When you look into the rearview mirror, “we” seem to like to be “in a war”. The last time that we won a war was 1945 – almost 80 years ago – and that took TWO A-BOMBS. When Obama came to office we were 9 trillion in debt and when he left we were ~ 20 trillion and in the last 8 yrs we have added nearly 15 trillion. Our National debt is approaching 35 trillion. When Russia first invaded Ukraine, “we” gave them enough “stuff” to not lose this battle but not enough to win this battle. “we” gave them – compared to what Russia had – bows/arrows, slingshots, BB-guns. As the battle went on, “we” provided Ukraine with a little more powerful and longer-range “stuff” several times. The House just approved 95 billion to be given to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. With Ukraine getting the lion’s share.
Isn’t anyone concerned about those politicians/bureaucrats within the DC Beltway? It took us 235 yrs +/- to amass a 9 trillion national debt and our national debt has nearly quadrupled in 16 yrs? The Congressional Budget Office projects that our national debt will hit 50 trillion by the end of the decade. This year, the cost of the interest on our national debt will exceed ONE TRILLION DOLLARS more money than we spend on national defense! The proposed budget for the next Federal fiscal year – starting Oct 1, 2024, will be REDUCED for the FOURTH year in a row!
There are 435 members of the House and at least 33 Senate seats up for this election. Is it time to CLEAN HOUSE – vote out all the incumbents? We can start FRESH with at least the House. Members of Congress expect that 95% will get reelected, regardless of what they promised to do and didn’t or promised not to do and did!
To CLEAN HOUSE would be a BLACK SWAN EVENT! I suspect that those newly elected members of Congress would listen to their constituents about their concerns.
Two Years And $113 Billion Later, D.C.’s ‘America Last’ Crew Has No Plan For Ending The Russia-Ukraine War
https://thefederalist.com/2024/04/19/two-years-and-113-billion-later-d-c-s-america-last-crew-has-no-plan-for-ending-the-russia-ukraine-war/
You don’t have to be a Putin stooge to see that dumping endless U.S. funds into Kyiv without proper oversight is a terrible idea.
Another week has come and gone, and America’s political leaders are still focused on one thing: shipping more money to Ukraine.
On Friday, the GOP-controlled House advanced a rule allowing the lower chamber to pass what effectively amounts to a massive foreign spending package. The bills under consideration seek to ship U.S. taxpayer dollars to Ukraine, Israel (and Hamas-controlled Gaza), and Taiwan. A “divest-or-ban” bill that would prohibit TikTok from operating in the U.S. under its current China-based ownership will also reportedly be considered.
The aforementioned rule was passed Thursday night by the House Rules Committee with help from Democrats. The rule effectively allows the House to vote on each funding measure separately without having to combine them into one package before sending it to the Senate for consideration.
As Federalist Senior Tech Columnist Rachel Bovard explained, “[I]f each title passes, they will all be fused into one package without a final vote (known as a MIRV),” and that “package is then added as a House amendment to the Senate foreign aid bill (the two are effectively the same); in parliamentary speak, the House concurs in the Senate amendment with a House amendment.”
More Democrats than Republicans voted for the rule during Friday’s vote. The foreign funding bills are expected to be considered by the House on Saturday, according to The Hill.
The Republican-controlled House’s fast-tracking of the measures further puts to shame Mr. “Wartime Speaker” Mike Johnson, who has gone above and beyond to break his repeated pledge to secure the U.S.-Mexico border before advancing foreign funding. This betrayal — combined with his prior surrenders on major policy fights — has prompted at least two House Republicans to back a motion to remove Johnson as speaker.
No Plan and No Statesmen
It’s no secret that the D.C. political class cares more about fortifying Ukraine’s borders than America’s.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell let the cat out of the bag in May 2022 when he admitted that President Biden and congressional leadership agreed “the most important thing going on in the world right now is the war in Ukraine.” That sentiment was still true for Kentucky’s senior senator nearly a year later, when he regurgitated the same talking point during a Fox News interview.
“[D]efeating the Russians in Ukraine is the single most important event going on in the world right now,” McConnell claimed, as America’s southern border remained open, inflation rose, and the federal government abused its intel agencies to target Republicans.
Of course, neither McConnell nor any other D.C. politico who backs U.S. funding for Ukraine has ever bothered to articulate what America’s strategy is for accomplishing such a feat — and therein lies the main problem.
More than two years and $113 billion later, Ukraine isn’t any closer to beating Russia than the day Moscow launched its invasion. There has been no explanation from the Biden administration or any “Ukraine First” member of Congress on what they view as a reasonable resolution to the conflict.
Those claiming the end goal is a total defeat of Russia are living in a fantasy land. Russia is a nuclear power and possesses one of the most sophisticated militaries in the world. Barring a sudden collapse of Russian governance, there is no scenario in which Ukrainian soldiers are going to be parading through the streets of Moscow, as blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags wave atop the Russian White House.
Instead of fantasizing, America’s leaders must recognize the current situation in Eastern Europe for what it is. And that means acting like statesmen and negotiating a settlement to end the bloodshed and blank checks.
You don’t have to be a Putin stooge to recognize that dumping endless amounts of U.S. funds into Kyiv without proper oversight and a clear, obtainable objective is a disservice to the American taxpayer and the tens of thousands of Ukrainians being slaughtered in a war they can’t win.
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