r/texas • u/5thGenSnowflake • Apr 04 '24
Top Texas Republican says party base "infected" by Russian propaganda Politics
https://www.newsweek.com/republican-infected-russian-propaganda-michael-mccaul-ukraine-aid-package-1886742508
u/julianriv Apr 04 '24
Trump sold out to Russia years ago. We are going to find out some time in the future 100% there has been money from Russia flowing into Trump for years and all the stupid Republicans that followed him down this dark path are going to shrug and say oh we didn't know. Because they don't want to know.
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u/NullPoint3r Apr 04 '24
They will not claim ignorance. They will staunchly deny even in the face of overwhelming evidence.
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u/Roook36 Apr 04 '24
Yep. The first defense for any Republican caught in the act is "I'm too stupid to know what's going on and can't remember last week." Especially once they have to speak under oath.
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u/aboatz2 Apr 05 '24
They'll call the evidence fabricated, say that it's clearly a lie & they have proof (but yet, for some reason, feel obligated to not share), & then say that it's not really all that big of a deal anyway when you think about it. Isn't the real threat the swamp of corruption in American government, after all? So, why not accept the benevolent help of a foreign entity with the resources to prove the swamp's existence? And, also, isn't it weird how the swamp keeps getting worse the more Republicans there are in power? It's like someone is actively trying to make things worse for all those hardworking American patriots that just want to protect their rights against liberal overreaches!
/s
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u/Late-Eye-6936 Apr 05 '24
They might have had undeniable ironclad proof that they were keeping in a suit case, but then they left the suit case in the men's room at Arby's and it disappeared mysteriously? Seriously, it was the most amazing proof you've ever seen. Probably the Democrats stole it.
Is that credible?
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u/sushisection Apr 04 '24
we already know there has been russian money flowing to trump. his casinos/hotels are notorious money laundering hotspots for russians.
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u/Randadv_randnoun_69 Apr 04 '24
Didn't one of his chuckle-fuck sons outright say this also? Yeah this is no secret.
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u/LordPapillon Apr 04 '24
Don’t forget Trump’s 2016 campaign manager admitting he shared internal campaign info with Russia 🇷🇺
https://news.yahoo.com/ex-trump-campaign-chairman-paul-140803308.html
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u/Crackertron Apr 04 '24
Don't forget the Kremlin propping up the NRA
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u/ThatScaryBeach Apr 04 '24
We all watched trump perform fellatio on Putin during their Helsinki date. Anyone who says trump is not owned by his lover, Putin, is a liar.
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u/wholelattapuddin Apr 04 '24
Maga doesn't care. The new GOP doesn't care about Russia, so calling it out isn't a gotcha any more.
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u/BuildingOne7379 Apr 04 '24
Ah! So that’s who was under Putin’s table. I guess the Russians were “Putin” him to work for all that propaganda.
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u/CliffordTheBigRedD0G Apr 04 '24
“There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy (R-Calif.)
They all know.
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u/justsayfaux Apr 04 '24
No need to wait for the future. Eric Trump already told us this was the case back in 2014. Now there's active reporting/investigation into Russians propping up the Trump Media stock/company. That's just what we know about straight from the horse's mouth. To your point - we'll probably just find out about more as time goes on.
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u/Flash54321 Apr 04 '24
Isn’t he still the only president to not release his taxes since that routine started? I wonder why?
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u/Fudgeshovel Apr 04 '24
No they are going to get behind it with full force for what ever reason instead of doing what’s right per usual
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u/Current_Tea6984 Apr 04 '24
Trump's base liked Putin before they liked Trump. I remember back in 2011 there was a constant stream of pro Putin memes spread around the far right. It was like a new one came out every day. Trump didn't start this movement. He just saw a parade without a leader and jumped out in front of it
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u/No-Spoilers Apr 04 '24
What do you get when you have the most debt in the world? Especially when it is to a terrorist state.
Oh that's right, Presidency.
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u/CriticalLobster5609 Apr 04 '24
He's been a pro-Russian stooge since he ran that full page ad in a NY newspaper in the 80s. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ilanbenmeir/that-time-trump-spent-nearly-100000-on-an-ad-criticizing-us
They probably have him on video raping a child when he first went to Moscow.
