The Republicans Lifting Up Putin Are the Same Ones Trying to Destroy Democracy
February 17, 2023
WASHINGTON–U.S Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Thursday spoke on the U.S. Senate floor on the upcoming one year anniversary since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Murphy highlighted that calls to end U.S. support to Ukraine by Donald Trump and the MAGA wing of the Republican Party undermines U.S. security interests and reflects their affinity for Putin’s authoritarian worldview.
“Although the United States government made public warnings about this premeditated attack for months in advance, it is still frankly shocking in retrospect, when you think about what has occurred over the last 12 months. Russia trying to expand its borders through invasion. And maybe we were naive to think that this practice went by the wayside after World War II. It was common practice for powers, centuries beforehand, but the world has seen a level of brutality and devastation that is hard to contemplate. How unthinkable it was, that in 2022 a major power would launch a land war, a war of aggression in the middle of Europe,” Murphy said. “Pundits and analysts, right they said that Kyiv would fall in a matter of days, that was the expectation, but the Ukrainian people had different plans. They fought back bravely, and we watched in awe, we still watch in awe as President Zelensky, stayed in Kyiv, rallied his country, in defiance of Russia’s attempt to recolonize Ukraine.
On the American public’s continued support for the people of Ukraine: “It was clear from the beginning that Russia’s aggression was not going to be able to be rationalized or minimized. We didn’t have the luxury as the United States, the world’s preeminent power, of sitting on the sidelines. The American people got this then, and they still get it now. Across the political spectrum in this country, progressives, moderates, and conservatives understand how much is at stake in Ukraine, both morally and strategically, because what have we seen? We have seen Russia launch this unprovoked, barbaric war of conquest against its democratic neighbor.”
Murphy highlighted Donald Trump and a faction of the Republican Party’s obsession with Vladimir Putin: “Trump’s admiration for Putin, it’s turned into a collective right wing obsession. Turn on Tucker Carlson virtually any night and you’re going to hear him lionizing Putin, and pushing often line for line Russian disinformation. Elon Musk uncritically blasts out Russian propaganda about the war to his 120 million plus followers. Steve Bannon says that Putin is the leader of the anti-woke fight globally. Donald Trump Jr., I follow him on social media, he’s relentlessly making fun of Zelensky online. QAnon sites say that Russia’s war in Ukraine is righteous because it’s just the next front of the war against these global sex traffickers that apparently are operating out of pizza parlors in Northwest DC and Ukraine.”
Murphy added: “[T]here’s literally a wing of the Republican Party that is lifting up Putin as an example to follow, is claiming that he’s involved in a righteous fight. That same element of the Republican Party is trying to destroy American democracy. They’re not hiding that fact. They’re being transparent about it. Some of the most influential thinkers on the right today are literally monarchists.”
On the hypocrisy of those who want to end U.S. support for Ukraine, Murphy said: “I guess a defense of the anti-Ukraine strain of Republican thinking today would be their opposition to Ukraine is part of a coherent worldview. I might not agree with that worldview, but it would be a defense. But the same Republicans who are trying to defund Ukraine are often the loudest voices clamoring for a confrontational and reckless approach to China. Many of them criticized President Biden mercilessly when he withdrew from Afghanistan. If their opposition to Ukraine was part of a broader theory of nonintervention, maybe it would look more on the level. But that’s not what’s happening here. Ukraine is being singled out. And all signs point to this right wing Republican affection for Vladimir Putin as one of the primary reasons.”
Murphy concluded: “While there will come a time for diplomacy, right now, Ukraine must fight for its existence. And right now, despite what these pro-Putin Republicans say, it is in our interest to continue to support Ukraine.
A full transcript of his remarks can be found below:
“Thank you, Mr. President. I rise today to offer some words in support of Ukraine as we approach the one year anniversary of Russia’s full scale invasion. Although the United States government made public warnings about this premeditated attack for months in advance, it is still frankly shocking in retrospect, when you think about what has occurred over the last 12 months. Russia trying to expand its borders through invasion. And maybe we were naive to think that this practice went by the wayside after World War II. It was common practice for powers centuries beforehand, but the world has seen a level of brutality and devastation that is hard to contemplate. How unthinkable it was that in 2022 a major power would launch a land war, a war of aggression in the middle of Europe.
“Pundits and analysts, right, they said that Kyiv would fall in a matter of days, that was the expectation, but the Ukrainian people had different plans. They fought back bravely, and we watched in awe, we still watch in awe as President Zelensky, stayed in Kyiv, rallied his country, in defiance of Russia’s attempt to recolonize Ukraine. The world responded practically overnight, thanks to President Biden, who saw this coming, who rallied the world to Ukraine’s defense, getting them the aid that they needed, especially in those early days and treating Russia like a global pariah.
“It was clear from the beginning that Russia’s aggression was not going to be able to be rationalized or minimized. We didn’t have the luxury as the United States, the world’s preeminent power, of sitting on the sidelines. The American people got this then, and they still get it now.
“Across the political spectrum in this country, progressives, moderates, and conservatives understand how much is at stake in Ukraine, both morally and strategically, because what have we seen? We have seen Russia launch this unprovoked, barbaric war of conquest against its democratic neighbor.
“We’ve watched how they deliberately target apartment buildings, hospitals, churches, electricity grids to try to bring the maximum amount of misery to Ukrainian families. How the Russian military uses murder, rape, and torture as systematic tools against the Ukrainian civilian population. And how Russian propagandists boast of kidnapping Ukrainian children, and threaten to wipe out the Ukrainian language and culture. There are 40 camps with upwards of 6,000 children that have literally been kidnapped out of Ukraine and brought to Russia.
