Rural Republicans who despise Biden more than Putin
Readers will have seen various national headlines in recent years suggesting that some American Republicans — Putin admirers like Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson are usually the firstmentioned — believe that Democrats like President Joe Biden are greater threats to America than Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Earlier this month, the Brookings Institution analyzed recent polling data suggesting that more Democrats than Republicans are prepared to continue providing military aid to help Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky defend his country from Putin’s bloody invasion.
Before noting that big-picture analysis, let’s take a closer look at one small community in rural Virginia that offers insights into changing grassroots attitudes towards Russia.
Rappahannock County, Virginia, where I live, is nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains some 70 miles west of Washington, D.C. We’re roughly the same size as Singapore. But instead of skyscrapers and 5.7 million people, Rappahannock has idyllic country roads, lovely mountain views — and only about 7,400 residents, the majority of whom vote Republican.
This is Trump country. While the former president lost Virginia overall in 2020 in his losing re-election bid, he easily beat Biden here, 54-44 percent. In his successful 2016 race, Trump thoroughly trounced Hillary Clinton, 59-40 percent. In this century, no Democrat presidential aspirant has carried Rappahannock. Barack Obama came the closest, losing in 2008 to Republican John McCain, 51-49.
But when it comes to foreign affairs — notably concerning national security imperatives to counter Vladimir Putin’s dreams to restore the Russian empire by force — it appears that Rappahannock Republicans are no longer the party of McCain.
REPUBLICANS WHO VOTE PRO-RUSSIAN
Our local congressman, Rep. Bob Good was one of 57 Republicans who voted in May against providing $40 billion in additional military aid to help Ukrainians defend themselves from Russia’s invaders.
Good defended that vote by insisting that Democrats “are ignoring the many crises plaguing our country, including family budget-busting inflation, supply chain shortages for baby formula and other essentials, surging violent crime in our cities, and millions of illegals trafficking across our Southern Border.”
It seems that the congressman knows his constituents. In Rappahannock County, there has been little public outcry from the party of Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan over the notion that Republicans should vote to pull the plug on Ukraine.
FLYING FOREIGN FLAGS
Driving along our quiet country roads, one sees an impressive number of blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags on display. Such support for Ukraine’s survival comes from regular folks from both political parties.
But conspicuously, at Rock Mills, a lovely part of Rappahannock where three scenic rivers converge, one well-known Rappahannock resident has been flying Russia’s flag. Lawyer David Konick has been outspoken in his public support for Russia’s operations in Ukraine.
Hey, it’s a free country! Konick enjoys a reputation as a skilled advocate who relishes skewering opponents in online exchanges. And despite the occasional acrimony, Konick — who has lived in both Russia and Ukraine — brings a valuable insider’s perspective to the debate.
But what should good Rappahannock Republicans think about neighbors who fly the Russian flag, and congressional Republicans who vote to pull the plug on Zelensky? When I inquired — repeatedly — the chairman of the Rappahannock Republican Party declined to respond. Terry Dixon wouldn’t even say whether local Republicans should be rooting for Zelensky, or Putin, to prevail.
Dixon further had no comment on Congressman Good’s votes to deny U.S. military assistance to Ukraine.
Nor did Dixon — a Baptist deacon who teaches Bible classes in the quaint village of Sperryville — have any comment on one angry Rappahannock neighbor who has been displaying F*ck Biden and Let’s Go Brandon signs on a thoroughfare close to several churches. (The offensive signs, at least, do not appear to have been displayed on Sunday mornings.) Who’s more dangerous to America, Putin or Biden? “America has three extremely dangerous enemies: The Chinese Communist Party. Vladimir Putin, and Joe Biden,” according to an online posting by one of Rappahannock’s most well-known Republican leaders. But “right now, Joe Biden is doing the most damage to America and Americans,” she contends.
Those were the words of Demaris Miller, whose husband Jim served in President Ronald Reagan’s cabinet. She holds a PhD in psychology — and clearly doesn’t think much of Joe Biden’s psychological makeup, or character.