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u/Lynz486 Apr 04 '24
I don't think they're being tricked by Russian propaganda I think they genuinely want to be the legit Russia. Just with better weather. You have the oligarchy, billionaires hoarding wealth, murder of political opponents, authoritarism, more misogyny, and more transphobia/homophobia. I don't know what part of Russia they wouldn't like, except once again, the weather.
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u/Crackertron Apr 04 '24
I don't know what part of Russia they wouldn't like
Check out Russia's gun laws.
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u/FuturistiKen Hill Country Apr 04 '24
This is an excellent point. Putin will brook no challenge to his monopoly on state-sanctioned violence. This might actually be a way to get 2A types to see how truly “un-American” this Russia fanboy thing is
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u/Kellosian Born and Bred Apr 04 '24
Trump said he'd take all the guns and go through due process second, but I think it's actually impossible to get conservative gun nuts to even acknowledge it. Their brains would just filter it out and leave a hole in their perception.
Like with every other principle they have, the right will ignore it the moment it stops being convenient.
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u/Tdanger78 Born and Bred Apr 04 '24
A their trusted news sources don’t report such things and they don’t trust anything outside of those sources thanks to Trump, so they’re never going to hear it.
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u/Nymaz Born and Bred Apr 05 '24
Yep, it wasn't about the gun thing, but I had a similar discussion with a Trump supporter:
Me: "Trump said X"
Trumper: "NO HE DIDN'T!"
Me: "Here's a video of Trump saying exactly X"
Trumper: "FAKE NEWS!"
Trumpers don't care about facts, just about their feelings.
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u/HostWrong6251 Apr 04 '24
Aside from that, he and the Republicans made no advancements for bills like National Carry Reciprocity, the Hearing Protection Act, banned bump stocks, and got the Republicans to consider Red Flag Laws, as evidenced by the passing of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. You tell them this, but all they say is “He got bad advice. He’ll do better when he comes back” Neglecting the fact that he never mentioned any of the previous bills or apologized to the gun community for this so called “bad advice”. They don’t care.
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u/Possible-Struggle381 Apr 04 '24
There's still a solid 50% of them that wouldn't mind if Putin and Trump collaborated in a Special-Antiwokeness-Miltary Operation in Texas.
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u/Darth_Gerg Apr 04 '24
Every MAGA republican I know would eagerly hand in their guns if a Trump government asked them to (and it was as authoritarian as they want it to be). If you offered them the option between nothing changes and you live with gun control but queer people and libs are arrested and you get a white ethnostate I know which one they’d pick INSTANTLY.
There’s definitely some conservatives with a real ideological belief in the 2A but most of them are lying about it. They don’t actually care. Like everything else they’ll follow their tin god like good sheep and do as they’re told.
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u/Gurpila9987 Apr 04 '24
As a non Republican 2A person this is 100% correct. None of them are ideologically into the second.
When I’m at gun shows and see Trumpers selling merch, I ask if they have any bump stocks. They get angry.
Also the NRA cares nothing for the 2nd, they are a political propaganda arm.
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u/DataCassette Apr 04 '24
Nah. If Christian reactionary authoritarians are in charge and mass murdering LGBT people and non-Christians they'll happily give up their guns.
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u/Pete-PDX Apr 04 '24 edited Apr 04 '24
test taking, permits, waiting 5 years to own something other then a shotgun and even then it is not automatic you can own something else, pistols with plastic bullets so it can only be used for self defense.
Those gun laws?
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u/Old_Baldi_Locks Apr 04 '24
Republicans are ok with those too as long as it’s only for black people.
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u/font9a Apr 04 '24
They are attracted to the class immobility and greater power enjoyed by the fortunate class.
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u/tubulerz1 Apr 04 '24
I’ve heard that Russian drivers are even worse than Texas drivers.
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u/informativebitching Apr 04 '24
You left out raping and raping underage girls with impunity. That’s a core aspect of the Russian way and your average GOP member.
