Progressives in odd spot on Russian war

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its bombardment of civilian populations has put usually dovish progressives in the odd spot of backing a forceful U.S. response.

The left wing of the Democratic Party has generally been skeptical of American military involvement overseas and has been critical of rising defense spending. Nearly two decades ago, many condemned the U.S. war in Iraq, which liberals broadly saw as an unnecessary conflict motivated by oil that took the government’s eye off problems at home.

“For many progressives it has been challenging because we aren’t used to being in this position, where the U.S. isn’t the one doing the invasion,” said Alexander McCoy, a co-founder of the left-wing veterans organization Common Defense.

McCoy said part of the challenge for the left is figuring out exactly what it supports and does not support in the context of helping Ukraine fend off Russia’s aggression.

“Much of the progressive movement has built our foreign policy reflexes around trying to stop the U.S. from doing bad things, going back to perhaps the Vietnam War or earlier,” he said. “But things are changing now, and progressives need to start defining ourselves by what we are for, not just what we are against.”

Progressives have sided with President Biden in declaring Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal.  

They have backed his decision to spend nearly $14 billion in emergency aid to protect the sovereign nation against more bloody escalation.  

And there is a push to accept Ukrainian refugees that fits previous calls by progressives to help migrants from other countries in times of political peril. 

But for all of the support toward the administration’s response, liberals are also worried about how rising gas prices exacerbated by the war on international sanctions imposed on Russia will affect poor and middle-class people in the United States.  

Liberal Reps. Ilham Omar (Minn.) and Cori Bush (Mo.) were the only two Democrats to vote against a House measure blocking an end to oil imports from Russia.  

Omar’s vote in part reflected her views that blocking Russian oil could lead the U.S. to rely more on and strengthen ties with Saudi Arabia. Progressives are critical that the Biden administration has not more forcefully pushed human rights in the kingdom out of concern it would harm U.S. and Saudi security and energy cooperation. This includes holding off sanctions on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018; the jailing of dissidents and political opponents, in particular women; and Riyadh’s role in civilian deaths in Yemen’s civil war.   

Progressives also see humanitarian differences between how the U.S. and allies are responding to the deadly conflict in Ukraine and the ongoing strife in the Arab world. Liberals have for years called for an end to America’s role in a Saudi-led coalition’s military campaign in Yemen.

“The Biden administration has rightly and forcefully condemned Russia’s invasion and indiscriminate attacks on civilians,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) told The Hill. “As we reflect on the perils of relying on autocratic governments for fossil fuels, there is no better time for the president to fulfill his commitment to end the United States’ military involvement in the Saudi war in Yemen,” she said. 

Broadly speaking, while progressives have embraced Biden’s actions against Russia to date — including mounting harsh financial sanctions on the country — they are frustrated over what they contend is America’s deeply rooted reliance on fossil fuels and foreign oil.  

Climate activists are especially concerned that the war is devastating the environment. They are calling for Biden to lean more heavily on renewable energy sources to decrease Russia’s grip on international energy supplies.

They acknowledge that’s at odds with how the U.S. has traditionally acted in times of conflict but see Biden’s sanctions as a promising opportunity for other measures they thought weren’t previously possible. Some liberals privately contend that they were surprised that the president moved so quickly to curb the oil flow. 

“It’s great to ban the import of Russian oil, but that’s just the beginning,” said Keya Chatterjee, executive director of the U.S. Climate Action Network. “Relying on corrupt oil states for energy is not an approach that’s doable.” 

Liberals like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and the Congressional Progressive Caucus in the House are imploring Biden to use the Defense Production Act to increase energy production at home.

“This is a moment for us to do things we haven’t done before,” Chatterjee said, referencing using the law to spark more renewable resource production. “What we’ve been doing has brought us a climate crisis and war.” 

Progressives are also seeing the Russian invasion as a way to mount a broader critique on structures they believe are propping up an outdated foreign policy establishment view around the military. They want more left-wing lawmakers in key posts to provide new perspectives. 

“In Congress, progressives are greatly underrepresented on the Armed Services Committee and Intelligence Committee,” McCoy, of Common Defense, said. “Too few progressive organizations have invested in developing members who are impacted by foreign policy into leaders with deep policy expertise and the credibility and platform to counter the unrepresentative hawkish voices that dominate cable TV.”

In doing so, however, many on the left continue to say Biden is on the right path with the crisis, a sentiment that is also reflected in recent polling among Democratic, Republican and independent voters alike. They acknowledge that while there are additional climate and humanitarian measures that the White House can act on, it’s imperative to show a united response against Russia.

“The world has rightfully been horrified and outraged by Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine and the devastation it has wrought on the Ukrainian people,” Jayapal said.  

“Progressives will continue to advocate that this administration act on its values and bring the same clarity regarding war crimes and human rights abuses in Ukraine to end U.S. military participation in Saudi Arabia’s war and relieve the suffering of the Yemeni people.”

Laura Kelly contributed to this report.