That’s exactly the message it sends.
I understand we have tons of problems that need to be solved here at home.... but we CAN NOT in good conscience leave a fledgling democracy hung out to dry like this. Do any of you remember OUR HISTORY? If it was not for the FRENCH, our little rebellion against the English in the 1770’s would have been handily defeated if not for the French ships and weapons! It would be the same thing IF THE FRENCH HAD DONE IT TO US. Let’s not start down that path. It leads to more wars.
Edit: meant to say in last line “IF THE FRENCH HAD ABANDONED US”
Not to be a counterpoint, but didn't we back away when they later came to us for help?
I'm no historian, so maybe I have my dates off, or there was a lot more to it than we just didn't want to get involved... And didn't Winston Churchill say that Americans will always do the right thing after trying everything else?
This is a massive mistake on behalf of our country. It is unfortunate that the majority of the Republicans that are against funding the War in Ukraine are too young to remember The Cold War. At 57 and a history nerd, I sure the hell am old enough. I am also a Conservative Republican. Call me a "Reaganite" which I proudly am. I believe in defending freedom which we made a commit to do for the Ukrainians when the US signed the Minsk Accords during the Clinton Administration. Once again the US has reneged on a promise. This is an international embarrassment for the US. This, coupled with the humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan will come back to haunt us. It is becoming obvious that those in Washington have zero interest in how our international optics look. We can surely defend our southern border AND fund the War in Ukraine at the same time. The US Congress AND The Biden Administration are both clearly at fault. Neither has the willpower to stand up and do what is right. This has become a gold mine of propaganda for the Russians. Which they will surely exploit over the next 45 days and more. Propaganda is a very powerful tool in war as Ryan explained. Why would any US elected official would not clearly see this as a huge national security failure is also unbelievable.
Dear Ryan,
Thank you from this Texan. The week of September 11th, 2001 President G.W. Bush was meant to travel to Mexico and finalize a bilateral (between the USA and Mexico) immigration bill authored by the Gang of Eight in the US Senate. This new policy would have seen increased border security, created a guest worker program, and provided a path to legalization. Sadly, the events of 9-11 allowed the anti-immigration hawks to play to American fears of a pending invasion of sleeper cells into the USA, and this never happened. How much stronger, safer, and focused would the USA be twenty years after a bipartisan approach to the challenges and benefits of immigration leaves me dreaming of the world we could have had. I used to routinely cross the border into Mexico at Big Bend National Park, and without the need for it to be monitored or patrolled. That is no longer the case. There are very few nonpartisan commission designed House districts anymore, and I think these carefully crafted safe districts for partisan incumbents eliminates the need to work toward common solutions. One can play to the extreme wings of a party, never propose or pass any meaningful legislation, and yet raise millions of dollars through fundraising, and spend a lot of time on tv being entertaining, but not productive at all for the people of this great republic. Elections in the USA really do have consequences, and unfortunately for the rest of the freedom loving world the impact can be even greater.
With great gratitude for this video,
Gordon
I used to swim the river over to Mexico in Big Bend. I would also simply drive on a nice dirt road around the southern end of Amistad and camp out in Mexico. I would easily cross the border in Del Rio and eat dinner over in Acuña at night.
There is a very simple solution to this: Biden is the commander and chief. He can simply say, "You give me the funding, you little slick-haired bastard Matt Gaetz, or I order air strikes on military targets in Russian held areas in Ukraine." Of course, Biden should also simply give the Republicans what they want on the border and agree to build the wall, much of which he has torn down, I believe: Ukraine is simply too important, and a border wall is actually a good idea even if you favour immigration because of how it would discourage drug traffickers, etc.
So, first he should offer to cave on the border and if they persist in not giving the money, he needs to threaten to deploy US forces. Even the threat of doing that will scare the anti-war wimps in the Republican party into submission.
None of its been torn down. They just haven’t done anything else until recently.
He has "left it to the elements." Not much of a difference. But thanks.
https://gizmodo.com/trumps-border-wall-torn-apart-by-arizona-monsoon-rains-1847535174
The only left I agree with Republicans about. The Dems are finally starting to come around now that their cities are starting to feel the pain.... Something drastic needs to be done. This country has grown by over 125,000,000 in 30 years WHILE HAVING THE 3rd LOWEST BIRTH RATE AMONGST WESTERNISED COUNTRIES. Think about that one for a minute.....
