Why Is the GOP Siding With Putin?

[ZiprHead]

Why Is the GOP Siding With Putin?

The Republican Party is committed to tearing America apart by pitting us against each other. Why would they do this? Here’s a clue: 63 Republicans voted this week against a resolution in support of NATO. Yes, they voted for Putin’s side of the war....

www.dailykos.com

The Republican Party is committed to tearing America apart by pitting us against each other. Why would they do this?

Here’s a clue: 63 Republicans voted this week against a resolution in support of NATO.


Yes, they voted for Putin’s side of the war. Seriously. Although it’s been largely ignored by American TV media, you can read all about it over at The Washington Post in an article by Aaron Blake titled: “Why 30 percent of the House GOP voted against reaffirming NATO support.”

Their unflinching support of Putin comes shortly after Koch Industries announced they would be joining Halliburton and Cargill among the handful of American companies staying in Russia.

It’s easy to understand a privately held company that’s not accountable to public shareholders choosing to defy the Biden administration and world opinion by staying in Russia to squeeze out more profits.

It’s also arguably unsurprising that Koch subsidiaries would stay in Russia, given that the family’s patriarch, Fred Koch, made his initial fortune helping build out Stalin’s oil infrastructure back in the day.

So here we are:

• Putin runs rigged elections and the GOP is openly working to rig elections in over 20 states.
• Putin trash-talks LGBTQ people and the GOP has put homophobia at the center of their 2022 electoral strategy.
• Putin embraces white nationalism in Russia, just as the GOP does here.
• Putin has “actively cultivated neo-Nazism” both in Russia and “in the United States” while the GOP lionizes Kyle Rittenhouse and embraces American neoNazi movements.
• Putin has contempt for the rule of law while the GOP embraces people who tried to overthrow the government of the United States.
• Putin put so much money into the NRA that they’d become, as NPR described the result of the Senate investigation, a “Foreign Asset To Russia Ahead of 2016,” shoveling cash and support to Republican candidates.
• Putin frequently lies to his people about things that are easily disproven…the same as Trumpy Republicans do on an almost daily basis.
• Putin shuts down independent news media, while Trump and some Republicans call media in the US “the enemy of the people.”
• Putin attacks science in Russia as Republicans do here in the US.
• Putin promotes a muscular “Christianity” through corrupt preachers who openly defy the teachings of Jesus, as does the GOP.
• Putin’s politicians are funded by rightwing oligarchs, just like Republican politicians are here.
• Putin hates “liberals” and civil rights protestors, just like the GOP (which has gone so far as to legalize running them down with cars).

Our media seems confused by all this in ways reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s Ballad of a Thin Man:

“’Cause something is happening here, And you don't know what it is, Do you, Mister Jones?”

But Americans are starting to figure out the game. It sure ain’t calculus: this is simple one-plus-one addition.

As DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison said on my program months ago about the GOP, and recently repeated on MSNBC: “It is a party built on fraud, fear and fascism.”

 

[Harry Bosch]

Well, I think that it's entirely due to Trump. Traditionally, republicans were very anti Russian. But Trump was suspicious of NATO, and admired Putin's tough guy stance.

 

[Gospel]

Isn't it obvious? They support Putin to own the libs.

 

[Swammerdami]

Well, I think that it's entirely due to Trump. Traditionally, republicans were very anti Russian. But Trump was suspicious of NATO, and admired Putin's tough guy stance.

I think you're over-estimating Trump's cognition. Trump is an asset of the Russian mob; Trump followers couldn't find Russia on a map and root for whomever MagaMan tells them to. Republican adults play along because they're only in it for the votes and the money. Recall that Charles Koch, among other American billionaires, also has close ties to the Russian mob.

That Trump is a Russian asset is pretty clear: He sucked up to Putin against all advice. The question is: HOW did he become a Russian asset?

