Northeast Valley News conducted an opinion poll and spoke with people across the Valley at four separate locations about supporting and/or funding Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in the effort to defend his country.
The question posed: “Despite the threat of a government shutdown and the national budget, do you support or reject the funding and support of Ukraine?”
There was a 67% favorability rating for continued support from those questioned in the opinion poll —and with regard to supporting the efforts in fighting Putin as well as supporting continued aid to the Ukraine.
Tim Irving, an Iraq veteran and registered Republican agreed with the recently reported quote of Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina who told CNN that to withdraw aid from Ukraine would mean disaster for our own country and for democracy.
“Not all Republicans are like the MAGA bunch,” Irving said and echoing Senator Graham’s support for aid to the Ukraine.
“The consequences of pulling the plug on Ukraine are enormous,” said Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. “It will lead to more war, not less. It will destroy a world order that has existed that has benefited the world. So I could not disagree more with my colleagues who say Ukraine doesn’t matter to us. It matters a lot.”
Like Senator Graham, Irving is both shocked and maddened by the shift in hardline GOP officials that once supported aid to the Ukraine and are now “cowardly” distancing from a country that was attacked by Putin—Irving likens back to a time when the world stood by and watched a dictator overthrow, one country at a time.
“What’s wrong with people? Nothin’s gonna matter if we don’t support Ukraine—not our jobs, not our money and definitely not our freedom. History repeats itself. How can any American who believes in democracy, and, like me, served for freedom—not give full support? It’s cowardly. We are witnessing Putin slaughtering people in the Ukraine and Putin has his sights set on the entire free world,” Irving said.
Elizabeth Knowles told Northeast Valley News that she wonders how long we can help sustain the Ukraine given our own national debt but agreed that if we don’t—we may be the next Putin target.
“We have to send a strong message as long as we can to Putin,” Knowles said.
Still, hardline MAGA Republican group in the House have displayed their radical posture even in the midst of Zelensky’s visit making it clear that they would do their best to halt further aid to Ukraine—many hardliners have even mocked Zelensky and fellow Republican colleagues who do support the aid and effort to fight the attacks on Ukraine.
Zelensky thanked President Biden and the American people during his visit last week and after receiving a vital $325 million air-defense package.
The Ukrainian president, in his additional plea for a $24 billion package in military and humanitarian aid was reportedly not well received in the hardline wing of the GOP House leadership.
Zelensky concluded his visit to D.C. with a passionate speech at the National Archive on Thursday night.
