Assistance to our ALLY Ukraine has been held up by Republicans for far too long. Part of why President Biden is President was his ability to connect with voters in what he called focusing on “Kitchen Table” issues. Things regular Americans discuss, often with great concern at the old kitchen table. How do we pay the bills? How to we make sure our kids are safe, and getting a good education? That kind of thing. Well, in the armed forces we don’t have “kitchen tables” but to use old-school vernacular we have Chow Halls. And troops do talk about basic stuff at them. About training. Are their needs being met and will they be able to fulfill their missions, and/or help allies fulfill theirs.
You know what? Defense Contractors worry about basic stuff too. Keeping the factories running and maintaining production capability. Providing stability for their workforce to reduce turnover. That’s especially important in an age where technology advances have been made in production of weapons/armaments. The same holds true for their subcontractors who provide components and/or materials to the prime contractor. It’s huge, huge business in this country. And in both the Senate and the House those contractors make sure their elected officials on Capitol Hill hear from them. Like it or not, weapons/armaments make up large and crucial part of our domestic manufacturing. Jobs. Rest assured Congress Critters pay attention when major employers they represent, especially in the defense sector complain.
Behind the scenes at least they are complaining. Not just the owners and bosses, but the workers. And the majors and county boards where all that manufacturing takes place. Oh, they love their tax cuts and less regulation. But like most people much of their interests and/or concern is their wallet or bank account. Threaten THAT and yes, Congress Critters catch hell. It’s rare indeed for one not to go to bat for defense contractors who complain that what’s going on (or not) in DC is threatening their personal (and community’s) economic well-being.
All of that leads me to the current status of aid to Ukraine (and others) that’s languished on Capitol Hill for far too long. And is STILL being help up by Speaker Johnson and a relative handful of House GOPers. You can read details in this article from Newsweek. It talks about how finally a solid aid package passed the Senate by a solid margin. Sure, GOPers made things difficult but in the end plenty of them relented. Speaker Johnson however wants to keep things bottled up. There’s talk of a discharge petition but unless I’m mistaken the process hasn’t even started. It takes time.
Meanwhile, if you’ve been even cursorily following things they are at a stalemate in Ukraine and Russia is actually ever so slowly gaining some momentum. They continue to commit war crimes by raining down missiles on civilians in Ukraine. Ukraine is running dangerously short on missiles/capability to intercept them. Up on the front lines artillery shells are being rationed with an ever increasing cut in the number than can be used on a given day. After so much brutal fighting to overcome those formidable Russian defense lines down in southern Ukraine Russia has gotten the precious gift of time to shore up what’s left. And create new ones!
Meanwhile, back home manufacturing is on the verge of sputtering into slowdowns and worse. Without that Ukraine Aid legislation the money isn’t there to replace the stocks our own forces need. Worse, if there are production slowdowns because a handful of Putin pals/lackey in Congress manage to choke off funding for much longer cutbacks will happen. Reduced hours in factories and even layoffs. The ripple effects from all THAT will hurt a lot of people all over the country. But more importantly it will piss off big defense contractors who already are less than inclined to donate money to Trump. With his takeover of the RNC they won’t want to make big donations their either because they know the money will go to Trump. So they are going to blame Representatives and Senators from the GOP for messing up their bottom lines.
More importantly, a lot of those factories are in Trump friendly places. That’s where if Biden starts making THIS a kitchen table issue, and broadens it into a “chow hall” one it will get defense contractors serious about pressuring their Congress Critters. President Biden can make this personal not just for average American manufacturing workers, but for their bosses, owners and stockholders. Yes, he spoke up today:
Biden urged Johnson during a White House speech on Tuesday to take up the foreign aid package after the Senate passed the bill as he said “there’s no question” it would pass if there was a House vote.
“I call on the speaker to let the full House speak its mind and not allow a minority of the most extreme voices in the House to block this bill even from being voted on,” the president said.
“This bipartisan bill sends a clear message to Ukrainians and to our partners and to our allies around the world — America can be trusted, America can be relied upon and America stands up for freedom,” Biden continued. “We stand strong for our allies, we never bow down to anyone, and certainly not to Vladimir Putin.”
Still, I think he needs to start making it more personal. Jobs. Communities. Even for the troops because what if a major war breaks out and there’s a lag in munitions because GOPers held up the money that would keep supplies of such things where they should be? This has, due to GOP f**kery become a national security problem. Biden should do what he does so well, make it personal in kitchen table, chow hall and even to an extent executive dining room terms. Starting now.
Just my 2 cents.
Gee, more National Security being threatened by MAGA. Who woulda guessed…