Can anyone doubt that Russian propagandists are talking directly to members of the Republican Party? The crap that members of the party from the Chair to Members of Congress to state legislators are spouting comes directly from Kremlin talking points and directly Putin’s objectives.
Just check these three articles quoting real live GOP members either spouting Putin on Ukraine or accusing real live GOP Members of spouting Putin on Ukraine.
“There are members of Congress today who still incorrectly say that this conflict between Russia and Ukraine is over NATO, which of course it is not. Vladimir Putin having made it very clear, both publicly and to his own population, that his view is that this is a conflict of a much broader claim of Russia to Eastern Europe, including claiming all of Ukrainian territories as Russian.”
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) in Russian talking points being heard on House floor, Ohio Republican says by David Cohen in Politico on 7 April 2024
“Joe Biden’s feckless leadership has shown China, has shown Ukraine, has shown Iran, that they can feel free to be much more aggressive on the world front to the point where even they will try and meddle with our elections here,” Whatley told host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday.
Trump’s RNC Chair Includes Ukraine in List of US Adversaries by Rachel Dobkin in Newsweek on Apr 07, 2024
“Let me tell you, when he forces that vote, again, under suspension with no amendments, and funds Ukraine and people find out how angry their constituents are about it, that’s going to move the needle even more,” said Greene.
Greene keeps alive campaign to oust Johnson and warns against new push for Ukraine aid by Manu Raju in CNN on 4 April 2024
These are just from the past week.
And, if Putin is PMing them on their mean girl totalitarian dictator chat his talking points, it isn’t a big leap to think that he’s tutoring them on using his firehose of disinformation propaganda technique, too.
The idea that Putin has bought and paid for Trump, the Freedumb Cockups, and any other GOP grifter wannabe is just exactly what we shoulda expected from the party of Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan. They were all willing to cut a deal with the devil only they didn’t even get to learn to play the fiddle.
Comment on that! What evidence do you see either for or against.
Image Attribution
My very own image, MEME: Putin Buys Politicians. I wrote the text, Piqsels supplied the CC0 image.
The Psy of Life 
In Florida, DeSantis wants to renew teaching the evils of Communism in schools but at the same time bows down to the MAGA Russian influence of Trumpism.
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Howdy Usfman!
That’s the thing about authoritarianism, it doesn’t need to be consistent. It just needs to satisfy the emotional needs of its key constituency.
My mother used to say that after World War II, she was confused because they hated the Germans during the war, but after, they needed to like the Germans and hate the Russians. It didn’t make sense to her. Of course, any resentment or hatred of the Germans because of WWII has long since passed. No one would dream holding WWII against them, the Italians, or the Japanese.
The key difference is that those countries became allies and we helped them recover from the ravages of the war. Russia never became an ally, even though we made overtures and tried to reach out. Obama’s famous Russian reset comes to mind. MAGA is essentially allying itself with an enemy of the country to rid itself of our form of government and install an oligarchy, like they have in Russia. I don’t think they’re going to be happy with the result.
Huzzah!
Jack
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“Russia, if you’re listening…” should have been the wake-up call for America to see the alliance between the Republican Party and Russia. The fact Trump welcomes Russian support was confirmed in Mueller’s report, and a bipartisan Senate committee concluded Russia interfered on behalf of Trump.
What we have is a Democratic Party under attack from the the combined forces of American Republicans working hand-in-hand with Putin in bringing chaos and disunity to the US, undermining NATO, and to neutralize the US in global affairs.
Will our corporate media emphasize this Russia/Republican axis of evil over their typical horse race both-siderism? Not a chance. Corporations and corporate media are indifferent to democracy and love tax breaks and deregulation. Uncle Vlad and Big Brother Don are making America great for oligarchy and autocracy again. And they couldn’t have done it without the obstacles to democracy in our Constitution intended to keep wealth white Americans in charge.
We are seeing what happens when an unrepresentative Senate, gerrymandering, and electoral college gives more power to the conservative rural white voter and their authoritarian politicians owned by Big Money.
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Howdy Dave!
Trump never won anything fairly in his life, I don’t know why he’d start in 2016 or 2020. The Trumps had been laundering money for the Trumps for a decade or so before that, so it made a natural fit for them to continue the relationship.
Corporations were never going to save us. They are going with whoever and wherever they can make the most money. The same with the 1%. They have no nationalism, just profit motive.
The foundation of American democracy has been eroding since Ike refused to let Nixon off of the first floor of the WH.
Now, that the news media has become for profit, we’ve lost that check, too.
We’re not doomed, but the climb back is long and steep.
Huzzah!
Jack
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I’m not surprised.
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I guess no one really is. The only surprising thing is that they don’t pay a political price for it, but that’s the sportification of politics for you.
Jack
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any time I hear a republican speak, I automatically search for Putin’s words..and inevitably find them.
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They’ve given a new meaning to the term sock puppet. The terrible part is that because of the sportification of our politics, they don’t pay a political price for having sold themselves to a foreign government to work against our best interest.
Jack
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When was the last time I remember hearing a Republican leader speak forcefully against Russia? OK, so it wasn’t Russia then, but the Soviet Union, and it was still “Communist”. The words then I remember are, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” Since the fall of the USSR and then the rise of Putin, I’ve heard nothing of the sort. Since Newt Gingrich began talking about the “permanent Republican majority”, the party has gone from uncritical to a chorus of ventriloquist’s dummies of Putin talking points.
As for Putin and Ukraine, he tolerated an independent Ukraine only so long as he had a loyal oligarch puppet in power there, essentially making the border meaningless. When that changed, force and subversion became the plan.
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