Which Way, GOP? By James W. Carden

With Trump supporting both Ukraine and Israel, it’s hard to see how he’s an America Firster. From James W. Carden at theamericanconservative.com:

In the two weeks since the passage of the Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan aid packages, the contours of an emerging split within the Republican Party have become too obvious to ignore.

On one side are the usual suspects like Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who have never met a war they were not eager to fund, enflame, and send young Americans to fight in. In a ludicrous (even by his standards) floor speech prior to the April 23rd aid package vote, Graham, flanked by an oversized photo of the Twin Towers engulfed in flames, attempted to portray a vote for billions to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan as the surest way to prevent, yes, another 9/11.  

The Graham-Cotton wing of the GOP can fairly be said to have the wind at its back, racking up recent legislative victories with enthusiastic bipartisan support. And the wing’s newest convert to the cause of perpetual war for perpetual defense contracts is no less a personage than House Speaker Mike Johnson. As a backbencher, Johnson could have reasonably been described as America First–friendly—but no more. Johnson now finds himself only the most recent elected official to be seduced by the siren song of politicized intelligence, remarking after the House vote, 

I really do believe the intel and the briefings that we got…. I think Vladimir Putin would continue to march through Europe if he were allowed.

Meanwhile, Johnson’s colleague over in the Capitol’s north wing, Tom Cotton, continues find new and inventive ways to promote Israeli interests, this week threatening members of the International Criminal Court (a body whose jurisdiction the U.S. does not recognize) with sanctions should they have the temerity to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials. He wrote, in the manner of Rambo, “Target Israel and we will target you.”

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