The overwhelming congressional votes for aid to Taiwan, Israel, and Ukraine show just how out of touch the isolationists and Ukraine skeptics on both ends of the American political spectrum are.
They also show why it was inexcusable for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to wait so long to engineer passage of the aid bills. Nonetheless, against the noisy and noisome detractors on the Trumpian semi-Right, Johnson did take a belated stand, one that could mark his emergence as a leader of principle and savvy.
For the record, the individual aid bills were approved in the House by votes of 311-112 for Ukraine, 366-58 for Israel, and 385-34 for Taiwan. The combined legislation passed the Senate 79-18. The opponents were exposed as numerically weak minorities. Elected officials rarely range far from their constituents’ wishes, so this means well over 70% of the members of Congress must be…