Miller asserts that while Putin is a “far greater” danger to America in the long run, Biden has “gutted our National Defense while continuing the Obama policy of weaponizing the IRS and the Justice Department against those not loyal to the Democrat party.”
As for Biden’s character, Miller had this to offer in a posting on Rappnet, a local online discussion forum frequently populated by Republicans: “Joe Biden never cared about anyone except his own power, bank account, and the Biden Crime Syndicate that made it all possible.” When I inquired, Miller said she stands by her postings.
Miller and lawyer David Konick have exchanged sharply differing views of the Russia-Ukraine war on Rappnet. But Miller told me that despite the appearance of acrimony, she and Konick are “very good” friends. “There is no real rancor there.”
HUNG CAO TO THE RESCUE?
A retired U.S. Navy Captain named Hung Cao is running in the forthcoming November midterm elections to become Rappahannock County’s next Republican congressman. (Due to redistricting, Rappahannock has been moved from Bob Good’s gerrymandered 5th congressional district to Virginia’s more competitive 10th. Our new district includes some heavily populated neighboring areas now represented by a suburban Democrat, Jennifer Wexton.)
Cao has an admirable life story. His family escaped from South Vietnam shortly before the 1975 communist takeover. Armed with his native intelligence and a drive to succeed in his new country,
Cao went on to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. A Navy diver, he served in special-forces operations during a 25-year career. His is the classic American immigrant success story.
Cao declined to be interviewed. Elsewhere, he has said that if elected, he would work to heal America’s divisions, as his hero Ronald Reagan once did. But the shrill tones of his campaign literature suggest otherwise.
Cao is basically running against imaginary Democrats and “Socialists” who don’t love their country. “My father was on the communist party’s kill list, but America welcomed him with open arms,” Cao declared in one recent fundraising pitch. “I am forever in debt to America, and I won’t let the country I owe my life to go down the same path as the communist horror I left behind.”
Cao did not respond to written questions asking what importance he attaches to standing up to Russian aggression. Nor would he say whether he approved of Congressman Good’s votes to deny Ukraine additional American military support.
The closest clue I was able to uncover was an ambiguous statement Cao recently posted on Twitter: “Biden economic advisor says American families should continue suffering with high gas prices to protect the liberal world order. Are you kidding me?”
To be sure, rising inflation is nothing to kid about; ask Rappahannock workers about shelling out more than a hundred dollars to fill their truck’s tanks. Nobody denies that the higher energy costs that are driving inflation are part of the price for American support of Ukraine’s defense.
So far, as Brookings analyst Shibley Telhami wrote on July 5, most Americans are willing to pay that price, if that is what it takes to draw the line against Putin’s continuing military aggression. But there is an emerging national gap between Republicans and Democrats, with the latter now “expressing much greater willingness to pay a price,” he noted.
“While 78% percent of Democrats are prepared to see higher energy costs, only 44% of Republicans say the same; while 72% of Democrats are prepared to pay with higher inflation, only 39% of Republicans say the same.”
Readers will be wondering where local Democrats stand on supporting Ukraine. There isn’t much news to report. Tenth district incumbent Jennifer Wexton, a moderate liberal, has voted with large congressional majorities to support Zelensky, with no noticeable pushback from her party.
A generation ago, two well-known political opposites became fast friends who shared war stories over whiskey. They didn’t slur the patriotism or character of Democrats or Republicans who had differing views. Those days of political civility (alas) are long gone.
BACK TO THE POLITICAL FUTURE?
While political differences in Rappahannock County today are often expressed in mean-spirited ways, old timers remember better days. A generation ago, two of our best-known residents were James Kilpatrick and Gene McCarthy. Republican Kilpatrick was a principled conservative newspaperman. Democrat McCarthy was a liberal U.S. senator from Minnesota who in the 1960s challenged a president of his own party, Lyndon Johnson, for his (mis)conduct during the Vietnam War.
But the two political opposites became fast friends who shared war stories over whiskey. They didn’t slur the patriotism or character of Democrats or Republicans who had differing views.
Those days of political civility (alas) are long gone. Surely, in the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin — who has worked hard to exploit divisions in America’ society as he plots to restore Russia’s might — must be smiling.