I’m not one for name-calling, but California Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell made one of the stupidest suggestions in his recent appearance on CNN. He recommended a set of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. “Frankly, I think closing their embassy in the United States, kicking every Russian student out of the United States—those should all be on the table,” he said. “Vladimir Putin needs to know every day that he is in Ukraine, there are more severe options that could come.”
To make such a heartless and foolish suggestion for punishing Russian students for Putin’s unilateral decision is disgraceful for a lawmaker.
Of course, Fox News jumped on his comment on expelling students with endless clips.
When Fox *News* thinks they’re owning me but the comments section agrees with me. Looks like they miscalculated America. We don’t root for Russia. You bet wrong. https://t.co/rBmSaLPEja
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) February 25, 2022
Nevertheless, he never apologized for his insensitive comment towards Russian people.
He doesn’t understand that the Russian people DO NOT want this war. On the contrary, there is a feeling of anger, shame, and disbelief among Russians with this invasion. Scores of celebrities from all spheres of life have spoken out. After winning a match in Dubai, Russian tennis player Andrei Rublyоv wrote, “No war please,” on a camera lens. Rapper Oxxxymiron canceled several sold-out shows, calling the war “a catastrophe and a crime” in a video and claiming now was not the time for entertainment.
And comedian Ivan Urgant, Russia’s Stephen Colbert, posted a black square on Instagram on Thursday, captioned “Fear and pain. NO TO WAR,” sparking a flurry of speculation that his show had been canceled by state television’s Channel One since it has not been on air since.
On Sunday, one of Russia’s wealthiest billionaires, Mikhail Fridman, called for the “bloodshed to end,” the Financial Times reported, citing a letter he wrote to his staff.
“My country is committing a horrible crime in Ukraine that can have no justification,” Sergei Utkin, the respected head of the state-linked International Relations Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, wrote on Twitter.
“We all bear part of the responsibility,” he added. “There is no good way out of that.”
Cracking Down on Protests
As the invasion of Ukraine persists, and as the shock turns to anger, the Russian people are taking to the streets. Authorities have been dispensed to prevent an escalation in tensions. The invasion of Ukraine is very different from 2014, when Russia seized Crimea sparked exultation.
On the ground reports show some 2,000 people have been detained during anti-war protests, according to the police monitoring website OVD-Info.
Russia’s Relationship to the U.S.
A recent poll taken by ABC News/Washington Post post-invasion showed increased negative views of Russia near Cold War levels. President Biden gets more negative than positive ratings: Thirty-three percent approve while 47% disapprove, with the rest unsure.
Most striking are views of Russia: Eighty percent see it as unfriendly or an enemy of the United States — the most since 1983 (measured then as the Soviet Union), although it was similar, 77%, a few months after Russia invaded Crimea in 2014.
The current result includes 41% who now see Russia as an enemy of the United States, up from single digits in the early 2000s and early 1990s.
In this poll, just 12% call Russia friendly toward (or an ally of) the United States, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates. That’s down from 62% in 2002 (a period of post-9/11 solidarity) and a high of 66% in 1993, two years after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Intra-Groups Analysis
Partisanship largely falls away in views of Russia — large majorities of Democrats (86%), independents (81%), and Republicans (78%) call it either unfriendly or an enemy of the United States. So do 80 to 88% of political liberals, moderates, and conservatives alike, an unusual level of agreement in these typically divided groups.
Conclusion
The American people need to separate the Putin regime from the citizens of Russia and realize they are not responsible for Putin’s actions. Russians, for the most part, are against the invasion of Ukraine. Russians’ negative views and increased anger against Putin will cost him dearly.
Of course, Putin will use authoritarian tactics and crackdown on free speech and antiwar protesting. However, Putin has made a grave miscalculation in invading Ukraine. NATO and other Western powers will come to its aid. And once this war is over, Ukraine will eventually join NATO, which will further anger Putin, thereby increasing Western influence on the former Soviet satellite.
Originally published on Substack.com
Michael Price is a Founder and editor for ThinkCivics. He has been writing about politics, government, and culture for over a decade. He has a BA in Political Science and an Masters in Public Administration.
