'If you want to be part of the resistance against Russian disinformation,' Rep. Adam Kinzinger said, 'join the fellas.'
And his agreement to join that lawmaking body's Jan. 6 committee investigating how a legion of Trump-supporting rioters violently raided the seat of American government — the only other Republican besides, R-Wyo. to do so — made him a heretic to members of his own party still in thrall to the former president."Cryin' Adam Kinzinger," Trump has taunted him.
What hopes does Kinzinger have for the GOP, which is widely expected to retake the House of Representatives in the November midterms? Not very high ones, with or without its scandal-ridden and twice-impeached standard bearer. One of the reasons for Kinzinger’s optimism is the unexpected survival of a democracy under existential threat on another continent.
Kinzinger isn’t just impressed at how well the Ukrainians have fought but at how badly the Russians have, despite being heralded as the second-best army in Europe. “We saw how they used Javelins and Stingers early on and the most mind-boggling thing is that the Russians never gained air superiority. In some places, the Ukrainians have it.”
The latest putative Kremlin red line is on long-range artillery known as the Army Tactical Missile System , with 500-pound warheads that can be fired from HIMARS and travel as far as 190 miles. Thus far the White House has ruled out sending such missiles to Ukraine for fear that they’d be used to strike inside Russian territory, a fear Kinzinger believes is misplaced: “First of all, it’s disrespectful to the Ukrainians who’ve been incredibly disciplined and faithful in not using U.S.