Coons said he was "disappointed" that Congress couldn't get their act together and "deliver critically-needed global help," and get vaccines to the three billion or so people who haven't had a single shot yet. He mentioned the kind of sentiment the Senate is up against.
As we were fighting over this additional payment, this additional funding for Covid relief globally, one of my colleagues memorably said, well, my constituents are done with this pandemic. Margaret, just because we're done with the pandemic doesn't mean it's done with us.
Coons said he respects the goal of finding offsets to pay for this,
but in a moment when we badly need additional emergency funding to support the Ukrainian military resistance against Russian aggression, to support millions of refugees in Ukraine and around the region, in Europe and throughout the world, and to provide food relief and additional COVID relief, I think we should treat this as emergency spending.
He also thinks that immigration and COVID relief are separate issues, even if some of his party think they should be somehow tied together.
Finally, Brennan pointed to recent comments where Coons said that we need to talk about when we might be willing to send troops to fight in Ukraine, and "if the answer is never, then we are inviting another level of escalation and brutality by Putin."
She wondered if he thinks Biden was wrong when he said we wouldn't send troops, or if he was looking for Biden to draw a red line somewhere on this issue. Coons feels if Putin is allowed "to commit war crimes throughout Ukraine" without any forceful action by NATO and the West, he thinks we'll see Ukraine "turn into Syria."
The American people cannot turn away from this tragedy in Ukraine. I think the history of the 21st century turns on how fiercely we defend freedom in Ukraine, and that Putin will only stop when we stop him.
Referencing the religious significance of the weekend, he suggested that when so many of us gather to "celebrate the very best in the human spirit: and grieve those we've lost,
we should also be prayerful and mindful of those who are fighting for freedom in Ukraine and how much their heroism and patriotism inspires the rest of us.
Next, we've got Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Tone Deaf in the Mar-a-Lago Tool Shed), who talked with host Mike Emanuel in the Fox News Sunday classroom. Here's what McCarthy said, after being welcomed back to the show.
Thank you, and happy Easter to all Americans.
Um, I hate to break it to him, but "all Americans" don't celebrate Easter; many celebrate Passover and Ramadan. Many also celebrate chocolate bunnies, colored eggs, or spring. And still others of us don't celebrate a damn thing this weekend. I'm guessing he doesn't care much at all about the non-Easter people.
I almost gave up after that, but decided to hold my nose and keep listening. At some point, the discussion turned to Ukraine, and McCarthy's complaints that President Biden "acted too slowly" on, well, everything. After noting that we've now sent $2.6B in military assistance to Ukraine, Emanuel asked what more Biden should be doing. McCarthy babbled about all of his own efforts to get something done before Russia attacked, and he said
Had we moved the weapons to Ukraine earlier, that they could defend themselves, it would have saved thousands of lives and probably the decision of Putin not to enter.
All that aside,
...what we need to do is learn from here, provide the weapons to Ukraine, but also look to the future of what China is doing. Taiwan has been waiting more than a year for weapons they've already purchased to defend themselves.
If you know me, you know I can't let a comment like that pass without doing some research. Meaning, I did a really simple search. And yes, it's true: Taiwan is waiting for weapons they've purchased from us.
According to this article in Defense News, there's "a backlog in the U.S. delivering $14.2 billion worth of military equipment to Taiwan that the island has purchased since 2019."
Wait - what's that? The backlog existed before Biden even took office?
However, it remains unclear what — if anything — the United States can do to address the pandemic-related acquisition issues that prompted the backlog. “Our primary issue — and we see this playing out in Ukraine also — is that the industry has been delayed in the development of these systems,” a Republican staffer on the House Foreign Affairs Committee told Defense News.
And there's nothing the Biden administration can do? And the same issues are hindering our efforts to help Ukraine? Good lord, if I didn't know better, I'd think McCarthy was lying when he blamed Biden.
The staffer also noted the U.S. defense industry has attributed supply chain issues, staff shortages and shipping delays to COVID-19 — problems that have cascaded into broader production troubles.
Wait, wait, wait. It's the pandemic, the one the Rs took a hands-off approach to mitigating, that's now making a mess of things in democracies like Ukraine and Taiwan?
“Honestly, the bottom line is there is very little that the government can do at this juncture to address supply chain issues,” Rupert Hammond-Chambers, the president of the US-Taiwan Business Council, told Defense News.
I'm shocked - completely shocked... (that's a lie, by the way. I'm not shocked at all.)
McCarthy said the Rs are not over-confident about winning back the House, but he said they need to do more than just criticize, they must commit to making changes and fixing the big problems. Emanuel asked if they could do that - tackle the national debt, for example - with a divided government.
We need to have sound fiscal policy, stop the irresponsible spending to curve inflation and make America in a stronger path. But it's not just to balance the budget, you have to pay off the debt. And the only way we'll be able to do that is with fiscal responsibility, with Republicans in the majority.
And I laughed and laughed at that, I really did.
Let's close on a positive note, and spend a moment or two with Jake Tapper, who played parts of his exclusive interview with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on CNN's State of the Union.The only belief there is, is belief in ourselves, in our people, belief in our armed forces, and the belief that countries are going to support us, not just with their words, but with their actions. And that's it. Never again. Really, everybody is talking about this, and yet, as you can see, not everyone has got the guts.
Tapper and Zelenskyy chatted about their kids. Zelenskyy has an 18-year-old daughter and a nine-year-old son. Tapper has a 12-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter. Zelenskyy said
Girl? So, you understand me, 14-year-old girl. TAPPER: Yes. ZELENSKYY: We understand. TAPPER: Yes. I call my daughter, and she's like: "Can't talk, dad. Very busy." (LAUGHTER) ZELENSKYY: Not now. (LAUGHTER) TAPPER: "I'm very busy." ZELENSKYY: Yes, I know it's -- without knocking the door, I can't speak with my own daughter. TAPPER: Right. Right. ZELENSKYY: That's good.
I chuckled at that; with teenaged girls (I was one once, so I can say this), you don't have to be in a war zone to sometimes feel like you're in one. And I appreciated that Zelenskyy could enjoy a bit of normal, dad-to-dad talk.
On a more serious note, Zelenskyy acknowledged that he might not survive this war. Tapper wondered how he wanted the Ukrainian people, and his children, to remember him.
A human being that lived life to the fullest and loved his family and loved his motherland, definitely not a hero. I want people to take me as I am, a regular human.
And in response to the "not a hero" comment, Tapper wondered who Zelenskyy's heroes were, and where he draws inspiration "during dark days here?"
Only the people. I believe our people are genuine and unique. And I just can't afford to be worse than them. When, at certain moments, I feel like all of this is dangerous. I understand that all the rest of us are going through this as well, what people are feeling like who are in basements, who lost their children, what our soldiers feel like right now. And I understand I have to be the strongest one in this situation. And this is all. And the most important is the way my children look at me. They have to be proud of me. This is the most important thing. I do everything for this.
Wouldn't it be nice if any of our politicians could articulate that the next election wasn't the most important thing in the world? I'd be willing to vote for anyone who could say that with a straight face, if they could back it up with their record, their policies, and the wear and tear proving they've walked the talk, wouldn't you?
See you around campus.
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