For the last three years, Ukraine has fought bravely to fend off Russia's invasion, with financial and military support from America. Democrats believe we should continue doing what we've been doing. To provide necessary aid to Ukraine because it's the right thing to do. Russia and Putin are evil and continue to invade countries that lie along its borders. The Democrat argument makes sense, except for one thing: Things have changed.
We are failing our own people. America is no longer rich enough to provide the kind of support it has been doing in the past. Yes, we are still the “richest” country in the world, but we now have a critical debt of $36.22 Trillion. The $350 billion we’ve sent to Ukraine could have been spent building American infrastructure – bridges that are collapsing; charging stations that Biden promised; the electric grid that is insufficient to keep up with our current needs; and to restock our military equipment, so much of which has been sent to Ukraine. Not to mention the inflation such spending caused has robbed many American families of their ability to survive, much less to enjoy the American dream.
We can no longer continue to be democracy’s fiscal patriarch. It is clear that Europe has come to expect and rely on the United States to act as their defender and protector, and we have given them reason to. It is just as clear that our current economic excesses have made our continued role impractical, if not impossible. Recently, we have made efforts to urge Europe to realize that they will have to rely more on themselves in the future.
The first job of government is to take care of our own people. That is the charge of every government. That’s why people create governments – to do those things that its people cannot do for themselves. America has been so economically successful, far more so than any other country in history, that Americans have gladly shared our wealth with the rest of the world – until the world began taking advantage of us and demanding our help without recognizing we may have needs of our own.
President Trump is uniquely able to bring this war to an end. Although it is true that Russia continues to invade countries, the fact is, the only four years in which Russia did not invade anyone were the four years of the Trump Presidency. The Democrats believe Trump is “soft on Putin.” His relationship with Putin is not because he “likes” him, and it is certainly not because Trump is a patsy for Putin – even the most liberal Democrat could not believe Trump is a patsy for anyone. The reason Trump has not called out Putin as an evil dictator is simple: as Secretary of State, Marco Rubio said, if you want someone to come to the table and negotiate, you don’t call him names! To the left, it’s what you say that matters. To Republicans, it’s what you get done that matters.
What happens going forward If we continue to support Ukraine as we have in the past, the war will drag on for years. Millions more people will die. And Americans will send billions of much-needed taxpayer dollars to fund this bitter battle. There is no good ending to this war. Victor David Hanson reminded us of a similar war that Finland fought against Russia and posits that the conclusion to that conflict is the model for today. With slight modifications, his words echo the likely outcome for Ukraine.
“The model—unfortunately—is not a gloriously defiant and courageous [Ukraine] . . .. Instead, it is—realistically—an exhausted, proud, and realistic [Ukraine] . . ., when it finally accept[s] the reality of a Russian impending victory, . . , [it will be] . . . criticized but still preserve[] its autonomy, balance[] East and West, finally gain[] international respect, armed to the teeth, and deter[] Russia from entering [Ukraine] . . . again.”
Look at where we are now. Europe finally understands that the US is no longer going to be its guardian angel. It doesn’t mean that Europe will now have to look to Russia and China for allies. We will still provide support. It simply means we will be a partner, not a patriarch.