The main reason is probably financial ties: he's gotten many sweetheart deals with Russian banks, and has received large fees from Putin-aligned oligarchs for absurd, obviously worthless projects. But I think there are blackmail tapes as well. We know Trump spent at least one night in a luxury suite in a Russian hotel; we can assume the room was wired for sound and camera, that gorgeous whores knocked on his door, and that Trump would lack the brains or will-power to send them away. (It's a fantasy to imagine that Putin would NOT try such a honey trap, or that nympho-Trump would NOT indulge.)

Perhaps there's no "golden shower" on the video, but it wouldn't be needed. Video of Trump's emasculated whimpering and tiny apparatus would be too embarrassing for Trump to contemplate disclosure. Putin was careful not to push too hard: It wouldn't serve his interest to make his hold over MagaMan too obvious.

 

[Politesse]

Republicans see themselves as being allied with their only possible partners in an apocalyptic final battle against nebulous pseudo-intellectual threats like atheism, Islam, communism, international law, and African empowerment. The concept of the Godzilla Threshold applies. They might not like turning their back on their own country, but they also see it as not truly their country anymore, and they fear becoming oppressed subjects of that state should their attempts to control it fail. The difference between "their country" and "the government" has always been an uncomfortable tension within the thoughtworld of the right - note how many clearly regard the Confederate states as having been a more pure and unsullied manifestation of that country rather than a rebel government opposed to it - and it scales when they lose control of the key points of federal structure, or feel that they are doing so. The reins of power have been seized by an existential threat, a mindless mob of "liberal"/authoritarian mobsters, and they must seize that power back. Even if it means allying with parties they would have seen as monsters in more peaceful times. A man, however dictatorial, can be toppled with guns and grit if you don't like him. Groupthink cannot. Putin is a practical problem, but his socialist European opponents are direct threat to the very notion of American exceptionalism and conservative social expression. So they're not exactly signing up to volunteer overseas to fight in his armies, but they aren't going to stand in his way if he's willing to fight and die on their behalf against the powers they see as the true threat the world now faces.

 

[Trausti]

That Trump is a Russian asset is pretty clear: He sucked up to Putin against all advice. The question is: HOW did he become a Russian asset?

This is Trump berating NATO because its European members were not keeping their defense commitments while sending money to Russia for oil. But keep up the TDS.

 

[Jarhyn]

Well, I think that it's entirely due to Trump. Traditionally, republicans were very anti Russian. But Trump was suspicious of NATO, and admired Putin's tough guy stance.

That was until they both realized they were walking the same way.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I don't

Isn't it obvious? They support Putin to own the libs.

Yes and no. Need to remember, the Southern Strategy was the precursor to all of this... and The South wanted to be left alone so they could do to blacks as they thought moral. So the lack of supporting NATO isn't necessarily a handshake with Putin (though US weakened relations with NATO benefit Putin), it can also be about keeping "outsiders" away so that they can do what they know is right and best.

Trump sold this isolationist BS and it isn't a new concept for conservatives. What is new is how a few in the GOP are coming out anti-Ukraine in the Russian invasion. This was also about as unexpected as Trump's sudden interest in the nation of Russia which didn't start until Paul Manafort was running the campaign.

The isolationism allows the South a better shot at restoring America to its golden days of when gays were deep in the closet, blacks in their place, and white males in exclusive control of everything. This ideology is pretty much the foundation of the GOP platform.

 

[Harry Bosch]

That Trump is a Russian asset is pretty clear: He sucked up to Putin against all advice. The question is: HOW did he become a Russian asset?

This is Trump berating NATO because its European members were not keeping their defense commitments while sending money to Russia for oil. But keep up the TDS.

It's far more than just Trump wanting Europe to pay more for defense. He is very suspicious of foreign alliances. He didn't like our alliances with south Korea and Japan. He didn't like our alliances in the middle east. As soon as Putin commanded him to withdraw from Syria, we did the fastest retreat in US history!

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

That Trump is a Russian asset is pretty clear: He sucked up to Putin against all advice. The question is: HOW did he become a Russian asset?

This is Trump berating NATO because its European members were not keeping their defense commitments while sending money to Russia for oil. But keep up the TDS.

