Ex-US Senate Candidate 'Not Optimistic' Republicans Can Block Ukraine Aid in Next Congress
21:24 GMT 15.11.2022 (Updated: 23:41 GMT 15.11.2022)
© AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite
Subscribe
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - House Republicans may not be able to block US security assistance to Ukraine in the next Congress because they won only a slim majority, while the Democrats will still control the upper chamber, former Senate candidate Diane Sare told Sputnik.
House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, whose party is projected to seize control of the lower chamber as a result of last week's midterms, ahead of the election vowed to cease writing "blank checks" to Kiev if Republicans get the majority.
US lawmakers reportedly want to try to approve an additional $50 billion assistance package for Ukraine before the end of the year.
"I frankly am not optimistic about it. One, because the Republican Party was not unified to begin with. Two, they have a slim majority, not a big majority," Sare, who ran as LaRouche independent candidate in the New York senate race, said. "[And] it looks like the Democrats are going to control the Senate."
Moreover, she added, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is in the pocket of financial interests that want the war.
"He is still going to be the Senate Majority Leader and therefore, at least as far as I can tell, so I don't think that we're going to see much of a change in that direction," she added.
Sare expressed hope that there will be a bit more openness.
"There are a couple of Republicans in the House who have been clamoring for ending the aid, negotiating," she said. "There's been some people a little bit outspoken like [Congressman] Paul Gosar in Arizona, [Congresswoman] Marjorie Taylor Greene."
Sare believes that it is going to depend on people figuring out how to make their voice heard.
"I think the big factors that may cause people to change are the collapse of the economy, which is looming, and the result of our sanctions. I think this is going to have an unpredictable effect," she said. "Also, I worry very much about peculiar ways in which the military action is spreading the involvement of Americans now on the ground. I think it's very ominous... with a rough winter ahead."
Sare said these things may be drivers of major change.
"I think that's why I'm going to continue to be organizing and announcing shortly another campaign because someone has to keep putting the solutions on the table for when the population is ready to move in that direction," Sare said.
On Saturday evening, projections from NBC news showed that Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto is winning reelection in Nevada, which allows the Democrats to keep control of the Senate with at least 50 seats.
9 September 2022, 12:45 GMT
An anticipated strong wave of support for the Republicans never materialized on Tuesday. NBC projects the Republicans will take 220 seats and the Democrats will control 215, representing a 15-seat net gain. However, many pundits expected the Republicans to end up with a 25 to 30-seat gain.
President Joe Biden recently expressed concern that Republicans could jeopardize future aid for Ukraine. However, Biden administration officials have also repeatedly said they expect bipartisan support on sending military assistance to Kiev to continue.
In total, the US has committed over $18.5 billion in military assistance to the country since January 2021.
Midterm Turnout Low Because Americans ‘Fed Up’ With Both Parties
Weighing in on the results of the midterm election, the former Senate candidate noted that US voters weary of both parties failed to show up in high numbers during the midterm elections, which is concerning given the current government is steering the country toward nuclear war.
Turnout in last week’s midterm elections was lower than expected in many states, according to the US Elections Project. As of Monday, the group estimated turnout for 2022 to be 112.2 million versus 118.6 million in the 2018 midterms.
Although the Republicans are projected to take control of the House, their majority will be much narrower than anticipated, while the Democrats are expected to barely maintain control of the senate.
"I spoke with a friend in New York… she works the polls in Buffalo, and she said the voter turnout was very low," Sare, who ran as LaRouche independent candidate in the New York senate race, said. "I think that's because really both parties stink. People are fed up."
Sare said Americans not having their voices heard is why the world is on the brink of thermonuclear war.
"We [the US] have an administration which is prepared to put us on a trajectory towards possible annihilation, and the American people have no say in it," she said. "I'm sure if we had a vote ‘do you want to have a nuclear war with Russia or China,’ the overwhelming majority of people would say ‘no way.’ But they're not being asked."
Sare also said the vote for her on election night changed in the county where she lives. The former candidate provided screenshots that show she had secured 55,000 votes statewide on election night but the following day the number fell to 25,600.
14 November 2022, 20:25 GMT
The former candidate said she is filing a Freedom of Information Act request with the state board of elections and will take action with regard to certain counties.
She believes that there can be two reasons for that.
"One is the other stupidity and incompetence of the bureaucrats at the various boards of election," she said. "Or that they were trying to send a message to me and my supporters, which is we're going to steal your vote in front of your face, and you can't do anything about."
Sare said people might wonder why she would care if the vote was 1% or 5% given she would still lose. "I don't think I have anything to lose," she said. "I didn't enter this race for my ego or prestige… I'm doing this for mankind. I think the world is in trouble and we need somebody to stand up for what is right."
