The official account for the House Republicans is under fire from blue-check “conservatives” over this tweet that mildly criticized President Joe Biden for his administration’s actions on Ukraine and Russia:
This is what weakness on the world stage looks like. pic.twitter.com/0Krq48gbIy
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) February 22, 2022
You see, this “is insane and feeds into Putin’s narrative.” From soon-to-be-former Rep. Adam Kinzinger:
As still “technically” a member of house Republicans, let me, with all my might, condemn this damn awful tweet during this crisis. You can criticize policy but this is insane and feeds into Putins narrative. But hey, retweets amirite? https://t.co/1b22DGMENl
— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) February 22, 2022
And former GOP Rep. David Jolly says House Republicans should “demand Congress ensure resources are provided sufficient to represent U.S. interests”:
What a pathetic tribe. Leadership would demand Congress ensure resources are provided sufficient to represent U.S. interests. Ignorant partisanship takes the brink of war as an opportunity to troll. How embarrassing a posture. Your glee is shameless. https://t.co/x82vxRDkkd
— David Jolly (@DavidJollyFL) February 23, 2022
Here’s former GOP chairman Michael Steele saying “this is what disloyalty at home looks like”:
This is what disloyalty at home looks like. https://t.co/XOfs56RsjG
— Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) February 22, 2022
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But of all these takes, Bill Kristol’s could take the cake:
You know who must really have liked this tweet? Vladimir Putin. https://t.co/FNUdgMBG6U
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) February 22, 2022
Kristol went on to accuse Republicans of offering “no substantive suggestions for improving our policy”:
This is what a disloyal opposition looks like–cheap shots at an American president in a moment of crisis with no substantive suggestions for improving our policy. https://t.co/FNUdgMBG6U
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) February 22, 2022
Except, that’s not what’s going on. Republicans have been begging President Biden to get tough on Russia for months:
TED CRUZ: "For months, Ukraine's political leaders and its civil society pleaded with the United States to help them counter Russia by immediately sanctioning Nord Stream 2 and providing them with the weapons they need to defend themselves." https://t.co/aTq2MXmuKr
— Newsmax (@newsmax) February 22, 2022
And do you know who else has been begging Biden to get tough on Russia for months? That’s right . . . Bill Kristol:
In addition to demanding the release of Protasevich and putting more pressure on Lukashenko, wouldn't this be a good time for the Biden Administration to cancel the summit with Putin and to rescind its unwise waiver of sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG and its CEO, Matthias Warnig?
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 23, 2021
How exactly should Republicans point out that this crisis right now is, at least partially, due to Biden’s hesitancy to impose greater sanctions over the past year?
"After taking a hard line toward the Putin regime in its early months, the Biden administration seems to be going wobbly…It waived sanctions over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and is preparing for a summit between President Biden and President Putin."https://t.co/sKAWZTFODs
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 24, 2021
And how come Kristol didn’t play the Putin card here when it’s Biden doing the “indefensible”?
"The Biden administration announced it has dropped its opposition to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline…The change in policy is indefensible—on its substance, the process behind it, and the effects it will have on European and American security."https://t.co/BoySrpz0KC
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) July 24, 2021
Why, yes, we should have. But it wasn’t House Republicans holding this one up:
"Washington should secure German agreement that it would prevent Nord Stream 2 from going into operation…Most important, the West can enhance the deterrent strength of Ukraine’s armed forces by providing military assistance on an expedited basis."https://t.co/csvttrRRhZ
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) December 30, 2021
At what point will Kristol and these other blue-checks just admit Biden was completely wrong?
There's some case for passing the Menendez bill now and holding off on Cruz's. But Blinken's comment, "Some may see Nord Stream 2 as leverage that Russia can use against Europe; in fact, it's leverage for Europe to use against Russia," is not reassuring.https://t.co/P9mtctpnaw
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 10, 2022
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