Zelenskyy Reminds Us That Global Security Is At Risk
This is an abbreviated version of our weekly Patreon show. To access the full-episode and support the pod, head on over to http://www.patreon.com/muckrakepodcast
Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman discuss the war in Ukraine and how a surprise visit by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to speak in front of Congress reminded us all of what's at stake. The GOP response was as predictable as the reaction to the release of Donald Trump's taxes, as was the complete failure by New York Democrats to expose the lies of congressman elect George Santos.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Welcome to the Weekender Edition of the McCraig Podcast.
I'm Jared Yates-Exton.
I am Jared Yates-Exton.
I am here with Nick Hausman.
Nick, I am in a holiday spirit.
We got to talk about the Zelensky Address in Congress.
We got to talk about taxes.
We got to talk about weird, bizarre, right-wing terror stuff.
And I want to go ahead and preview for the people who want to hear this and they need to hear it.
Go over to patreon.com slash mccraigpodcast.
We're going to have the wildest What we've been watching that we've ever had in the history of The Weekender.
I'm just warning you.
Nick, how are you doing, buddy?
Well, now I'm so excited to hear that.
I don't know if I can wait the full episode to get to the end of there, but we must accommodate, I suppose.
I'm telling you, I've watched probably the most batshit Christmas movie that has ever been made.
And I cannot wait to tell you about the plot of this movie to discuss it.
Also, by the way, I am in my childhood bedroom right now in small town Indiana.
Nick, we are awaiting a winter storm that I have to tell you has my small town all a-twitter.
Uh, out at the Walmart, they're parking their carts in the aisles, they're talking it over, people are discussing what's gonna happen, it might be the end of things, we're not exactly sure.
I gotta tell you, Hoosiers love this.
They love it.
Is it gonna be just cold or is it gonna be snow?
Well, okay.
So right now, out my window, we've got a wintry mix.
It's going to drop about 30 degrees.
There's going to be wind chills of like negative 30.
They're talking three to six inches, plus also ice, plus also blizzard-like conditions.
My people, Nick, they love this stuff.
They love living in this crisis, this chaos.
They love getting ready for it, going out and buying milk and toilet paper and bread.
They're ready.
No, thanks.
Is that the view from Los Angeles?
Is that what that is?
I mean, I'm just checking the forecast for the next, you know, several days.
75, 78, 75.
67, Jared.
It's gonna be 67 on Tuesday.
I don't know, man.
I don't know if I can handle that.
I gotta tell you, your stock, which is from Wisconsin, I believe.
They are looking out their windows right now.
They are sighing.
They are thinking of everything.
They wonder whatever happened to Little Dicky.
I know.
It didn't take long, I'll tell you that, moving out here, so.
Well, speaking of sterner stuff, Nick, we gotta talk about the fact that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came to Washington, D.C.
We'll talk about why this happened, not just in terms of making it a spectacle, but it certainly was that.
Zelensky was welcomed by President Joe Biden, gave a joint address of Congress, and made the case for continued support in Ukraine.
Well, let's get a quick listen to it and see what it sounded like first.
Millions won't have neither heating nor running water.
All of this will be the result of Russian missile and drone attacks on our energy infrastructure.
But we do not complain.
We do not judge and compare whose life is easier Your well-being is the product of your national security, the result of your struggle for independence and your many victories.
We Ukrainians will also go through our war of independence and freedom with dignity and success.
I gotta tell you, if this was the means of trying to convince the United States to continue helping Ukraine, like, sucking up to our ability to win wars, I mean, that really does it.
I mean, like, a really, really good appeal.
But also, Nick, we gotta talk about why this happened, which is not just the fact that we're entering into a new phase of the war in Ukraine, But also the fact that a Republican Congress is or a House of Representatives is about to take their seats and, you know, pretty much sympathize with Vladimir Putin almost all the way down the line.
Oh, well, it's funny because what you described with the folks in Indiana now and how they're hunkering down is a little bit like what Zelensky is tapping into with Ukrainians, right?
It's their version of, we have nothing to help us here.
We're going to hunker down and be really tough and stick this out.
And I think that it's got to be a little bit of a conflict in people's psyches in a way, right?
Because it does appeal to all of the propaganda that we've come to learn about America and what we stand for and how we battle against the odds.
And this should have been a no-brainer, right?
Like, it's still a little bit strange to me that we can't rally, or this is now split, much like, you know, COVID or whatever.
It's split down the political lines that we're not rallying to help a fellow country that wants democracy.
Yeah, when we started covering this thing, you know, we kind of told people what was going to happen, which was there was going to be this outpouring of support for Ukraine.
And then over time, it was going to be less and less of a focus of things like cable news.
You know, I think, and you can tell me if I'm wrong, it lasted for about three weeks, maybe about a month, that it was basically every segment on cable news.
was on the ground in Ukraine.
