Humpday open thread: A promise made. A promise kept.

Your time is running out.

Last night, by a vote of 79-19, the Senate passed the package to send military aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, as well as a bill forcing the sale of Tik Tok from its Chinese owners or face a ban in the US.

For me, the Tik Tok ban is neither here nor there. You all know my jaundiced view of all social media as a blight on an authentic life. But that the aid package passed with such a lopsided margin is important.

It's important because it shows that the surrender caucus is not the majority. That there is still a cross-party coalition which will vote to preserve America's national security. A coalition which will not leave allies in the lurch. A coalition which will not cede the future to the likes of Vladimir Putin, Ali Khamenei, or Xi Jinping. These three can talk about an "Axis of Resistance" all they want, but what they are resisting is a liberal, rules-based order. And as long as the United States remains firm, their "resistance" will be as nought.

Putin and the rest were hoping that their penetration of the Republican Party would permanently gridlock Congress, with security measures unable to pass. They failed. FISA was renewed. C-17s are in the air delivering aid to the front lines in Ukraine. Israel will get the weapons it needs to defeat barbarity. And Taiwan will breathe a bit easier, knowing that the world's superpower has not abandoned it.

It was a hard-fought victory. But I always thought it would come. The Putin caucus would cause delay. It would bray so loudly that the media would of course call it unstoppable. But there were enough Republicans in the House to join with Democrats to pass the aid. And in the Senate it wasn't even a close contest.

Meanwhile, polls from NBC and NPR show that the tide has turned in Joe Biden's favor. Again, all the usual caveats. But the start of Donald Trump's electoral fraud case has done him no favors. Now that the reality of a candidate for president is on trial for felonies has hit, his only trajectory is downward. His cult would vote for him even if he ate a baby live on television. But thankfully they are not the majority. Most voters blanche at the idea of a possible felon running for the White House. And voters aren't waiting for the verdict; the mere appearance has been a wake-up call. It doesn't help him that the Manhattan trial is a sordid affair involving a porn star, an out-of-wedlock child, and the National Enquirer. These are the trappings of a Jerry Springer episode. Any right-thinking voter looks on that with extreme distaste. 

Ukraine will defeat Russia. Israel will defeat Hamas. Taiwan will hold off China. And all this is thanks to President Biden's leadership, and the leadership of Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. There is only one major party left in this country. The other erstwhile one is on the way to meet the fate of the Whigs. The sooner that happens, the better.

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