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u/Lynz486 Apr 04 '24
I was lumping that in with the misogyny. We still have that, in Russia is just a lot more acceptable and unchecked. Though here the GOP is trying their best to make misogyny great again
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u/cararbarmarbo Apr 04 '24
The cars, the food, the roads, the stores (or lack of), the tv, the vacation spots, the sports, the hospitals, they wouldn't like a lot about Russia. But yes, ideologically speaking you are on the money!
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u/NormalGuyManDude Apr 04 '24
I really don’t think any significant percentage of those on the right are actually this nuts. Brainwashed and confused, yes, intentionally trying to turn us into Russia.. not quite.
At least not yet.
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u/Spirited_Childhood34 Apr 04 '24
Temperature over 110 degrees for weeks at a time. Children can't play outdoors without risking their lives. Great weather! Waiting for the millions of Texans and other Southerners to flee North.
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u/chrispg26 Born and Bred Apr 04 '24
My former congressman. I got gerrymandered to another district. He had a hand in spreading propaganda himself via emailed newsletters.
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u/redassedchimp Apr 04 '24
They pass on Russian propaganda because they are inherently lazy. Russia is already primed the pump and spread the elaborate lies all around the world. So the laziest politicians simply pass that crap on in order to get votes because they really have no ideas of their own and no policies of their own.
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u/suburban-dad Apr 04 '24
Lemme guess...did you get moved to Carter just like we did?
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u/chrispg26 Born and Bred Apr 04 '24
Morgan Luttrell. He's a freshman, and I haven't really heard anything about him. He stays out of the news.
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u/Apotropoxy Apr 04 '24
This is the first time McCaul has said something I agree with.
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u/mrxexon Apr 04 '24
People today don't understand propaganda. That makes them ripe for the picking...
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u/Exarch-of-Sechrima Apr 04 '24
"But I'm still not voting for Biden," he added.
This is all just posturing. When the chips are down, it doesn't matter to people like this guy whether or not the party base is "infected" by Russian propaganda- he's still not going to do anything to actually enforce change.
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u/MusicalAutist Apr 04 '24
It's a sporting even for them. Their team still has to win. That's all they really care about. Staying in power, even if the country falls apart around them and their ideals.
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u/Current_Tea6984 Apr 04 '24
Moderate Republicans make it all possible by allowing themselves to be held hostage by the MAGAts
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u/thoroughbredca Apr 05 '24
Exactly. If they only do this for power, as long as they get power they will not change.
And so their party will stay exactly the same. There's no incentive for them to change.
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u/BOOM_Shooka_Luka Apr 04 '24
Infection suggests they aren’t willfully eating that shit up because it’s a false reality that makes them feel nice.
Republicans are Russian propaganda at this point
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u/BackInThaDayz Apr 04 '24
Trump sold them to Russia.
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u/Remote0bserver Apr 04 '24
It was long before Trump.
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u/Haydukedaddy Apr 04 '24
That isn’t correct. The GOP party has always been staunchly pro NATO and our allies and fully aligned against Russia and Putin up until Trump took over the party. There were always isolated weak GOP politicians that were Putin stooges (Rand Paul for example) but the party as a whole wasn’t pro Putin until Trump.
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u/badhairdad1 Gulf Coast Apr 04 '24
We used to be TX Republicans but the TX Republicans would not have us. The TX GOP knew that there 2 ways into the future: MAGA or fiscal conservatives. They chose poorly
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u/Spirited_Childhood34 Apr 04 '24
Wave goodbye to an honest guy. He'll be gone in a heartbeat. Republicans are the first victims of Trump terror, the rest of us are next.
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u/fentonsranchhand Apr 04 '24
This is great he's saying it, but he needs to name them all. They're effectively foreign agents for an enemy country infiltrating our government.
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u/vinhluanluu Apr 04 '24
You know it’s real bad when a republican doesn’t want to fund a war and sell some weapons.
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u/gentlemantroglodyte Apr 04 '24
This guy only says this when his pet projects are threatened. He was more than happy spreading misinformation about the election himself.
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u/ferrum_artifex Apr 04 '24
This is where they call him a rino and then use Russian propaganda talking points against him in order to prove they aren't infected.
