I get your argument - and could agree with it on principle regarding discretionary budget...except this is a Forever War with slippery slope to WW3 where the resultant "follow the money" trail will show anything from "money to the big guy" to the very obvious transfer of wealth through primarily defense contractors/legislators owning stock in defense contractors, etc.
And if you went off of votor sentiment, you could not - in good conscience - send that money to Ukraine.
I dunno. It's easy to myopically take an isolationist view of the situation in Ukraine and Europe more broadly. We're sorta cut of from what's happening over there, and the ramifications of Putin successful seizing control of Ukraine because media attention is our only window into the conflict, and the greater geopolitical consequences. Putin will not stop with Ukraine if he succeeds. He will go after all of Eastern Europe bit by bit. That's a major defense conflict for NATO and America's interests on the European continent. So, it's not really just about protecting Ukraine, but defending our interests, and our European ally's interest from a threat not seen since the Cold War. I don't think we can afford to just throw all that away because of some nationalistic, isolationist misunderstanding of the totality of the situation.
I still think an elected government needs to abide by the will of the people whose taxes pay for their salaries as well as these conflicts.
We should not be the de facto police (and piggy bank) for the world's conflicts. Citizens who do feel responsible can fund through charitable organizations, etc. And I say this not as a stingy miser - I have strong moral values and decades of charitable giving both domestically and internationally. But I go the route of humanitarian aid versus war and I do it voluntarily.
We also thumbed Russia's nose by looking to bring Ukraine into NATO and potentially establishing bases closer to them.
Do I have the appropriate visibility to have all the answers - no. Do I acknowledge that there are human rights violations happening - yes. But you do not hold up the American populace for funding to address those needs.