Basically, you couldn't have one segment without showing air raid sirens or showing the destruction there.
But, like all things American, our attention span is wickedly short, and eventually you have to move on to other things.
I mean, like, right now, today, it's these panicked shots of airports where people don't know if they're gonna catch their planes, they don't know if they're gonna get home for Christmas, oh my god, terror, cats, dogs, living together.
But eventually what happens is if it's not on the news, you're not necessarily thinking about it in certain circles.
The Republicans knew.
And by the way, Nick, it feels like years ago now that we were covering this, the Republicans in the very beginning were like, we shouldn't support Ukraine.
Maybe Putin has the right idea.
And they tried that for about a week, week and a half until they realized there was no tenable ground for that.
Now they're looking to take advantage of apathy, a lack of attention being paid for this, and Zelensky had to leave his war-torn country as the leader in a really bizarre field trip abroad in the midst of a lot of conflict.
He had to come over here and lobby Congress to keep the support going, which I think tells you everything you need to know about what our culture is and what our culture values.
Absolutely, and I agree.
I think it went longer than I thought it was going to go as far as our attention span on Ukraine and the conflict there.
But yeah, it probably was three, four weeks.
It has kept somewhat in the national psyche to some degree.
It's been bubbling up a little bit here and there versus completely just forgotten.
But I think Zelensky absolutely is very shrewd and understood that this was really important.
Right, him coming there gets the conversation back.
Even if it's like the Republicans yelling about, we want to defund this or not do this, it's the important thing is that it's in the news again.
And I think that this guy has proven over and over again that he understands how to use social media.
He understands how to use the media in general to continue maintaining, you know, support for their cause and it's worked.
Let's just show a little more, one more clip about him and what he was talking about as far as how this money is being spent.
Your money is not charity.
It's an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way.
Yeah, and I think that that was really smart to do, right?
Like, to go ahead and say that this is not just your usual sort of investment.
Like, I think a lot of people don't understand how American foreign investment works.
A lot of it is money that's sort of paid out to make sure that, like, governments and countries sort of stay on your side.
It's the way of liquidating, you know, hegemony, right?
It's the way of making sure that people are going to sort of, like, stay on, you know, your bankroll.
In this case, of course, that's not what's happening.
I think Zelensky's exactly right.
I think what he was trying to say there and what the feeling is, whether or not people want to openly admit it, the right-wing authoritarian global movement that you and I have spent so much time talking about and warning about, that's what he's fighting.
He is on the front lines against the aggression.
And I gotta tell you, If he hadn't been such a good leader and if the Ukrainian people hadn't been such brave fighters, and by the way if we hadn't made this investment, there is a likelihood that Russia could have rolled through Ukraine and all of a sudden we're not having a conversation about whether or not Ukraine is safe.
Suddenly we're having a conversation about NATO borders.
Suddenly we're having a conversation about Poland.
Suddenly we're having a conversation about whether or not, and by the way we're going to talk about China in a minute Nick, Who knows where China would be in their support of Russia right now if Ukraine would have been an easier operation.
He's correct.
This is about investing in pushing back against this authoritarianism and that aid.
And listen, I have problems with it.
I have issues with it.
There are things that you can critique about it.
But you cannot deny that this is a necessary front against that right-wing authoritarian global movement.
Well, it's funny that you say you might have some problems with it and how this is being funded and where the money is going, because friend of the podcast, Lauren Bobert, came out on the steps right after the address.
Oh, I'm Lauren!
We need to get her on, Nick.
What do we do?
I'll work on that.
Maybe we'll both tag team that and see if we can figure out how to make that happen.
But she had some words I thought we could share because it sounded, you know, there's some interesting things that you actually, we actually, might even agree with.
So let's listen to what she said.
Hey everyone, I just finished attending the address by President Zelensky and we're going to have votes here at the Capitol for the next four hours or so.
Here's what was clear from tonight.
The people of Ukraine are suffering, the war is deadly and horrific, and the carnage has not stopped.
Sadly, what I didn't hear tonight was a clear explanation of where the first $50 billion we sent to support their efforts went.
Until Congress receives a full audit on where our money has already gone, I will not support sending additional money to this war.
President Zelensky is working to protect his country's border and his people.
I get it.
I really just wish our Commander-in-Chief would do the same right here at home and secure our southern border and protect our people.
Okay.
Well, you know, no thing from Beaufort is complete without a nice little jab at the southern border of our country, even though there's no relation to that in the money we're sending to Ukraine.
But Jared, do you agree with her a little bit?
You know, I gotta tell you, Nick, the only place that is more dangerous than Kiev during an air raid from Russia is standing between Lauren Boebert and a camera.
My God!
