As democratic nations rally behind Ukraine and President Zelenskyy, one voice has been remarkably silent: our Rep. Chuck Fleischmann. His absence from this conversation affects not just international relations, but directly affects our community in East Tennessee, including our growing Ukrainian population in Chattanooga.
For more than a decade, Rep. Fleischmann has represented Tennessee’s 3rd Congressional District, building a record that appeared to support the people of Ukraine and recognize the threat Russia poses to democracy worldwide. He voted for the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022. He backed more than $120 billion in military and humanitarian aid. Following Russia’s 2022 invasion, he rightly condemned Moscow’s actions as violations of international law, asserting that “Ukraine is a sovereign and independent nation.”
Now comes the true test, a test of values, character, and common decency. It should not be hard. But it requires our congressman to follow our true shared American values that, until recently, made America an example we could all be proud of.
Last Friday’s shameful scene in the Oval Office, where President Trump and Vice President Vance berated President Zelensky and pressured him to accept terms favorable to Putin, represents a fundamental rejection of American values. It rejects values that we in Tennessee have always held dear: we don’t support countries that invade their neighbors. We defend democracies. We stand with those fighting for freedom, not with autocrats seeking to crush it.
Rep. Fleischmann owes it to us to tell us where he stands. Is he with us or with Russia? Is he with democracy or authoritarianism? Is he with the Tennessee values of honor and integrity, or has partisan loyalty trumped his moral compass?