America’s two political parties ended their conventions in July and published their party platforms. Was Ukraine mentioned? I checked.
The DNC platform read: “Russia is engaging in destabilizing actions along its borders, violating Ukraine’s sovereignty and attempting to recreate spheres of influence that undermine American interests.” There was also this: “We will …continue to support a close relationship with states that seek to strengthen their ties to NATO and Europe, such as Georgia and Ukraine.”
The national reaction was basically “ho hum.”
The RNC platform read: “We will meet the return of Russian belligerence with the same resolve that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. We will not accept any territorial changes in Eastern Europe imposed by force in Ukraine, Georgia or elsewhere and use all appropriate constitutional measures to bring justice to the practitioners of aggression and assassination.”
Wow! But, if it hadn’t been for Donald Trump and his minions, the RNC declaration could have been even stronger regarding Ukraine.
Commenting in the July 18 issue of The Washington Post in an article titled “Trump campaign guts GOP’s anti-Russia stance on Ukraine,” Josh Rogin wrote: “The Trump campaign worked behind the scenes last week to make sure the new Republican platform won’t call for giving weapons to Ukraine to fight rebel forces, contradicting the view of almost all Republican foreign policy leaders in Washington.”
The move was probably orchestrated by Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’ s campaign chairman, who worked as a lobbyist for Putin-backed former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych for more than 10 years.
According to Mr. Rogin, the changes did not sit well with some members of the platform committee. “Inside the meeting, Diana Denman, a platform committee member from Texas who was a Ted Cruz supporter, proposed a platform amendment that would call for maintaining or increasing sanctions against Russia, increasing aid for Ukraine and ‘providing lethal defense weapons’ to the Ukrainian military. ‘Today, the post Cold War ideal of a ‘Europe whole and free’ is being severely tested by Russia’s ongoing military aggression in Ukraine’, the amendment read. ‘The Ukrainian people deserve our admiration and support in their struggle.’ ”
Ms. Denman tried to persuade the Trump thugs not to change the language to no avail. The watering down troubled the delegate from Texas. “What is your problem with a country that wants to remain free?” she asked the Trump team, “It seems like a simple thing.”
Among the first to respond to the hijacking of the GOP platform committee was Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) who was “deeply troubled” by the move. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), a member of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, condemned the Trump campaign action. “It is time we stand up in support of the people of Ukraine who are fighting for their freedom,” he said.
American media coverage was generally negative. “If Putin wanted to concoct the ideal candidate to serve his purposes, his laboratory creation would look like Donald Trump,” wrote Franklin Foer on Slate.com in an article titled “Putin’s Puppet.”
The Lithuanian and Polish press also reacted negatively – especially regarding Mr. Trump’s vocal lack of enthusiasm for NATO.
Interviewed by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, July 31, regarding platform changes on Ukraine, Mr. Trump pleaded ignorance. “I had nothing to do with that,” he said. Referencing Vladimir Putin’s aggressive policies, the GOP candidate said, “He’s not going into Ukraine, OK, just so you understand. He’s not going into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down. You can put it down. You can take that anywhere you want.”
Right. How about taking it to the Kremlin. They enjoy jokes, I’m sure.
Remember Mitt Romney? He famously called Russia “our number one geopolitical foe.”
As a lifelong Ukrainian Republican activist and the first president of the Ukrainian National Republican Federation – which had 20 state chairs in 1976 – I am horrified by Mr. Trump’s ignorance of Russia and its centuries-long history of expansionism and oppression. I believe Mr. Manafort, whose lobbying organization has worked for Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos and despotic regimes in the Dominican Republic, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea and Somalia in addition to Ukraine, is on Mr. Putin’s payroll. Will President Trump’s first foreign sojourn be to Moscow?
Also disconcerting is Mr. Trump’s apparent lack of principled behavior towards the GOP. He has trashed war hero John McCain, the Bush family, Mr. Romney, Carly Fiorina and Marco Rubio. He has yet to personally commit to small government, lower taxes, respect for human rights for all, including the unborn, and other Republican ideals that I have supported and promoted all my adult life. Many of these wonderful concepts are contained in the 2016 convention platform. Do you think Donald will ever read them let alone trumpet them?
I’m depressed and disillusioned. Like many Americans, I am torn between two unacceptable presidential choices. Perhaps the upcoming debates will help me achieve closure. I’ll let you know later, dear reader.
One final comment. In a recent Ukrainian Weekly column, Andrew Fedynsky suggested that the late Dr. Leo Dobriansky, a Ukrainian American Republican leader, was a “Profile in Courage” when he refused to support President Gerald R. Ford in 1976. I have a different take. I believe Dr. Dobriansky’s behavior was a betrayal of a friend. When he was in Congress, Gerald Ford was a leading proponent of the Captive Nations resolution, a mainstay of Leo’s political career. Turning his back of the president was more about ego than courage.