Today on false pretense. Trump didn't give a damn about NATO spending. The US spends a fortune on military not because of military commitments to NATO! The spending "issue" was the pretense to try and weaken the NATO organization, which benefits only Russia.

The insistence that the Trump Admin was anything but a dumpster fire is partisan nonsense.

 

[Gospel]

I don't

Isn't it obvious? They support Putin to own the libs.

Yes and no. Need to remember, the Southern Strategy was the precursor to all of this... and The South wanted to be left alone so they could do to blacks as they thought moral. So the lack of supporting NATO isn't necessarily a handshake with Putin (though US weakened relations with NATO benefit Putin), it can also be about keeping "outsiders" away so that they can do what they know is right and best.

Trump sold this isolationist BS and it isn't a new concept for conservatives. What is new is how a few in the GOP are coming out anti-Ukraine in the Russian invasion. This was also about as unexpected as Trump's sudden interest in the nation of Russia which didn't start until Paul Manafort was running the campaign.

The isolationism allows the South a better shot at restoring America to its golden days of when gays were deep in the closet, blacks in their place, and white males in exclusive control of everything. This ideology is pretty much the foundation of the GOP platform.

Libs don't like the southern strategy 🗸
Libs don't like Trump's isolationist BS 🗸
Libs take issue with countries invading other countries 🗸
Libs don't want gays in the closet 🗸
Libs don't want "blacks in their place" 🗸
Libs are accused of attempting to pry exclusive control of everything from whites 🗸


And you say it's not solely to own the libs? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Swammerdami]

That Trump is a Russian asset is pretty clear: He sucked up to Putin against all advice. The question is: HOW did he become a Russian asset?

This is Trump berating NATO because its European members were not keeping their defense commitments while sending money to Russia for oil. But keep up the TDS.

Geopolitics is more complicated than Tic-Tac-Toe. Anti-Russia posturing by the West probably works well for Putin domestically. But keep up the TLS.

 

[laughing dog]

Isn't it obvious? They support Putin to own the libs.

Exactly, it is the old "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" horseshit.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I don't

Isn't it obvious? They support Putin to own the libs.

Yes and no. Need to remember, the Southern Strategy was the precursor to all of this... and The South wanted to be left alone so they could do to blacks as they thought moral. So the lack of supporting NATO isn't necessarily a handshake with Putin (though US weakened relations with NATO benefit Putin), it can also be about keeping "outsiders" away so that they can do what they know is right and best.

Trump sold this isolationist BS and it isn't a new concept for conservatives. What is new is how a few in the GOP are coming out anti-Ukraine in the Russian invasion. This was also about as unexpected as Trump's sudden interest in the nation of Russia which didn't start until Paul Manafort was running the campaign.

The isolationism allows the South a better shot at restoring America to its golden days of when gays were deep in the closet, blacks in their place, and white males in exclusive control of everything. This ideology is pretty much the foundation of the GOP platform.

Libs don't like the southern strategy 🗸
Libs don't like Trump's isolationist BS 🗸
Libs take issue with countries invading other countries 🗸
Libs don't want gays in the closet 🗸
Libs don't want "blacks in their place" 🗸
Libs are accused of attempting to pry exclusive control of everything from whites 🗸


And you say it's not solely to own the libs? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Southern isolationism isn't born from 'own the libs' it is born from 'leave us alone'.

 

[Gospel]

Southern isolationism isn't born from 'own the libs' it is born from 'leave us alone'.

What it's born from doesn't cancel out what it is currently being used for.

 

[steve_bank]

In a recent interview Trump on Ukraine called Putin a skilled negotiator who took it too far. Still no condemnation.

Trump is still in control of republicans. If he runs again no one will oppose him in the primaries.

We all know federal politics is corrupt to a degree and always will be. But Trump has thoroughly corrupted the republicans.

 

[Gospel]

The Republican platform has become a bunch of old dudes throwing punches in the dark and sometimes successful hitting a target. They have no well-thought-out plan so right now it's everything the libs are doing & saying let's do and say the opposite. It's so ridiculous that If the confederate flag was appropriated by Libs to represent leaving Gays, blacks & women's rights alone their constituents would stomp and burn those flags out of spite.

