Back in 2016 I wrote that Donald Trump was “a narcissistic, vulgar oaf, hardly a person to serve as president of the greatest country in the world.” Lesia convinced me to vote for him because he was better than the alternative. If today I still believe what I wrote then, does that make me a never-Trumper? Just asking.
What if I write today that I believe President Trump throws distinguished appointees under the bus when they disagree with him and that he betrayed the Kurds, our allies against ISIS? Would that be enough to kick me off the Trump train? Just asking.
Like many Americans I am a fan of Fox News. I believe the commentators are informed and trustworthy. Recently, I’ve changed my mind about one of them. Tucker Carlson has lost my trust.
Uncertain about the nature of U.S.-Russia relations, he invited a former Sovietologist, the discredited, now retired Princeton University professor Stephen Cohen, to explain. Mr. Tucker later exclaimed: “Why should I, as an American, be in favor of arming Ukraine. Why wouldn’t we be friends with Russia? No one has been able to explain that to me.” During another episode Mr. Carlson referred to Ukraine as one of the “most corrupt countries in the world.” Really? Is Mr. Tucker now a Putin puppet? Just asking.
Democrats in the House of Representatives have impeached President Trump, a sham action that some of them proposed soon after the 2016 election. Have we learned anything from the hearings? I for one was impressed by the testimonies of former U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch; Fiona Hill, former director for Europe and Russia at the National Security Council; Kurt Volker, former special U.S. envoy on Ukraine; and Ambassador Bill Taylor, top diplomat in Ukraine. All four came across as professional, informed and passionate about American interests in Ukraine, especially Ms. Hill who vigorously debunked the idea that Ukraine, not Russia, tried to influence the 2016 election. All four were designated by Time magazine as “guardians of the year.” America needs more public servants like them.
Which brings me to Alexandra Chalupa, Ukrainian American political activist who worked with the Obama White House Office of Public Liaison for a time as well as the Democratic Party. She helped expose Paul Manafort, appointed by Mr. Trump to run his campaign, for the Putin pawn that he was. Good for her. But she also allegedly worked with the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington trying up dig up dirt on Mr. Trump. Could it be that her efforts reinforced Mr. Trump’s belief that Ukrainians were “trying to take me down?” Just asking.
The word on the political street is that Mr. Trump relies on Vladimir Putin for information regarding Ukraine. Is that another example of fake news or is our president really a Putin parrot? Just asking.
OK, enough asking. Time to focus on some facts. The next election is around the corner and the Ukrainian American community has a lot of work to do, especially Ukrainian Republicans if they want a voice in the polity. Fact.
Ukraine has bipartisan support in Congress. It also requires backing from the White House. Ukrainian American Republicans need to demonstrate that not all people in our community supported Hillary Clinton. Nor did they want to take down the president. Fact.
We can learn from the past. There was a time when the Ukrainain Congress Committee of America remained neutral during American elections. The UCCA leadership should continue that proven strategy. There was a time when Ukrainian American Republicans were organized nationwide and were able to achieve significant positions in the White House and in Congress. In 1976, for example, the Ukrainian National Republican Federation could boast 20 state chairs, from North Dakota to Florida. A Ukrainian served as a special assistant to President Gerald Ford, and Ukrainians held significant posts in two U.S. Senate offices.
Politicians respond to money and voting numbers. Unfortunately, our community offers neither in significant quantity. We do have people with brain power, however, people with organizational skills who can build voter coalitions for their party of choice. Fact.
The Ukrainian Weekly can play an important role in the 2020 elections by presenting reasoned arguments from both sides of the political spectrum. This will require much editing but I’m confident the editors are up to the task. Let’s face it, The Ukrainian Weekly is the newspaper of record for our community. Every informed Ukrainian American knows that. Fact.
Time is not on our side. Mr. Putin isn’t done with Ukraine yet. Taking advantage of the political turmoil in the U.S. and Ukraine, he recently claimed that eastern and southern Ukraine is “native Russian soil.” The man won’t stop nibbling away at Ukraine until Russia swallows Ukraine whole. Fact.
At this point I do not know who the Democratic presidential candidate will be. I do know who the Republican candidate will be. I may not like Mr. Trump as a person but I do like his accomplishments. The economy is booming. We have the lowest unemployment in decades. Two conservative judges have been appointed to the Supreme Court and dozens of conservatives have made it to lower federal benches. Mr. Trump is pro-life. Ukraine is receiving U.S. financial and military assistance. Russian sanctions remain in place. It’s time Ukrainian Republicans come out of the shadows and begin trumpeting (no pun intended) the good news.
Right now, things look good for our president. But that could change tomorrow. The economy could tank. The European Union could implode. NATO could wobble even more. Vlad could stop nibbling and invade Ukraine for real. President Trump could say or do something so Putinesque that Ukrainian American advocacy would evaporate overnight.
By some accounts, the 2020 presidential campaign promises to be nasty, so don’t expect to hear heroic and ennobling sentiments. The days of Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and Gerald Ford are long gone.
The new year is here, dear reader. Buckle up!
Myron Kuropas’s e-mail address is [email protected].