In one of the most shameful episodes in the history of American conservatism, an increasing number of fellow conservatives are giving up on Ukraine and content with letting that nation fall to the Russian horde instead of kicking the Soviet successors out. This is a shame for the political philosophy that facilitates individual freedom and the greatest economic prosperity for the underdog, as championed by Ronald Reagan.
We as conservatives have done this before in the face of isolationism and having the wrong view of America First. In the 1930s, conservatives failed to grasp the threat of Adolf Hitler on the international order, largely due to the economic problems and lawlessness at home. Leftists saw the rise of Hitler quicker, albeit even though many of them were sympathetic to the Soviet Union. It still does not mean they were wrong.
There is not a single conservative who doesn't believe that America should not come first, and rightfully so. And the reality today is that the best way for America to be first is to do what is in our national interest.
A Russian victory in Ukraine is not good. A Russian victory unchecked in Europe will have grave economic, political and military consequences for the Continent and for America. China and Russia will continue their aggression, with a touch of radical Islam through in the Middle East even more emboldened if that were possible. A Russian victory in Ukraine would result in much greater economic instability throughout the world.
One of the dumbest arguments made is that Ukraine cannot win. Russians cut and run in offensive wars against nations defending their own territory as seen in Afghanistan in 1989. Russian mothers were tired of their kids dying then, as they were in World War I when Russia left early.
Russian military age men are still fleeing to avoid conscription. Russian forces are being decimated and Ukraine's kill ratio to Russians is still extremely high. Ukraine has taken back a very large part of the territory since 2022. With American technological and other help, they can continue destroying the Russian military and economy.
Russians have long known that the United States possesses far superior technology that makes their military shudder. American leftists opposed Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), saying it was unachievable and could not be done. Today, much of the technology now shoots down Russian missiles over Ukraine and Hamas rockets over Israel.
However, even the "moderate" Mikhail Gorbachev wanted it gone. The Russian opposition then knew what the United States was capable of technologically. They feared it greatly and still do, especially as they now have to get unreliable artillery shells from North Korea and other places.
We cannot long for what can never be but nor is the Reagan era is not longing for the past. Not acknowledging the world we live in is going back to 1930s America. The America of the 1980s taught us much better.
Robert Hanssen was spying for Russia in the 1990s during the "good period" before Vladimir Putin. Putin has made clear what his intentions are, not just for Ukraine but for the Baltics. Sadly, we have seen this Russian recruitment into our intelligence agencies continue.
Reagan knew the Russian threat and never would have given up on the brave people of Ukraine just as he did not forget the brave people of Solidarity in Poland, or the gallant warriors of Afghanistan against the atheistic horde.
More than anyone else, especially in a conventional war, it is conservatives who know the full moral and technological weight of the United States and the rest of the Free World. The New World is looked to rescue the Old because Ukraine has more faith in American exceptionalism in the world than many fellow conservatives do.
Destroying the Russian horde and winning in Ukraine will give the West something it desperately needs as a civilization. Otherwise, the alternative will be, as in Vietnam, Somalia and Afghanistan, wondering why we gave it a half effort instead of giving it everything we had. A half effort, and giving up, is not the way Reagan raised us.
Reagan brought us up to stand against the Russian horde state. Even the left, with its disagreements on abortion, taxes, the regulatory state, etc., against the president that Peggy Noonan called "The old man of St. Cloud Road" generally understood Reagan and supported his decades long, and successful, proxy fight against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. And no one doubted where Reagan stood in helping the people of Eastern Europe against the Russians.
Sadly we have left our first love. We know better. Most of us either remember him or were born under him. He spoke to us, even as children, through the Challenger and his Farewell Address where he told us to correct even those in authority if they were not teaching proper American values. We are the gatekeepers of his legacy.
He spoke to us then and inspires us still. We, in America and in Ukraine, are the children of Reagan. We should support our brothers and sisters across the seas against Russia.
*Views expressed in this article are those of the author and not any government agency.
Larry Provost has written for Townhall, Fox News, The Baltic Times and InFocus (Jewish Policy Center) and has appeared on several television outlets, including "FOX News @Night with Shannon Bream." He holds degrees from several colleges, and is a veteran of the World Trade Center search and rescue, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He and his wife are adoptive parents. Read more Larry Provost reports — Here.
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