Divisions persist, but Ukraine unites

As Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine plays out, his strategic miscalculation becomes more obvious each day. Amid all the horror we've witnessed, we’re left with a shred of hope, however fragile, that Russia’s offensive may be relatively brief and contained. That outcome could never atone for the grievous damage already being inflicted upon Ukraine and its people, but it might prevent a larger conflict and more bloodshed and destruction. Putin was clearly emboldened by serious, largely self-inflicted cracks in the foundation of Western democracy, and he anticipated a weak response from NATO countries in response to his belligerence. Instead, the opposite has happened. The alliance has been strengthened, and Putin and the populists who admire and seek to emulate him have been further exposed for what they are—pro-authoritarian and anti-freedom.

I’ve just launched a new podcast, Speaking Up, on the Callin app. We’ve had great discussions so far with former Rep. Denver Riggleman, former Rep. Joe Walsh, and former White House national security official Peter Feaver. Next up, I’ll be welcoming 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang to the show. Please join us on March 18 at 9am ET, and be sure to bring your questions for Andrew. —Miles Taylor, Executive Director, Renew America Movement

• ‘Hell’ in Ukraine’s Mariupol as Russians ‘attack every 30 mins’ —Al Jazeera

• House passes sweeping government funding bill with $13.6 billion in Ukraine aid —CNN

• Michael Flynn invokes Fifth Amendment before Jan. 6 panel —The New York Times

• RNC is suing Jan. 6 select committee over subpoena to key vendor —Politico

• Senate passes bipartisan postal service overhaul —The Wall Street Journal

So much unity

Wow, Americans really can agree on something. A new survey by Citizen Data shows that 78% of Americans—including majorities from both parties—see the war in Ukraine as a fight for global democracy. “Americans have overwhelmingly rallied to the defense of democracy and rejected rationalizations offered on behalf of Putin. Democracy, which was becoming a partisan issue, now garners strong bipartisan affection,” says Jennifer Rubin. That's the good news to come out of an otherwise horrific situation. Of course, not everyone got the memo. Rep. Madison Cawthorn has been widely criticized for calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a “thug,” and he's not the only Divider who made the news this week. —The Washington Post

• McCarthy lets MTG and Gosar slide. Remember when Divider Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar showed up at a conference hosted by notorious white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who defended Hitler and cheered on Putin? House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy doesn’t. Or more likely, he doesn’t care. McCarthy reaffirmed on Wednesday that Greene and Gosar would still be allowed to sit on House committees if Republicans retake the majority in November. In fact, he declined to outline any repercussions for the pair at all. —Insider

• Fuentes has other fans too. Namely, Joe Kent, a Republican running against Renewer Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler in Washington’s 3rd District. Kent got caught cavorting with Fuentes, but when questioned about it, claimed he didn’t know who Fuentes is. Alas, social media never forgets, and spry Twitter users dug up a year-old tweet from Kent in which he defended and praised Fuentes. —OPB

• From lies and conspiracies to threats. Another radical candidate running for public office in 2022 is Kari Lake, who is seeking the Arizona governorship. Lake, a former local Fox broadcaster, is still in public denial over the fact that Donald Trump, who has endorsed her, lost both her state and the country in the 2020 election. She ups the ante in a new "60 Minutes" Australia exposé, in which she accuses the interviewer of “pushing propaganda” and walks off the set saying, “Your days are numbered.” —Raw Story

MORE: Nicole Hemmer: A turning point in the fight against right-wing extremism —CNN

Schmidt: As the center unites, so do the extremes 

“A recent example of the extremes growing closer together is the far-left and the far-right’s response to the attack of Russia on Ukraine, the war that has followed, and the role of NATO. From the extreme left we have a recent statement from the Democratic Socialists of America calling for the United States to withdraw from NATO and ‘end the imperialist expansionism that set the stage for this conflict.’ From the right, we have the de facto leader of the Republican Party, former President Donald Trump, having discussed several times his desire for the U.S. to leave NATO, which, if it happened, would destroy NATO.” —Lynn Schmidt in St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lynn Schmidt is a Renew America Movement Fellow and a member of the editorial board at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

MORE: If Zelensky is too ‘woke’ for Madison Cawthorn, the Putin-loving Republicans have a problem —The Independent

Brand: Ukraine reminds us of the importance of prevention

“The situation in Ukraine should serve as a stark reminder that despite the U.S. spending nearly $800 billion a year on its military, far more than any other nation, most problems will not be solved by our military. By comparison, the other tools in the foreign policy toolkit remain woefully underfunded. For example, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the government body responsible for enforcing U.S. sanctions, remains ‘overworked and understaffed.’ Effective sanctions require effective targeting, and OFAC needs more resources in order to implement sanctions.” —Mike Brand on Inkstick

Mike Brand is an adjunct professor of human rights and genocide studies at the University of Connecticut and a Senior Fellow at George Mason University’s Raphaël Lemkin Genocide Prevention Program.