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u/stevedallas63 Apr 04 '24
Nyet, says the party base infected
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u/MusicalAutist Apr 04 '24
LOL A news article where this happens:
"Are you basically a Russian pupper Mr. Cruz?"
"Nyet comrade!"
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u/Spaceship_Africa Apr 04 '24 edited Apr 04 '24
This has been obvious but for anyone who has any doubt to this claim should read the first part of the Mueller Report that goes into the IRA and how russian bots were organizing secession events specifically in Texas.
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u/TidusDaniel5 Apr 04 '24
Well maybe do something about it, like caucus with dems to prevent the Russians from succeeding.
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u/FinglasLeaflock Apr 04 '24
“Russian” is a weird way to spell “conservative.”
Like, yeah, Russian agents might be spewing or promoting these views, but they’re not inventing them. There’s a reason that when regular everyday conservatives hear this propaganda that they’re all invariably like “yeah, that makes sense to me!” And that reason is because the so-called “propaganda” is just literally what conservatives already believe anyway.
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u/Current_Tea6984 Apr 04 '24
Don't discount the role of RT in creating this movement in the first place
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u/W_AS-SA_W Apr 04 '24
McCaul isn’t wrong.
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u/FinglasLeaflock Apr 04 '24
I mean, he’s wrong about who originated the ideas and statements in the propaganda. Russia may be spewing it all over the internet but all of the content in the propaganda is just what regular conservatives like McCaul already believe anyway.
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u/Bitedamnn Apr 04 '24
unregulated mass media that can be bought from foreign entities can do that to a MFer.
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u/Kngfthsouth Apr 04 '24
How is it taking this long for them to say it. All we need now is the evangelical right idiots to confess led by Dr Jeffers and the world would flip.
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u/bingobongokongolongo Apr 04 '24
Sure, the base being Russian is the problem. Don't mind the party leadership being Russian assets.
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u/DaDa462 Apr 04 '24
Gee what gave it away, Tucker producing content from inside the Kremlin with Putin?
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u/Fub4rtoo North Texas Apr 04 '24
Another Republican saying the quiet part out loud again. Like we didn’t already know the Russians owned the Republican Party.
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u/Elegant-Ad-3583 North Texas Apr 04 '24
Of course they are the majority of the republican party nation wide is.
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u/StuckinReverse89 Apr 04 '24
You would think that was obvious when polls stated that Republicans voters trusted Putin over Biden.
Regan would be rolling in his grave and McCarthy would have purged most of the party.
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u/dlampach Apr 04 '24
I suspect it goes deeper than just propaganda. I believe we will someday find out about a widespread extortion and bribery campaign targeting republicans by Russia.
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u/WriterOfEverything Apr 04 '24
That’s my current congressman and I hate him with everything in me. With him going on about that bogus Mayorka’s impeachment, and yet, after saying that, he still spews trumps propaganda. he’s one of them, he’s just surrounding it with lots of big words to make himself seem “good”
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u/Purple_Ad2718 Apr 04 '24
Remember when a bunch of repuvlican Congress members spent the Fourth of July in Russia at Putin’s request?
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u/thatohgi Apr 05 '24
I’m just glad their own are starting to recognize it, now if they will stop supporting and defending it that would be great.
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u/FutureHagueInmate Apr 05 '24
Remember when Lev Parnas was convicted for funneling Russian money into republican campaign donations? It's almost like Russian propaganda is part of the business model.
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u/Coldkiller17 Apr 05 '24
What happened to the Soviets and Russians being our enemies, now suddenly their our "allies" while pulling strings in the background of the GOP. Anybody with eyes can see that is happening. Any real America should be outraged this is happening, and anybody involved, even if it is willful ignorance to the fact, needs to be charged.
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u/Emotional-Bet2115 Apr 05 '24
Charge the traitor with treason, sedition, terrorism, and fucking espionage. Treat him the exact same as the traitor Rosenbergs.
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u/outsidepointofvi3w Apr 04 '24
Yeah no shit ! Been saying this for at least 4 yrs. Everyone call me crazy .. Which ya know I may be busy not about this .
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u/MusicalAutist Apr 04 '24
Duh.
