Press: Honor Navalny, pass the Ukraine aid bill 

Politics is full of surprises. However, after decades of working, reporting, and writing about politics, I never thought a time like this would come.

I never thought I’d see the day when Russia would invade a neighboring country, massacre tens of thousands of innocent civilians, and Republicans would refuse to come to Ukraine’s defense. I never thought the day would come when the Russian government would assassinate its chief critic and the leading Republican presidential candidate would say nothing for four days. I never thought the day would come when Ronald Reagan’s party would become Vladimir Putin’s party.

But sadly, here we are. Let me be clear: Russian President Ronald Reagan, who was denounced as an “evil empire,” has not changed. It is a country where free elections, freedom of expression, and freedom of speech still do not exist. Political opposition is still not allowed. Countless Russians are currently imprisoned in this country for daring to criticize President Putin’s war in Ukraine.

And it is a country where President Putin’s political opponents are systematically eliminated.dissident Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned in 2006.opposition leader Boris Nemstov shot outside the Kremlin in 2015. Evgeny Prigozkin, Commander of the Wagner Mercenaries, He died in a plane crash on the outskirts of Moscow last year.. And now Alexei Navalny, to be honest, he did not die from overwork, Possibly poisoned to death in Arctic prison last week.

No, the “evil empire” hasn’t changed. The Communist Party has changed. From standing up to Putin to bowing down for him. It may seem harsh to accuse Republicans of being afraid to stand up to President Putin in the same way they are afraid to stand up to Donald Trump. But it’s true. There’s no other way to explain it. There is no justification for their opposition to continued aid to Ukraine.

“You can’t worry about Ukraine’s borders until you secure your own.” That’s the fig leaf, the balderdash, that they try to hide behind. Firstly, because these are actually two different issues and Congress can deal with multiple issues at once.

Second, Democrats agreed to combine border security with aid to Ukraine, including all the tough new measures Republicans had been demanding at the border under the leadership of Sen. James Langford (R-Okla.) That’s because they came up with a rescue plan for Ukraine. MAGA Republicans in the Senate and House then opposed that bill, their own bill, citing Donald Trump’s direction.

And of course, Republican opposition to aid to Ukraine remains embarrassing today after the killing of Mr. Navalny, who was imprisoned for trumped-up crimes such as accusing Russia of invading Ukraine, but Mr. He bravely returned to Russia knowing he could be imprisoned. Or assassination.

Navalny’s courage should make Republicans who oppose aid to Ukraine cringe in shame. Especially House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana). When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Washington last December, Prime Minister Johnson declared, “We are not abandoning Ukraine.”

But now Prime Minister Johnson won’t even schedule a vote in the House because he knows the bipartisan Senate Ukraine bill will pass — and he knows Donald Trump won’t like it. .

In some ways, Republicans are lucky to be out for two weeks. That means he won’t have to answer reporters’ awkward questions about Ukraine. So maybe they can use that time to find a little backbone. Maybe they could listen to their own conscience instead of Donald Trump.

And their conscience will tell them that the only way to honor the memory of Alexei Navalny is to authorize continued American aid to Ukraine.

Press hosts the “Bill Press Pod.” He is the author of From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.