MORE: Biden announces U.S. will move to revoke 'most favored nation' trade status for Russia —CNN

‘There’s a crisis in election administration’

The highly polarized 2020 election—and the false attacks on the legitimacy of the voting process that have continued ever since—has led to near daily harassment and even death threats for election officials. Now, some of them are seriously considering leaving the once-innocuous profession. A survey of local election administrators, released yesterday by the Brennan Center for Justice, found that 1 in 5 of them are likely to leave their jobs before the 2024 presidential election. The most common reasons they cited were stress and that too many politicians are attacking "a system that they know is fair and honest.” —NPR

• Colorado. On the other side of the coin are folks like Tina Peters, a county clerk from Mesa Co., Colorado, who was indicted this week on 10 criminal counts related to allegations that she tampered with election equipment after the 2020 election. As the top county election administrator, Peters promoted Donald Trump’s false claims that the election had been stolen, in one of the most prominent examples of how the Big Lie has created election-security threats. Even worse? Peters is running for secretary of state of Colorado, where she’d have authority over the state’s elections. —The New York Times

• Florida. Peters might find allies in the Sunshine State. Florida lawmakers are looking to enact further voting restrictions by approving legislation that would create a dedicated investigative unit for alleged “election irregularities.” Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Trump ally, first called for the formation of an election police force in a speech last year. The measure, which the GOP-led House passed along party lines, would create an Office of Election Crimes and Security within the Department of State. —NPR

• Wyoming. We like to end on a positive note, so this week’s good news in elections comes from Wyoming. A crossover voting bill died in the Wyoming House on Tuesday, after it was not considered by a legislative deadline. Endorsed by Trump, the bill aimed to end same-day party affiliation changes. Backers of the legislation sought the ban to prevent Trump critics from crossing over to vote for Renewer Rep. Liz Cheney in the state’s Republican primary. —Casper Star-Tribune

MORE: Why redistricting may lead to a more balanced U.S. Congress —The New York Times

Kang: Education is the solution to disinfo

“After the 2016 election, the tech giants attempted to fix the disinformation problem by placing labels on potentially harmful posts. This, in theory, isn’t a bad idea if one can somehow corral and then sort every bit of online information. A 2020 study found that the filters for this sort of project could not catch all of the disinformation, which presented a problem: If you can identify only, say, 20% of the bad information and label it as such, what happens to the 80%? The researchers found that readers would be more likely to assume that the unlabeled disinformation was trustworthy. Given the difficulty of regulating every online post, especially in a country that protects most forms of speech, it seems far more prudent to focus most of our efforts on building an educated and resilient public that can spot and then ignore disinformation campaigns.” —Jay Caspian Kang in The New York Times

Jay Caspian Kang is a New York Times opinion writer and the author of “The Loneliest Americans.”

MORE: China amplifies Russian disinformation about Ukraine biolabs —ABC News

Serhan: Unintended consequences for Putin

“Nearly two weeks into Putin’s devastating and costly invasion, [his] fear has turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy: The once-remote possibility of Ukraine joining the European Union and NATO now seems more plausible, and even in historically neutral countries such as Finland and Sweden (both of which are already EU members), public support for joining NATO has surged to record levels. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has primarily succeeded in materializing his worst fears: a unified West, a more militarized Europe, and a stronger, more attractive NATO. No matter how the invasion ends, this will be one of its legacies.” —Yasmeen Serhan in The Atlantic

Yasmeen Serhan is a London-based staff writer at The Atlantic.

MORE: Jessica Brandt: Propaganda, Russia disinformation have failed in Ukraine war —World Politics Review

Donald Trump adores Putin because he wishes he could have the same power Putin does. He is a dictator at heart, and if he were ever in a position to do what Putin has done, he would, without apology and without remorse. Tucker Carlson is a dangerous man. I believe he knows exactly what he is doing and says what he says for the ratings and because he is a Putin lackey and sycophant. Candace Owens saying the U.S. and NATO are at fault for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is akin to telling a woman who was raped it was her fault because of what she was wearing. 

If we, as a country, are really standing with Ukraine, we will do everything we can to punish Russia or make it very difficult for them to keep up the war. We can drape fabric over the Statue of Liberty or shine blue and yellow lights all over all we want, but until we stop importing anything from Russia, even if it hurts our own pocketbooks, we're not standing with Ukraine. Paying higher prices for gasoline is something everyone in the U.S can do to help out. —David W., Utah

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff, the Renew America Movement, or the Renew America Foundation.