Ukraine desk: Sanctions Aren’t Working
In addition to its military war, notes Judith Miller at City Journal, Ukraine is waging “an economic war the likes of which haven’t been seen since the 1940s, aimed at crippling Russia’s $1.8 trillion economy.” But the “sanctions war has run into resistance.” The IMF “projects that Russia’s economy will grow at 0.3 percent this year, outperforming both Britain’s and Germany’s,” despite “the largest exodus of global enterprises in history.” Per some analysts, the “sanctions are neither comprehensive nor deep enough,” as they “are still being ignored by more than 100 countries, representing over 40 percent of global GDP.” Worse, “sanctions have not stopped Moscow from acquiring the components essential to weapons production.” Indeed, Putin sees sanctions as “a weapon of the weak.”
Econ watch: Ratings Drop Shows Need for Reform
“Fitch Ratings just downgraded the U.S. government’s credit rating due in part to Congress’ erosion in governance,” argues Veronique de Rugy at Reason. “What we need is a comprehensive budget process” so “programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are no longer permitted to grow without meaningful oversight.” And, with “legislators chronically delinquent about following their own rules, the change may need to be as much cultural as procedural.” Battles today “over the debt ceiling, continuing resolution votes, and threats of shutdowns” are how “the voiceless” make demands. Possible fixes? “Implement an automatic continuing resolution” based on “spending levels enacted in the previous fiscal year” — and demand that all members of Congress stay in DC until the spending bills are done.
From the right: Jordan’s Fine Battle vs. Censors
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan is exposing “organized left-wing” censorship — the “first major counteroffensive by the new House majority against a burgeoning collection of speech control advocates who protect President Biden and want conservative journalism erased,” cheers The Washington Times’ Rowan Scarborough. A committee subpoena “for documents related to Biden administration censorship” has already revealed “that White House digital director Rob Flaherty engaged in talks with Facebook to persuade the social media platform to tweak its algorithms to favor The New York Times and . . . downgrade The Daily Wire and Fox News contributor Tomi Lahren.” Jordan has also unearthed details about the FBI’s knowledge of Hunter Biden’s laptop, and he’s now “targeting the U.K.-based Center for Countering Digital Hate.” “Jordan has seen enough” censorship and wants it stopped.
Eye on ’24: Consolidating GOP’s Anti-Trump Vote
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) set a Feb. 26 deadline for Republicans to “coalesce around an alternative” to Donald Trump, but the way the race has unfolded proves this is “easier said than done,” grumbles the Washington Examiner’s W. James Antle III. Though Trump is below 50% in early primary states, he’s “still 20 to 30 points ahead of the other candidates.” “The Trump alternatives have, up to this point, failed both at consolidating the anti-Trump vote and peeling off the soft Trump voters.” Of course, Gov. Ron DeSantis has no reason to exit since “he is the only candidate besides Trump who consistently polls in the double digits.” And there’s a window for the candidates to sort themselves out “while Trump is still possibly beatable — but it won’t be open forever.”
Conservative: Joe’s Foolish Move To Block Mining
“Presidents can set aside federal land for national monuments,” but President Biden is using this power to “block all mining in the U.S., including for critical minerals,” frets The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board. He “declared a national monument” on “nearly a million acres of [Arizona] land that includes some of America’s richest uranium deposits.” The White House claims the land is “sacred to Tribal Nations,” but it’s “America’s only source of high-grade uranium ore that is economically competitive on the global market.” The US already relies heavily on uranium imports, yet progressives show no sign of slowing their goal to block uranium mining.
Compiled by The Post Editorial Board