Slightly over a month ago, 37 out of 49 Senate Republicans re-elected Mitch McConnell as their leader.  Yesterday, speaking on behalf of those Republicans, McConnell stated in the clearest terms possible what matters to the GOP: Ukraine.  During a time of economic upheaval, border breakdown, soaring crime, and rising energy costs, it's Ukraine that matters.

This tweet catches the magic moment when McConnell turned his back on the American people and announced that Ukraine's well-being was "the number one priority for the United States right now according to most Republicans":

McConnell: "Providing assistance for Ukrainians to defeat the Russians is the number one priority for the United States right now according to most Republicans. That's how we see the challenges confronting the country at the moment." pic.twitter.com/NPmzWRzoz1

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) December 20, 2022

And there you have it.  You were not imagining it.  When it comes to what matters to our elected politicians, it's not you.

Our national debt is over $31 trillion, and, if the $1.7-trillion omnibus bill passes (as it appears it will), our national debt will be closing in on $35 trillion — but that matters less than Ukraine.

Our southern border is completely broken, with untold millions of low-skilled, non-English-speaking, uneducated people, many of whom are criminals ferrying drugs and engaged in sex-trafficking, and none of whom understands American principles already having entered in the last two years — but that matters less than Ukraine.

Fentanyl has, for some time, been the number-one cause of death for Americans in the 18–45 demographic — but that matters less than Ukraine.

American inflation is at a level unseen since the 1970s — but that matters less than Ukraine.

Crime is ravaging American cities — but that matters less than Ukraine.

Sex predators have been given an open invitation to American classrooms, where they instruct children in the finer points of "no such thing as biological sex" and "you can be any sex you want, even imaginary ones" and "aspire to be a drag queen" and "this is how you have anal sex" — but that matters less than Ukraine.

Our schools are deliberately instructing American children that the White race is evil — but that matters less than Ukraine.

Our schools are also deliberately instructing American children that men are evil, especially White men — but that matters less than Ukraine.

I'll stop here, but I'm betting you can play the "that matters less than Ukraine" game until the cows come home.

And pardon me for asking, but why does Ukraine matter so much?  People huff and puff about Russia and Putin, but the reality is that America's biggest geopolitical enemy is China.  Putin is a tyrant to his own people, but Russia is not the Soviet Union, and its reach does not extend to American interests.

It's also true that the Ukrainian people have been brutalized, which is a terrible tragedy, but America has sat on the sidelines for decades as various nations have brutalized one another.

Color me cynical, but I see money behind all of this.  We know that FTX laundered money through Ukraine to politicians and political parties.  The magic worked this way: Congress and the White House send taxpayer money to Ukraine.  Ukraine invests in FTX.  FTX floods Democrats and RINOs with money.  Voilà!

Money-laundering takes another, more subtle form: Congress floods Ukraine with American weapons.  Those weapons need to be replenished.  Some of the most reliable donors to politicians, especially to Republicans, are...wait for it...defense contractors.

I freely admit that I may be wrong about all this, but the way I see it now is that Senate Republicans have found more profitable employers than you, the American people, and they're not bothering to hide that anymore.

Image: Mitch McConnell saying that you don’t matter.  Twitter screen grab.