Editor's Newsletter

Requiem for the G.O.P.

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to note the passing of the Grand Old Party. The Republican establishment that prided itself in presenting honorable candidates and principled conservatism is no more. Its end, perhaps inevitable, was hastened by the degenerate MAGA mob of nominal Republicans in Congress.  

But the organization that historically fielded fierce defense hawks who would never abandon an ally to reward an adversary is gone. We mourn the departure of pro-democracy Republicans who stood tough against Russian aggression. The party they belonged to ceased to exist when Putin apologists with an “R” after their names in the U.S. House callously abandoned Ukraine to Russia’s worst attacks and went home.

Ronald Reagan is rolling in his grave. So is John McCain. And George H.W. Bush. An embattled young democracy is begging us to give it a fighting chance to beat back a powerful invading army pulverizing its cities. Clearly Ukraine’s survival as a free and independent sovereignty with democratic values we share is in our national security interest. That nation is the only thing standing between us and American soldiers fighting a war in Europe. 

If we let Ukraine fall to Russia’s merciless shelling and slaughter, an empowered Putin will take his obsession to recreate the Russian Empire westward. To NATO counties. To eventual war with American troops at unthinkable cost in blood and treasure. Oh well. Ohio Republican U.S. Senator J. D. Vance doesn’t give a damn. He’s got his towering ambitions to tend.

The phony MAGA convert has turned his back on his state, home to the fifth largest Ukrainian-American population in the country. The Ivy League, Silicon Valley elitist made it clear from the get-go that he “doesn’t really care what happens to Ukraine.” What J.D. cares about is power and how to get more. That’s why he transitioned from a thoughtful conservative to a MAGA nihilist. That’s why he flatters a sociopath he once derided as an “idiot” who is “noxious” and “reprehensible.” 

Selling his soul got him a seat in the U.S. Senate and he’s already eyeing a ticket to the White House. If MAGA world, increasingly enamored with Putin’s murderous authoritarian leadership, is willing to shrug off Russian atrocities and war crimes in Ukraine, Vance is all in. He has wholly embraced the ambivalence of the far right about Putin’s unprovoked blitzkrieg to take Russia back to the USSR. Let Putin be Putin, right Tucker Carlson? 

To that end, Vance has proffered a slew of nonsensical (but Kremlin approved) arguments against providing vital military support to a U.S. ally in its most dire hour. Fellow Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis rightly called his colleague’s contentions “total and unmitigated bull—-.” Vance has thrown a spectrum of fallacies at the wall to rationalize blocking Ukraine aid — including claims about its leaders buying luxury yachts (instead of desperately needed armaments) and Ukraine assistance being an “impeachment trap for President Trump.” 

That one is rich. Trump was impeached (first) for attempting to extort personal political favors from the Ukrainian president by corruptly withholding aid allocated to his country. Vance is angling to be Trump’s veep in the 2024 election. He betrays Ukraine not on principle but as a means to career advancement. 

Fortunately, enough old guard Republican senators in the upper chamber joined Democratic senators to stand with a battered ally and commit to preserving the rules-based international order Putin is hellbent on destroying in Ukraine. Last Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

The bill was initially paired with new border and migration policy spearheaded by Senate Republican leadership to produce a clear win for the GOP with more restrictive measures. House Republicans demanded as much as a pre-condition for any foreign aid. The union that represents U.S. Border Patrol agents — and routinely takes hardline positions on immigration enforcement — endorsed the Senate border security bill as a game-changer that would “drop illegal border crossings nationwide.” 

But when fixing a broken system and mitigating chaos at the border threatened to neutralize a potent MAGA cudgel against the Biden reelection campaign, Senate Republicans torpedoed what they said what their best opportunity in years of enacting rigorous border legislation. House Republicans signaled their intent to blow up the bipartisan agreement even before they read it. But they (baselessly) impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas — who helped broker the Senate border deal — for, wait for it, border security.

MAGA mob rule in the House subsequently refused to take up the stand-alone Senate aid package because border measures weren’t included and left town on recess. Ukraine’s nightmare is entering its third year. Its troops are running out of artillery and ammunition. Ukrainians are dying while House Republicans dither. Putin is winning. 

His most formidable opponent in the country, Alexei Navalny, turned up dead Friday. The Kremlin ascribed cause to “sudden death.” He was eliminated. Unmoved by Navalny’s murder, Vance appeared at the Munich Security Conference and doubled down on his pro-Putin position that helping Ukraine stop Russia’s blitzkrieg is not in America’s interests. Truly J.D. epitomizes all that is ignoble in the Party of Trump.

RIP Grand Old Party. Pro-democracy Americans will miss their erstwhile partner in the tumult ahead.