George Will rips 'ignoble' Republicans for willingness to 'hand Putin a victory'

14 February 2024

Almost two years have passed since Russian military forces, on orders from President Vladimir Putin, launched a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine.

The invasion got underway on February 24, 2022, and it hasn't gone well for Russia. The Ukrainian military proved to be much more skillful fighters than Putin anticipated.

Moreover, U.S. President Joe Biden remains an aggressive supporter of Ukraine and continues to favor military aid — unlike many MAGA Republicans who claim the U.S. has no interest in the conflict.

In a biting Washington Post column published on Valentine's Day 2024, Never Trump conservative George Will slams Republicans in Congress for letting Ukraine down.

"In its 170 years, the Republican Party has had occasions of nobility," the 82-year-old Will argues. "In its infancy, it redefined the Union while preserving it. Ten decades later, larger percentages of House and Senate Republicans than of House and Senate Democrats voted for the nation-transforming 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Today, however, substantial numbers of insubstantial congressional Republicans are contemplating an ignoble act whose imprudence exceeds even its pettiness."

Will continues, "These Republicans could, by denying Ukraine the material means of resistance, hand Russian President Vladimir Putin a victory that might be just the beginning of Putin's war for the restoration of 'Greater Russia.'"

Putin, Will laments, views 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump's "political durability" as "evidence of America's retreat from seriousness." The conservative columnist is critical of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) as well, warning that his "uncertain skill might leave" military aid to Ukraine "at the mercy of the isolationist faction within" his "caucus."

"If Putin swallows Ukraine," Will warns, "he will have a combat-seasoned military and a revived military industrial base to serve his undiminished revanchism…. Ukraine's survival, as well as perhaps the prevention of wars in the Baltic states and the Taiwan Strait, depends on Johnson's desire and ability — neither might exist — to prevent House Republicans from compelling Ukraine's capitulation."

George Will's full Washington Post column is available at this link (subscription needed).

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