While having a drink with one of my former colleagues, an unrepentant fascist ideologue and cynical opportunist (but otherwise a charming, well-informed and articulate fellow), he interrupted me to caution me about my enthusiasm for recent Ukrainian successes on the field of battle.

This is all purely anecdotal, of course. The comments of one individual on one topic do not necessarily indicate any political trends or strategies, but I submit them here anyway, since I suspect we'll be hearing more and more of this from the Right. Follow his itemized critique below...

1) Don't be too amazed about so-called military successes by the Ukrainians, or the supposed failures of the Russian forces. The same goes for the motivations and strategies of their Russian opponents. The US government and the Ukrainian regime are obviously cooperating in a sophisticated and malicious attempt to manipulate public opinion to favor one side and attack the other. And NATO is certainly waging a proxy war, willing to attack Russia down to the last Ukrainian.

2) No one seems to be listening to Putin's side of the argument, whether or not he may have valid reasons for his actions. NATO is certainly threatening Russia, perceiving it to be weak and vulnerable. And the Biden administration is insinuating itself into a local dispute which is no concern of ours simply to further some naked aggression and geopolitical goals.

3) The Ukrainian government is notoriously corrupt, and riddled with oligarchs and special interests who are collaborating with NATO to provoke this conflict.

There's a lot of shadow-boxing going on here in the background, including Hunter Biden's alleged Ukrainian activities, and the desperate attempt to deny Biden and the Democrats any conceivable political benefit from pursuing a policy which appears very popular both in the US, and among our allies.

I'm already hearing complaints from the Right about the large cost of military and economic aid to Ukraine, all under the usual Conservative
shibboleth of "budget constraints". After all, a defeat for Putin might mean a rise in gasoline prices, which, as we all know, are the ONLY things Americans really care about. The Hunter Biden Ukrainian activities, by the way, seem to be connected with his alleged incriminating laptop, still unknown except in a few vague Q-Anon fever dreams. I wonder what they expect to find in this supposed holy relic, Hillary's missing emails?

I get the impression a whole new narrative is being constructed which will arise as soon as Republican-led investigative committees start being formed in the House. All these processes will be timed to come to a head just before the 2024 elections, regardless of whether or not Trump wins the nomination. Cue Jim Jordan.

Keep your eyes and ears open for Hunter Biden conspiracies, connections to the Clintons, dirt on Zelensky, and lurid tales of Ukrainian Nazis and corruption, As the European war develops, a dual strategy is being developed for either way it might turn out. Trump's embarrassing failure to shakedown Zelensky for political dirt on Biden will not be forgotten--or forgiven. If the Ukraine wins this war, they will turn out to be the bad guys. If they lose, it will all be the fault of the Liberals.