 

[Toni]

Well, I think that it's entirely due to Trump. Traditionally, republicans were very anti Russian. But Trump was suspicious of NATO, and admired Putin's tough guy stance.

I think you're over-estimating Trump's cognition. Trump is an asset of the Russian mob; Trump followers couldn't find Russia on a map and root for whomever MagaMan tells them to. Republican adults play along because they're only in it for the votes and the money. Recall that Charles Koch, among other American billionaires, also has close ties to the Russian mob.

That Trump is a Russian asset is pretty clear: He sucked up to Putin against all advice. The question is: HOW did he become a Russian asset?

The main reason is probably financial ties: he's gotten many sweetheart deals with Russian banks, and has received large fees from Putin-aligned oligarchs for absurd, obviously worthless projects. But I think there are blackmail tapes as well. We know Trump spent at least one night in a luxury suite in a Russian hotel; we can assume the room was wired for sound and camera, that gorgeous whores knocked on his door, and that Trump would lack the brains or will-power to send them away. (It's a fantasy to imagine that Putin would NOT try such a honey trap, or that nympho-Trump would NOT indulge.)

Perhaps there's no "golden shower" on the video, but it wouldn't be needed. Video of Trump's emasculated whimpering and tiny apparatus would be too embarrassing for Trump to contemplate disclosure. Putin was careful not to push too hard: It wouldn't serve his interest to make his hold over MagaMan too obvious.

I have gotta say that as much as I despise Trump, unless it involves minors or rape ( as it has indeed), I don’t give a shit about Trump’s sex life. And I’m more than happy to jump on all of Trump’s flaws and faults and crimes, etc.

Given that Trump has bragged knowing he was being recorded—about his pussy grabbing, infidelities, etc. and the GOP was thrilled to elect him, and his general lack of shame, I seriously think that even if golden showers tapes were played nonstop for a month on Fox, it would not cause any of his devotees to be less devoted. In fact, I think they could show him fucking toddlers and as long as they weren’t little blonde boys, his fans would not bat an eye.

It’s definitely not the pee tapes. Frankly, I think it has just been that Putin has been more than willing to feed Trump’s ego and validate his world view. As Trump feeds the egos and validates the world views of his supporters. I’m sure there’s money involved but I think it’s really about massaging his ego.

 

[Elixir]

I have gotta say that as much as I despise Trump, unless it involves minors or rape ( as it has indeed), I don’t give a shit about Trump’s sex life.

Amen to that. I’d prefer to never have to think of him again. The treason thing has to be addressed, though. The fucker sat in the White House for four years, self dealing. Everything he did was for his own benefit, and to the detriment of the Country. He has no regard for America or anyone in it other than his big donors. We can’t afford more of him or anyone like him.

 

[Toni]

I have gotta say that as much as I despise Trump, unless it involves minors or rape ( as it has indeed), I don’t give a shit about Trump’s sex life.

Amen to that. I’d prefer to never have to think of him again. The treason thing has to be addressed, though. The fucker sat in the White House for four years, self dealing. Everything he did was for his own benefit, and to the detriment of the Country. He has no regard for America or anyone in it other than his big donors. We can’t afford more of him or anyone like him.

Amen. I do understand the caution and even reluctance to bring a former POTUS up on any charges. It can so easily be viewed as —abs used as political maneuvers. It’s being done right now, I saw a TX based newscaster report that Trump’s firmer physician sees definite signs of dementia and frail health in Biden. Sound familiar? Only—in my very non-expert opinion, with my sole expertise being the amount of time I have spent with people with various types of dementia and diminished strength due to age—Trump did not seem to have full cognition or good health during his term. Biden does seem old—I really wish he were 20 years younger or even just 10–but he seems fully in control if his faculties. He seems healthy but he’s not a young man.

There is not a shadow of doubt that every future former POTUS would have to fear such repercussions whenever their party was out of favor,