Walls work in both directions. Keep people from getting in and keep people from getting out
Learn to sail.
In all seriousness, you think you are going to be fleeing to Mexico anytime soon?
Building a wall across the entire border is stupid. Congress could address the problem in a heart beat but it’s been too effective a weapon on one side and to effectively weaponized on the other. Meaning they can’t touch without admitting it’s a problem. Slava Ukraine and f the MAGAts.
There's a difference between an invasion and immigration. No one denies what Russia is doing to Ukraine is an invasion. The problem is there are those who pretend the chaos that is happening on the U.S. Southern border is immigration and not the invasion that it is. So, those handful of Congress Critters who are holding up funding for protecting the Ukrainian border while ours allows thousands to cross illegally on a daily basis, they're right to find a connection and call it out IMO.
What's happening on the Southern border isn't humane. It's malicious and destructive. That said, someone is benefiting from it. Ask yourself who benefits and is being enriched by allowing what is happening at the U.S. Southern border.
I unfortunately don't share your faith in the Republican House to "see the light" and support Ukraine. They have sworn fealty to Donald Trump, who has in turn sworn fealty to Vladimir Putin. The Republican party at this point is, for all intents and purposes, a Russian puppet political party embedded within the United States.
I'm not saying every single person identifying as a Republican is a Russian plant; I'm saying that the geopolitical effects of their actions are indistinguishable from a world where they were actual Russian plants. Putin is getting exactly what he wants out of the Republican party: sowing chaos in American government and impeding our ability to support our democratic ally against Russian expansionism.
It's a bit odd that the Republican Senators are generally so supportive of Ukraine while the House is aligned as anti-Ukraine. We used to call McConnell "Moscow Mitch". Now he's the only voice of reason in the Republican party supporting Ukraine. And it seems we're soon going to get a MAGA Speaker of the House who would rather keep the government shut down for months than to allow us to spend another dime on Ukraine. Russian plants indeed!
My only regret is that the Democrats voted to oust McCarthy. Now the House will spend the next 45 days trying to find a Speaker, not getting work done trying to pass a funding bill. And the next Speaker will almost certainly be worse (more MAGA) than McCarthy.
The Democrats should have voted against the motion to remove him from Speaker. He was at least willing to sit down with Biden, Jeffries and Schumer and have a dialogue. He was at least willing to keep the government open. The next asshat we get almost certainly will not do any of those things.
Unfortunately I feel that Ryan, in an attempt to remain "not political" has completely glossed over the obvious connection many (not all) top Republicans have to Russian money. The internal GOP group known as the MAGA movement is very connected to Russia and has often been sympathetic to Putin. It's a little disconcerting when your private intel guy ignores a major driver to geopolitical issues.
Legislative is spelled with an i, not an a. FYI.
In war..."Good vs Evil" is a matter of semantics.
As a member of the boat people I would love to give you a Bravo-Zulu, I follow you every chance I get. Thank you for your D.I.P. information
0) I’m Ukrainian.
1) Ukraine is not a democracy. It’s a corrupt, totalitarian state.
2) Military aid does not help Ukrainians. It increases our casualties and is used merely to utilize us as canon fodder in a proxy war against Russia. Zelensky is a corrupt puppet who could have stopped the war last March or April when Russians realized there would be no easy invasion. Instead, he went with the desires of his owners in the UK and the US, who demanded continuation of the war in exchange for letting him enrich himself and his circle and keep assets he parked at the territories and offshore destinations they control.
3) I don’t know any Ukrainians who want to fight - those who wished to are already dead or badly wounded. In my circle, people pay $3-10k to bribe a draftsman, a medical commissioner, or a volunteering organization to be recognized as inadmissible for service or get a permit to leave the country as a fake volunteer. People are afraid to speak up because they will be arrested, punished, or simply drafted and sent to the frontline. The only people who want to continue the war are the ones who have nothing to lose, usually middle-aged unmarried women or women whose male family members escaped Ukraine - Karens of Ukraine - and retirees for some reason.
4) The USA, where I have lived for over ten years, should focus on domestic issues - homelessness, degradation of the elites at the state and federal level, deindustrialization, fentanyl pandemic, interracial issues, lobbyism, and Super PACs, etc. Internationally, China is erasing America’s relevance and dominance and should be an area of focused effort.
5) I wish every Neocon to get stage 4 rectal cancer.