Almost immediately after Russia’s Vladimir Putin began his invasion of eastern Ukraine, a variety of prominent Republicans did what everyone expected them to do: They blamed the leaders of their own country.
Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, for example, said Putin acted because U.S. enemies “sense weakness” from President Joe Biden. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee pushed a similar line.
Sen. Ted Cruz said the Biden administration is “directly responsible” for the crisis in Ukraine “to an enormous extent.” The Texan also attributed Russian aggression, at least in part, to the Democratic president ending the war in Afghanistan — as if Putin and the Kremlin would have entirely different ambitions in Ukraine if only Biden still had thousands of American troops in and around Kabul.
But while none of these senators seem especially eager to be taken seriously, the entire House GOP leadership, along with the top Republicans from the Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, and Intelligence committees, issued a joint statement yesterday that at least had a sober veneer.
“Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch a renewed invasion of Ukraine is reprehensible,” the House Republicans began, which was a good start that distanced the lawmakers from Donald Trump’s position.
Alas, the GOP statement went downhill from there, accusing the White House of “appeasement.” The House members added: “The U.S. and our allies must now make the Putin regime pay for this aggression. Congress should compel President Biden to take the tough steps his administration has opposed thus far, we must permanently end Nord Stream 2, implement secondary sanctions on Russian financial institutions, and impose crippling penalties on the industries which the Russian military relies on to make war. Moreover, as House Republicans have been saying for a year, President Biden must finally promote U.S. energy development and help the United States become Europe’s energy partner of choice.”
What stood out was the degree to which Republicans want Biden to do what Biden is largely already doing. The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is effectively dead; the U.S. president is imposing fresh sanctions and making plans to impose more; and the White House has scrambled to arrange alternate energy resources for our European allies. In other words, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and his team tried to sound a constructive note. Instead of just stomping their feet and pointing fingers, these House Republicans made a series of specific policy recommendations they’d like to see the Biden administration adopt in the midst of the international crisis. And that would’ve been far more compelling if the Democratic president hadn’t already taken nearly identical steps.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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