There was not only a fascinating, but telling and critically important exchange that Jake Tapper had on CNN with Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH). It's deeply important not just for what was said, or even just that Turner is a Republican, but also because he chair of the House Intelligence Committee. And the exchange is further important because he's asked about confirming what another Republican, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) said -- and Turner not only confirms it, but expands upon it. The short version is that he confirms how Russian propaganda has not only been used by some of the Republican base, but that even some of his colleagues in the House use Russian propaganda on the floor of Congress. (Unfortunately, the platform service is having technical difficulty letting me embed the video. If the issue continues, and it doesn't post, you can -- and should -- watch it here. Mike Turner is very detailed and far more specific on Republican use of Russian propaganda and the threat of that than I am above. The video is only 1-1/2 minutes)
There's a bitter irony in all this. It was in the 1950s when Republicans lead the House Un-American Activities Committee investigations of liberals and Democrats who were even suspected of having sympathies with Russia, and pushed by Rep. Joseph McCarthy, (R-WI) began investigations based solely on inuendo of Russian ties, and the hell of the Republican-led Blacklist destroyed lives. And into the 1960s, the GOP mantra was "Better dead than Red." And "Socialist!!!" has still been the cry by Republicans to smear Democrats for the past 70 years. Yet here were are, two Republican Congressmen, including the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, talking about how actual Russian propaganda has seeped into the Republican base -- and even on the House floor, GOP representatives are spreading the work of Russian propaganda. Probably unwittingly (probably, to be kind), but clearly without any effort to learn that they are doing so or correcting it when told that it's what they've done. In Russia, that's know as "Useful Idiots." Just yesterday, I saw video of a MAGOP-clad woman saying how she would vote for Putin over President Biden. Her reason -- well, actually the reason doesn't matter, since the decision is indefensible from a party insisting their actions are as supposed "patriots" to save America -- is that “Hell yeah!… Putin wants to go back to good morality.” Putting aside that since "good morality" is her standard, this woman likely knows little about the despot Putin who has his opponents killed and started a war to overrun a democratic ally of the U.S., this is from someone supporting a man found liable by two juries for the equivalence of rape. And given the many other videos we've seen of the MAGOP base, defending the attempted overthrow of the government, her words stand for so many of today's Republican Party. But how could it be otherwise, when they enable Trump who said he trusted former KGB operative Putin, and perhaps the leading enemy of the Unites States, more than U.S. intelligence services. Still, though, it's the support of Russian propaganda by elected Republican House members -- even to the point of pushing it on the House floor, as stated by the GOP head of the House Intelligence Committee, that stands out the most, since that's the leadership of the Republican Party. And that's today's MAGOP. It's not about Trump, we know who he is. It's the elected members of the Republican Party who enable him -- and have made fascism and Russian propaganda their own.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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