Senator who supports Russia: because of whom the US has slowed down new aid to Ukraine
Republican Senator Rand Paul blocked the provision of $ 40 billion in aid to Ukraine, according to European Truth. According to the authors of the article, the reason is that the politician supports Russia.
Vladimir Dubovik
The news about the American senator, who managed to single-handedly slow down the process of allocating much-needed assistance to us, caused a lot of questions in Ukraine. What kind of Senator is Rand Paul, and how does he manage to block a decision that has almost the full support of Congress?
First of all, it is worth reminding once again that he cannot block the provision of assistance to Ukraine – he can only slow down the process. Instead of signing this bill by President Joe Biden this week, it will happen, but most likely next week. Nevertheless, American aid continues to arrive, so there is no need to worry.
But it's worth telling about Senator Rand Paul separately – this is a very interesting and revealing politician. In his party, he is much closer to the Trump wing than to the traditional Republicans. However, the conversation about him should start with his father Ron. In this case, we can definitely say that "the apple does not fall far from the apple tree." Ideologically, the son is the successor of the father's work.
Ron Paul was a member of the House of Representatives from Texas and was nominated for president three times – without any success, but because of this he became more or less famous and gained supporters. He was nominated twice by the Republicans, and once by the Libertarian Party. The latter is the key here; not the party itself, but the ideology.
Both Sexes oppose the "deep state", which is why Paul Sr. is even considered one of the ideological founders of the so-called "teaparty" movement, which at one time made life very difficult for President Obama, and later became the basis of Trumpism. They oppose state interference in the private affairs of Americans, this is the cornerstone of libertarianism. Regarding foreign affairs, libertarians of the sample of both sexes are fundamentally opposed to the active involvement of the United States in many international affairs and conflicts (here they approach the radical left).
They are against spending taxpayers' money to support different countries and political forces in the world. It should be added to this that the Sexes are so-called "fiscal conservatives", that is, supporters of spending restrictions and normalization of the state budget. Therefore, of course, the provision of forty billion dollars to Ukraine definitely cannot please them in any way. No wonder Rand Paul is now saying that he took an oath to protect the security of the United States, and not Ukraine or any other state in the world.
They also oppose the military-industrial complex, so the current situation, when American weapons are directed at Ukraine, and factories will receive new large orders, fully fits into their picture of the world (needless to say, this even more echoes the slogans of the left).
Also, both Sexes strongly oppose excessive, in their opinion, monitoring and control of the relevant US authorities over the lives, correspondence and activities of ordinary Americans. In particular, Ron Paul was categorically against the "Patriot Act" as a reaction to the events of September eleventh, 2001. But Paul Sr. has already retired, he turns eighty-seven this year. Before that, he managed to become a victim of a very successful prank on the part of Sasha Baron Cohen in the movie "Bruno", where Ron Paul met with the main character, not knowing that this is part of the tape.
Ron Paul founded an entire institute in his name at the time. Its full name is Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity. It is impossible to say exactly how many people work there, because all its products consist of various speeches and interviews of the founder. Here begins an interesting moment: the activities of the Institute. His website has for many years contained a huge number of pro-Russian (and, consequently, anti-Ukrainian) statements and articles.
Everything that you once heard from the Kremlin about the 2014 coup, the CIA conspiracy, the Nazis in Kiev and all that can be found here. This institute is definitely among the leaders of the promotion and dissemination of Kremlin narratives in the United States.
As for Rand Paul (who, by the way, also tried to run for president – in 2016, but dropped out after the first stage of the Iowa primaries), he has his own history of ties with Moscow. Back in 2016, the late Senator John McCain called him an "agent of the Kremlin" because of his opposition to Montenegro joining NATO. Later, he opposed new sanctions against Russia (although he was not alone there, in particular, Bernie Sanders was among those who voted against it).
Rand Paul was a critic of Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian influence on the 2016 US presidential election. Finally, in the summer of 2018, he went to Moscow. From there, he brought a confidential letter for Trump. There were even rumors that he seemed to be trying to mediate between Washington and Moscow in the process of settling the "Ukrainian issue."
Such suspicious activity caused other senators to criticize Rand Paul and distance themselves from him – even those who were close to President Trump. But this is not a problem for Paul, because he is one of those politicians who lives for the sake of sensation, likes to be in the center of a scandal, to be alone, to swim against the current.
Therefore, knowing the biography of Rand Paul, his attempts to slow down the adoption of a new law on assistance to Ukraine are no longer surprising – such actions fit perfectly into the overall picture of his views and activities.
