Biden’s Ukrainian Aid Package is Critical to Defending Democracy
Putin’s military campaign against Ukraine is as much a threat to democracy as the GOP’s assault on the rule of law. We must fight both simultaneously.
QUICK READ: Putin’s invasion of Ukraine starkly demonstrates the conflict between democracy and dictatorship. Biden has committed the US to protecting Ukraine’s fragile democracy. But Americans must simultaneously fight to preserve our democracy which is under constant attack by Trump and MAGA Republicans—demonstrating that we cannot separate domestic and international politics. Americans must stand behind the President on both fronts.
TAKE ACTION NOW:
BACKGROUND
President Biden’s $33 billion request for aid to Ukraine—including $20 billion for strategic weapons, from long-distance howitzers to lethal drones, and $11 billion in economic and humanitarian assistance—underscore the Administration’s unequivocal commitment to Ukraine.
Biden accurately depicts the conflict as a battle between a repressive dictatorship and a fledgling democracy, whose citizens risked their lives to overthrow a Russian-backed dictator in 2014 and continue to fight valiantly to preserve their freedom. Putin detests Ukraine precisely because it provides Russians with an alternative to his autocracy.
At home, Trump and the MAGA Republicans pose an equally dangerous threat to our democracy. Their efforts to intimidate voters, ban abortions, censure books, control the media, and raise the specter of “grooming” reveal their authoritarian agenda.
Trump’s seditious praise for Putin is part of their assault on democracy, which intensified during the period between his overwhelming defeat in the 2020 election and his coup attempt on January 6 and continues until today.
We must protect our democracy from these threats with the same vigor and commitment as Ukrainians are protecting theirs from Russian assaults.
The struggle of the Ukrainian people underscores the dangers of complacency.
ACTION One: Call the Senate.
Script for Oregon Senators
SEN. MERKLEY: Portland office: 503-326-3386 | D.C. office: 202-224-3753
My name is [--] and I'm a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Congress must support the struggle of the Ukrainian people to protect their democracy from Putin, while simultaneously protecting America from MAGA Republicans’ attempted imposition of authoritarianism by:
- Immediately passing Biden’s $33 billion supplementary aid package
- Providing additional food aid and health assistance to countries facing crises caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- Passing pending Voting Rights legislation
- Denouncing Trump’s and the MAGA Republicans’ seditious behavior that gives arms to the enemy.
SEN. WYDEN:
Portland office: 503-326-7525 | D.C. office: 202-224-5244
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Congress must support the struggle of the Ukrainian people to protect their democracy from Putin, while simultaneously protecting America from MAGA Republicans’ attempted imposition of authoritarianism by:
- Immediately passing Biden’s $33 billion supplementary aid package
- Providing additional food aid and health assistance to countries facing crises caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- Passing pending Voting Rights legislation
- Denouncing Trump’s and the MAGA Republicans’ seditious behavior that gives arms to the enemy.
Script for Republican Senators
D.C switchboard: 202-224-3121
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], [state], [zip code].
Congress must support the struggle of the Ukrainian people to protect their democracy from Putin and support the continuation of our constitutional democracy in America by:
- Immediately passing Biden’s $33 billion supplementary aid package
- Providing additional food aid and health assistance to countries facing crises caused by the Russian invasion
- Passing pending Voting Rights legislation
ACTION TWO: Call the House.
Script for Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01)
Oregon office: 503-469-6010 | DC office: 202-225-0855
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Congress must support the struggle of the Ukrainian people to protect their democracy from Putin, while simultaneously protecting America from MAGA Republicans’ attempted imposition of authoritarianism by:
- Immediately passing Biden’s $33 billion supplementary aid package
- Providing additional food aid and health assistance to countries facing crises caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- Denouncing Trump’s and the MAGA Republicans’ seditious behavior that gives arms to the enemy.
Script for Cliff Bentz (OR-02)
Medford office: 541-776-4646 | DC office: 202-225-6730
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Congress must support the struggle of the Ukrainian people to protect their democracy from Putin and support the continuation of our constitutional democracy in America by:
- Immediately passing Biden’s $33 billion supplementary aid package
- Providing additional food aid and health assistance to countries facing crises caused by the Russian invasion.
Script for Earl Blumenauer (OR-03)
Oregon office: 503-231-2300 | DC office: 202-225-4811
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Congress must support the struggle of the Ukrainian people to protect their democracy from Putin, while simultaneously protecting America from MAGA Republicans’ attempted imposition of authoritarianism by:
- Immediately passing Biden’s $33 billion supplementary aid package
- Providing additional food aid and health assistance to countries facing crises caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- Denouncing Trump’s and the MAGA Republicans’ seditious behavior that gives arms to the enemy.
Script for Peter DeFazio (OR-04)
Eugene office: 541-465-6732 | DC office: 202-225-6416
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Congress must support the struggle of the Ukrainian people to protect their democracy from Putin, while simultaneously protecting America from MAGA Republicans’ attempted imposition of authoritarianism by:
- Immediately passing Biden’s $33 billion supplementary aid package
- Providing additional food aid and health assistance to countries facing crises caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- Denouncing Trump’s and the MAGA Republicans’ seditious behavior that gives arms to the enemy.
Script for Kurt Schrader (OR-05)
Salem office: 503-588-9100 | DC office: 202-225-5711
My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code].
Congress must support the struggle of the Ukrainian people to protect their democracy from Putin, while simultaneously protecting America from MAGA Republicans’ attempted imposition of authoritarianism by:
- Immediately passing Biden’s $33 billion supplementary aid package
- Providing additional food aid and health assistance to countries facing crises caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
- Denouncing Trump’s and the MAGA Republicans’ seditious behavior that gives arms to the enemy.
ACTION 3: GOOD TROUBLE
GOOD TROUBLE: Below are opportunities to fight for our democracy. As John Lewis said, go make some “good trouble.”
Find out more about Indivisible Oregon here.
TUESDAY 11:30am-12:30pm LETTER WRITING PARTY - INDIVISIBLE OREGON:
https://www.mobilize.us/swingleft/event/442887/Fridays at 4 - Letter and Postcard Writing — Indivisible Oregon.
Learn about persuasive language and communication research at the Zoom ASO Movement Briefings every second Wednesday.
Join the campaign to hold the House and Senate at GiveNoGround.org
Work to protect democracy in the House by replacing retiring US Representative Peter DeFazio with another Democrat, replacing Democrat Kurt Schrader, the “Manchin of the House,” with a progressive, and electing a Democrat in Oregon’s new Congressional District 6.
Demand that your primary news source stop creating false equivalencies and just report the truth.
Check out the Poor People's Campaign Readies 'Massive, Nonviolent' Effort to Save Democracy
Outside of Portland? Check out COIN Oregon.
Rally inconsisent Democratic voters to vote in 2022 with Progressive Turnout Project | Feb, 2022 | Medium
FURTHER READING:
Approval for Biden Ukraine aid request likely after Pelosi Kyiv visit, McCaul says
Ukraine’s Democracy Is (Almost) All Grown Up – Foreign Policy
Protecting Ukraine’s Democracy can Help Preserve Our Own
Ukraine: The Stakes for Democracy | Brennan Center for Justice
Biden Seeks $33 Billion More in Aid for Ukraine - The New York Times
