Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the United States Congress yesterday, and the Republicans returned to the failed policy of “Just Say No.” Zelenskyy came to Congress, ushanka in hand, hoping to save his people from authoritarianism and cultural genocide. Zelenskyy, wearing what has become his trademark cargo pants and tight-T, needs money to save his fledgling democracy, and the Republicans said no. Zelenskyy was videotaped in the presence of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The three men walked together in symbolic unison while Zelenskyy was engaged in animated conversation with Senator Schumer.
‘Just say no’ is a part of the GOP’s hatred for the government, and their governing philosophy is now, Just Do Nothing. During the Reagan administration, his fight against drugs was highlighted by his wife’s appeal to young people with the slogan “Just Say No.” As a young black man, I remember my friends and I laughing uproariously at the campaign. God bless her. Undoubtedly, coming from the First Lady, she believed, kids would say to themselves, you know what…? Instead of actual governance, Reagan chose, like the current crop of Republicans, to proselytize. As he did watching thousands of HIV-infected citizens die for their ‘sins,’ Mr. Reagan breezed past real solutions. Programs like jobs—pay equity, drug clinics, adequate housing, and inclusion in the American dream were beyond his imagination. His hypocrisy on the issue of drugs was demonstrated in the Iran-Contra affair.
Zelenskyy got a bump of Just Say No.
The self-serving double-dealing of Republicans refusing to help Ukraine does not match the Reagan Iran-Contra affair in illegal scope, but it does approach it in moral turpitude. I will credit Mr. Reagan for his initial idea of freeing hostages, but like most moral compromises, it quickly developed into questionable behavior at best and criminality at worst. Let us not play the game of the GOP Freedom Caucus analyzing the Russia/Ukraine war, most of whom could not find Ukraine on a map with a sticker that reads You are here. With members of the Caucus like Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert, and alleged insurrectionist Scott Perry, this is a part of the Trump retribution. Donald Trump, who is notorious for grievance-driven politics, I have no doubt, wants Zelenskyy held accountable for not going along with his scheme to manufacture evidence of corruption against Joe Biden, in part leading to his first impeachment.
The Democrats, led by Joe Biden, have warned of the consequences of Putin taking Ukraine and setting his sights on the NATO country of Poland. If Poland is invaded, the United States would be obligated to put boots on the ground. The bodies of young American men and women strewn over Poland’s landscape will permeate the evening news like the blood-drenched Vietnam casualties we ate our TV dinners to on the evening news in the 60s and 70s. Republicans in Congress, save a few, no longer see themselves as a governing body but more as a firewall for Donald Trump. The hypocrisy of the GOP House was on full display during Zelenskyy’s visit. The infuriating protestations for the sanctity of life by the likes of House Speaker Mike Johnson seem to have limits when it comes to acting as a Trump retribution tool. The lack of moral clarity for the lives Putin wants to be slaughtered in the crisis in Ukraine and now linking aid to Israel are transparent ploys to hold Mr. Biden hostage over the border.
The GOP House plans to open an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden. It is about settling the score for rank-and-file Republicans, who are in a perpetual bowing position to their leader. Two Impeachments, 91 felony counts in four jurisdictions, and findings of liability for rape and fraud are not enough to break the stranglehold of the cult leader. I hope we remember the day; if it happens, Mr. Zelenskyy tucks his tail and returns empty-handed to Ukraine because we will all rue the day.
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