Stop Praising Republicans for Doing the Bare Minimum

Republicans keep getting praised for doing their job. The bar is far too low.

Conor Kelly

Office of Speaker Mike Johnson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

It is official. Aid will continue going to Ukraine. An aid package once thought to be dead thanks to Republican infight passed the House and Senate thanks in part to the work of Speaker Mike Johnson. Whereas it was previously thought that the House would be unable to pass the aid packages, Speaker Johnson split the aid package into four separate votes, forcing the House to consider each piece of aid bit by bit. That move, in turn, led to Ukrainian aid passing through the House, where it eventually passed in the Senate. While I am glad to see that we will continue to support Ukraine, the idea that Mike Johnson should be praised for his actions is beyond ridiculous.

Bipartisan praise

Multiple officials, Democrat and Republican, have gone out of their way to celebrate Mike Johnson’s moves and praised him for getting the aid passed. Michael McCaul (R-Tex), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, proudly touted Johnson’s work, saying:

“I am so proud of the speaker, Mike Johnson. He went through a transformation…At the end of the day, a profile in courage is putting the nation above yourself — and that’s what he did. He said, ‘At the end of the day, I’m going to be on the right side of history, irrespective of my job,’ and I think that was what I admired so much.”

Ro Khanna (D-CA) echoed those thoughts as well, saying, “I disagree with Speaker Johnson on many issues, and I’ve been very critical of him…But he did the right thing here, and he deserves to keep his job ’til the end of his term.”

Again and again, members of the House have given Speaker Johnson a pat on the back for his ability to lead. Even though his Speakership could be at risk, it is another example of weak politicians achieving the bare minimum and getting rewarded.

A low bar

While Speaker Johnson undeniably made good moves to get Ukrainian aid passed, and he does deserve some credit for doing so, it took months to get it done. Republicans repeatedly tied Ukrainian aid to a border deal that they wanted, only to get cold feet when Donald Trump pushed them to do so. While Johnson wasn’t responsible for the Senate GOP’s decision, he still held the line with them, tying Ukrainian aid to the southern border.

His switch on the issue to a more sensible position and subsequent efforts to pass it don’t change this. Had Speaker Johnson taken the initiative months prior and pushed back against his party’s so-called ‘America First’ wing, Ukraine could have received the support it needed much sooner. That delay will almost certainly harm the U.S. reputation on the world stage, and it was partially exacerbated due to Johnson’s desire to appeal to his far-right party members.

Johnson isn’t the first or only Republican who contributed to a problem only to fix it later. Former Vice President Mike Pence spent four years praising and supporting Trump, even as Trump threatened the well-being of the republic and engaged in blatant corruption. Even as Trump equivocated between Nazis and the people protesting them, Mike Pence stood with him. It was only when Trump crossed into the realm of violent absurdity on January 6^th that he did his duty and certified the election. A move he was legally obligated to make. Despite such a move being expected of him, Pence still received praise for his brave decision not to break the law and disregard the people’s will.

The fact that the bar is so low that not overthrowing democracy is considered exceptional is ridiculous. It is one thing to recognize the significance of Pence and Johnson’s actions, but it is another thing entirely to pretend that Americans don’t deserve leaders who do more than meet the smallest of expectations.

Speakers should be able to get emergency aid passed effectively, and vice presidents shouldn’t unquestioningly support their boss as he tears at the fabric of the nation’s democracy. These words should not have to be said, much less written, but it also shouldn’t take a violent attack on the Capitol and resounding incompetence in Congress to get leaders to do what is necessary. If we are going to see an improvement in our politics, then we should stop promoting every politician who does the bare minimum. We deserve better.

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References

Carlson, Adam. “Mike Johnson Earns Bipartisan Praise for Backing Ukraine Aid, Suggesting His Speakership Is Safe.” ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mike-johnson-earns-bipartisan-praise-backing-ukraine-aid/story?id=109466016 (April 24, 2024).

Cheney, Kyle. “How Pence Used 43 Words to Shut down Trump Allies’ Election Subversion on Jan. 6 – POLITICO.” Politico. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/11/pence-jan-6-election-certification-script-00016539 (April 25, 2024).

Edmondson, Catie. 2024. “House Approves $95 Billion Aid Bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/20/us/politics/house-foreign-aid-bill.html (April 24, 2024).

Groves, Stephen, and Mary Jalonick. 2024. “Senate Republicans Block Bipartisan Border Deal | AP News.” Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/congress-ukraine-aid-border-security-386dcc54b29a5491f8bd87b727a284f8 (April 25, 2024).

Ismay, John, and Eric Schmitt. 2024. “U.S. Military Aid for Ukraine Could Soon Flow Again.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/20/us/politics/weapons-aid-ukraine-military.html (April 24, 2024).

Johnson, Alex, and Erika Angulo. 2017. “Pence Defends Trump from Critics of Charlottesville Remarks.” NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pence-defends-trump-critics-charlottesville-remarks-n792291 (April 25, 2024).

Karni, Annie. 2024. “Johnson, Like Pence, Draws Praise for Defying His Party and Doing His Job.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/20/us/politics/johnson-pence-republicans-ukraine-aid.html (April 24, 2024).

Kelly, Conor. 2024. “There Might Be Another Speaker Fight.” The Progressive American. https://theprogressiveamerican.com/2024/04/17/there-might-be-another-speaker-fight/ (April 25, 2024).

Mahdawi, Arwa. 2023. “Don’t Be Fooled by January 6 – Mike Pence Is Still an Absolute Coward.” The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/15/dont-be-fooled-by-january-6-mike-pence-is-still-an-absolute-coward (April 24, 2024).

The Progressive American