When I saw The Columbian’s headline, “U.S. credibility is on the line in Ukraine funding debate” (Dec. 13), I had one of those “You might be wondering how I got here” moments. As a Republican, I would totally understand if politicians from my party were clamoring to help Ukraine achieve victory and the Democrats were already declaring defeat. Unfortunately, it’s too often the other way around.
I think the Biden administration has been too slow to give Ukraine what it needs to win, and every time I hear a Democrat talk about negotiations, I think, “How are you supposed to negotiate with someone who’s trying to kill you and your family?”
But what really gets my blood boiling is when Republicans don’t realize that the Ukrainians are fighting our enemy for us. For just 5 percent of our annual defense budget, we’ve helped Ukraine destroy half the Russian army. That makes it easier — not harder — for us to focus on other threats like China.
Fellow Republicans, now is not the time to give up the fight. We must help Ukraine not just survive, but win.
