Yeah but it's really stupid election politics.
McCarthy made a strong statement in March indicating he understood the importance of Ukraine. I posted it I think on this thread.
I get that talk like this will attract the libertarians, but at what cost?
In the best case, he is saying things he doesn't mean.
In the worst, he doesn't understand the importance of supporting Ukraine.
They need to tell the truth instead of playing politics. Because they are terrible at the latter. And they need to be leading on what is right instead of following polls.
This poll indicates that only 32% of Republicans think we are providing too much support for Ukraine. So why pander to the 1/3 instead of the 2/3rds of Republicans. And support among independents and democrats is stronger. This kind of stuff makes me think they have no values AND are stupid.
Poll Watch: Republican Support For Ukraine Is Rapidly Declining
You are correct. The cost here is Ukrainian blood. The armchair isolationists and Putinists are bathing in it when they deny Ukraine a right to self defense in the face of promised genocide by fascist Russia.
McCarthy is just throwing a bone to the ankle biters. I wouldn’t read too much into campaign season statements. This will become more clear after the election.