“The scale of this barbarity, it’s hard to explain. The images that we’ve seen from Bucha and Mariupol, they are seared into our collective conscience. And Americans also, I really think this, they understand the strategic consequences that would come to America if Russia was just allowed to crush Ukraine. If we hadn’t stood in their way, along with the Ukrainian people, what would have happened is that Putin would have been emboldened, it would have given him the green light to march on other NATO allies, potentially drawing the United States into a longer, far more costly war and putting American troops in harm’s way.
“That’s what I believe. And that’s what most Americans believe. But this is important stuff, right? This is war and peace. We’re talking about tens of billions of American taxpayers that are being sent to Ukraine for the defense of Ukraine. So of course, those of us who support Ukraine should welcome a debate over whether the United States should be involved in this war.
“But I’m just going to tell you that the growing chorus of opposition to supporting Ukraine from Republicans, mostly radical Republicans in the House of Representatives, does not feel to me like on-the-level of criticism of U.S. support for the war.
“I’m going to be honest with my colleagues. I think Democrats probably got too wound up in trying to figure out if Donald Trump was involved in some hidden conspiracy with Vladimir Putin. All of this focus on intrigue kind of made us blind to what was right in front of our face – that Donald Trump had this huge crush on Vladimir Putin and his authoritarian rule of Russia, and he still does.
“Donald Trump wanted to turn himself into a quasi-dictator here in the United States. That’s what January 6 was about. That’s why the floor of the Senate was occupied by his supporters. And Trump was jealous when he watched how easy it was for Putin to stay in power permanently and what a hassle it was for Donald Trump to have to go through these pesky free elections.
“Now, Trump’s admiration for Putin, it’s turned into a collective right wing obsession. Turn on Tucker Carlson virtually any night and you’re going to hear him lionizing Putin, and pushing often line for line Russian disinformation. Elon Musk uncritically blasts out Russian propaganda about the war to his 120 million plus followers. Steve Bannon says that Putin is the leader of the anti-woke fight globally. Donald Trump Jr., I follow him on social media, he’s relentlessly making fun of Zelensky online. QAnon sites say that Russia’s war in Ukraine is righteous because it’s just the next front of the war against these global sex traffickers that apparently are operating out of pizza parlors in Northwest DC and Ukraine.
“I could go on and on, but you get it, right? And Putin, he gets it too. He’s counting on the right wing to advance Russian propaganda and exploit our internal divisions. It’s not surprising or shocking. The hot new thinkers on the right, they aren’t really for democracy any longer. The new right, the alt right, whatever you want to call it, they think that democracy has outlived its usefulness. It needs to be destroyed, replaced by something else, like a quasi-monarchy, or a CEO-style government. The conservative movement today is awash with proponents of doing away with participatory democracy. And so it’s really no secret that there is a growing affection for the most prominent dictator in the world.
“I want to be careful about how I talk about this because often opponents of a war are accused of being anti-American or unpatriotic or parroting our enemies talking points. But in this case, there’s literally a wing of the Republican Party that is lifting up Putin as an example to follow, is claiming that he’s involved in a righteous fight. That same element of the Republican Party is trying to destroy American democracy. They’re not hiding that fact. They’re being transparent about it. Some of the most influential thinkers on the right today are literally monarchists.
“I guess a defense of the anti-Ukraine strain of Republican thinking today would be their opposition to Ukraine is part of a coherent worldview. I might not agree with that worldview, but it would be a defense. But the same Republicans who are trying to defund Ukraine are often the loudest voices clamoring for a confrontational and reckless approach to China. Many of them criticized President Biden mercilessly when he withdrew from Afghanistan.
“If their opposition to Ukraine was part of a broader theory of nonintervention, maybe it would look more on-the-level. But that’s not what’s happening here. Ukraine is being singled out. And all signs point to this right wing Republican affection for Vladimir Putin as one of the primary reasons.
“But here’s the good news. The good news is, in spite of this turn inside the Republican Party against Ukraine, support for Ukraine remains popular amongst the American people. Nearly two thirds of Americans support the United States continuing to send aid to Ukraine. 70% of Americans just supported the recent decision to send M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, and less than 10% of Americans, a bigger number of the Republican Party, but less than 10% of Americans have a favorable view of Putin, showing frankly how deeply out of step Trump and these extreme MAGA Republicans are. And while there are more Republican senators questioning whether we should stick with Ukraine today than there might have been six months ago, it is still true that most Republicans in this body, in the United States Senate still support Ukraine.
“A year ago, nobody was predicting that Ukraine would still be standing today, beating back Russian forces out of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kherson. It’s equally difficult to predict what’s going to happen in the year ahead, and we should all admit that. But I will say this: we should be clear eyed about the likelihood that either side is going to achieve all its political objectives on the battlefield.
“Like most of my constituents in Connecticut, I’d like nothing more for this war to end, and for diplomacy to secure a free Ukraine. But Ukraine can’t negotiate a peace settlement with itself. And right now, Vladimir Putin is not interested in negotiations or a peaceful settlement. For those people telling Zelensky he should sit down with Putin today, any agreement they write wouldn’t be worth the paper it’s written on. The day may come when Putin judges that continued aggression no longer serves his personal interests. And our job as the collective West is to convince him of that by demonstrating the limits of his power.
“And that’s essentially what I believe, that you have to demonstrate for him the limits of his power. And I just suspect that there is still some way to go before we reach that point. The new contemplated Russian offensive tells us that much. So, while there will come a time for diplomacy, right now, Ukraine must fight for its existence. And right now, despite what these pro-Putin Republicans say, it is in our interest to continue to support Ukraine.”
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