I bet she broke the sound barrier making her way, and she is a piece of work.
You know, the worst part about all of this, and we talk about it often, is that the GOP, everything that they do is laced with like the little, tiniest bit of truth.
It's almost like throwing in a little bit of magic ingredient to make sure that everything coalesces around it.
Everything else is bullshit.
And by the way, if you want to worry about the southern border, I don't know how to tell people this, but the Biden administration is rounding up people left and right and sending them back over the border.
Like, just aggressively.
So, whatever.
It's all a lie.
It's all bullshit.
Whatever.
But when it comes to Money to Ukraine.
I hate to tell people, like you can support Ukraine and also understand that there are money and there are weapons that are getting in the hands of people that you don't want them in.
That's the way this works.
If you need some sort of a background on that to understand, see Afghanistan 1980s.
You know, this is how it works.
On top of it, by the way, we're going to send some Patriot missile systems.
I hope like hell that we're going to spend some time making sure where those Patriot missile systems are going to end up.
I mean, this is stuff we actually do need to talk about.
And, you know, I have to tell you the way that she made that appeal.
You and I both know this.
She doesn't give a shit about the Ukrainian people.
She doesn't care that they're living through carnage.
She had to tell a story that made it palpable for her to vote against anything that would help them.
And that's what she does, and that's what she's always going to do.
But but demanding an audit to make sure we're not wasting money is not a bad point.
You know, I think that there's a baseline when you're talking about a government as big as ours that there's just going to be waste.
There's going to be times where money gets sent out and it doesn't get used the right way.
And of course, the Republicans never complained about that when it's part of their projects that they're doing.
They don't care about spending when it's their spending.
It's only when they can use it as a cudgel against the Democrats.
So that's why it's not intellectually honest.
And that's the real problem with that is.
But here's the other thing is we're going to talk about the budget in a second.
And when you look at the budget and how that was passed, and then you try and wrap your head around the fact that and it's the old line thinking that they use to get the Republicans on board for that spending, you know, You can't understand why, again, they wouldn't get behind defending Ukraine because it's sort of the domino theory all over again.
You let Ukraine, and you just said it, you let Ukraine fall, then Moldova falls, and then, you know, NATO countries fall, and then we're really in trouble, and then that can be the destruction, just like they were warning us for 50 years during the Cold War.
So, again, it's like we've gotten to the point now where there isn't even an ideology on the Republican side.
At least back then, domino theory, which was Piece of bullshit, because see, Vietnam in the 60s, 70s, and now, it was never a thing.
But at least they rallied around that.
At least there was some sensical notion to why we wanted to fight in Vietnam and stop communism from growing.
But it's the same thing here, and they don't have any desire to support that in support democracy.
So it's just void of any kind of intellectual properties here.
Yeah, and we're going to talk about the budget in just a second, and, by the way, Cold War's, but let's just point out something.
There's no ideology with Lauren Boeber.
There just isn't.
I mean, you know, it's like trying to figure out where, like, the ball bearing in a spray can is.
I mean, really, there's none of that.
There's plenty of ideology among Republicans.
It's just not within the halls of Congress.
That's just not where you're going to find it, not where that stuff dwells.
But speaking of the budget, Nick, the Senate has now approved, and by the way, in a bipartisan way, a massive, massive bipartisan vote, which we'll talk about why that's happened.
Oh yeah, let's give them a hand.
They have passed a $1.7 trillion budget.
That's trillion with a T. And by the way, we're going to break this down in just a second.
It becomes very clear very quickly where the priorities of the United States are, but also where we are and what's happening at this current moment.
Nick, of that $1.7 trillion, $858 billion is for the military.
By the way, that's $858 billion.
I'm no math major, but I can tell you that is over half of the federal budget.
That is going towards new manufacturing and technology in terms of ships, Which, by the way, Nick, when you have global capitalism, you have to have ships to protect the global routes.
It's almost like the neoliberal global system is starting to fall apart and you have to wrench it back together and you have to try and make it work through any means.
So you're building more ships.
You're creating more jets.
Nick, I got the name of a country on the tip of my tongue.
Do you want to go ahead and say it for the people?
No, now I don't know what you're talking about.
China!
China!
This is a Cold War budget, is what it is.
This is about preparing to square off with China.
This is about holding the pace.
It's about creating a military of the future in order to shore up global capitalism and take on China.
That's all over this budget.
That's all this is.
And you have been listening to a free preview of our Patreon exclusive Weekender Show.
If you want to get in on all the fun and get that bonus episode every week, not to mention exclusive content Live hangouts, question and answer sessions.
We're even going to do some of these live so you can come and watch how the sausage is made.
All you have to do is go over to patreon.com slash muckrakepodcast.
On top of that, you get to hang out with the muckrake community, which are a really good group of people.