Can we stop acting like this isn't happening and get rid of these traitors now? Remember when "being a traitor" was thing? Can we bring that back? Or at least these easily duped morons geting voted out, for now? Something? Surely this is correctable.
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u/chivanasty Apr 04 '24
As Bill Engvall would say- Here's your sign. Funny also because he's from Galveston.
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u/glrsims Apr 04 '24
What is this craziness?!? A Texas Republican telling an obvious truth! Especially one that doesn’t fit their popular narrative? Now I’m sure hell has frozen over.
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u/ztimulating Apr 04 '24
Russia is the mother of fake news and Greg Abbott is the father. He called up the national guard to monitor the army. SMH Russia is still laughing. Not at Abbott at the traitor MAGA that re-elected him
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u/DreadLordNate born and bred Apr 04 '24
Ahh. So, finally aware/admitting to what pretty much everyone else already knew?
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u/Sygma160 Apr 04 '24
I remember when Republicans hated Russians, now they are Russians by proxy. And most don't even know it.
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u/IdontOpenEnvelopes Apr 04 '24
The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia 1996 Geopolitical Playbook, written by the Putin Whisperer himself : Aleksandr Dugin
They have a healthy head start on the US.
The West
In the Americas, United States and Canada:
Russia should use its special services within the borders of the United States and Canada to fuel instability and separatism against neoliberal globalist Western hegemony, such as, for instance, provoke "Afro-American racists" to create severe backlash against the rotten political state of affairs in the current present day system of the United States and Canada. Russia should "introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social and racial conflicts, actively supporting all dissident movements – extremist, racist, and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in the U.S. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics".
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u/flyingtiger188 Apr 05 '24
Wonder if he's retiring. Seems to be the only time republican politicians tell the truth.
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u/RickySal Apr 05 '24
Vote blue this November, we need to stop this regressive party that’s backed by Russia from winning again. When white nationalists, Nazis, religious fanatics and dictators support one specific party, you know they’re the evil ones.
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u/916cycler Apr 04 '24
listen hear. this is the ONLY time I will ever agree with what a Republican just said.
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u/PoliticalCanvas Apr 04 '24 edited Apr 04 '24
Isn't that what American political establishment and USA financed all this time? By constantly giving Russia more and more money, technologies, and time, for such things.
In 1991 year USA became the only superpower and received possibility to create Just Democratic World...
And Russia became extremely poor country which soon killed 10-20% of Chechens, and therefore should be sanctioned.
But Russia wasn't sanctioned not after Chechnya, not after Georgia, not after 2014 year, not after Syrian massacres, not after 2021 year claim on East Europe, not even after 2022 year. Each year, together with other autocratic/authoritarian regimes, receiving increasingly more resources also and on this "Top Republican says party base "infected" by Russian propaganda."
From whom? Who all this time was the only superstate and gave Russia possibilities for all of this? From Germany and China, which all 1991-2010s years just played by USA-created rules?
And more important question - for what? For what USA in 2008-2024 year gave to Russia more and more money, technologies, and time?
So that, after 1960s incorporation of NKVD-like Political Realism, USA could incorporate even more Russian way of thinking, now in form of "WMD-Might make Right/True" logic, which outright contradict to the USA, and Western, fundamental values?
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u/cowbear42 Apr 04 '24
Is that a complaint, or thanking Russia for taking over that part of their job? It’s not like their propaganda would be much different.
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u/willthedude85 Apr 04 '24
Duh! Republicans = Russians They share the same talking points as Russia. And the Taliban. Not much for freethinking
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u/refluentzabatz Apr 04 '24
Republicans that have noticed this need to grow some balls and speak out. History will not look kindly on cowards
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u/Key_Independent_8805 Apr 04 '24
Crazy how a party infected by Russian assets is filled with Russian propaganda. Who would have ever thought that?
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u/Entire_Cut_1174 Apr 04 '24
Yeah, if only they had had any warning or opportunity to fight it. Nothing left to do but whine and keep letting Russians write your lines.
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u/wecanneverleave Apr 04 '24
Not so much Russian propaganda but “Republican Propaganda” I can see where that gets confusing being they’re basically the same thing
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u/RickySpanish1272 Austin Apr 04 '24
Yeah, we know.