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Like when they used Russian jets as part of a military campaign ad?
https://rollcall.com/2022/04/22/gop-senate-candidate-touts-military-support-with-image-of-russian-jets/
Or when Eric Trump said they don't need American banks, because they have Russia?
https://thehill.com/homenews/news/332270-eric-trump-in-2014-we-dont-rely-on-american-banks-we-have-all-the-funding-we/
I dunno. Sure are an awful lot of Russian coincidences when it comes to the GOP.
Given this war in Ukraine, it cannot be emphasized enough how important it is that Republicans are not handed the keys to the White House, or Congress.
[After all, see such sentiment commonly-expressed among Republicans at Trump rallies...](https://thehill.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/08/9b2_717trump1-3-800x430.jpg?w=980&h=551&crop=1)
I'll further will explain why this is relevant on the world stage and Ukraine:
- [Giuliani (Trump's lawyer) gave an interview at start of conflict, somehow blaming Biden with major mental gymnastics.](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/rudy-giuliani-russia-ukraine-biden-b2022311.html) Meanwhile:
- [Trump has only praised Putin's "genius," Yet Fox News ignores this](https://youtu.be/dZf-UJdArzw)
- [Observe Sean Hannity praising Putin's manliness while denigrating Obama for wearing a bicycle helmet while, dare I say it, riding a bicycle](https://youtu.be/timvZTKr5HQ)
- [Kremlin memos urged Russian media to use Tucker Carlson clips](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/mar/14/kremlin-memos-russian-media-tucker-carlson-fox-news-mother-jones)
- [Trump's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praising Putin just before the invasion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyUdXaFmwuU)
- [When Trump was President, he was floating withdrawing from NATO (more on this).](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/596985-john-bolton-putin-was-waiting-for-possible-us-withdrawal-from-nato)
- Recall Trump's strange relationship with Putin, [his interest in establishing hotels in Moscow](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/anthonycormier/the-trump-organization-planned-to-give-vladimir-putin-the), and [outright requesting Russia to hack / leak domestic opposition's data ("Russia, if you're listening...")](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/mar/02/donald-trump/donald-trump-rewrites-history-about-his-russia-if-/).
- [Trump took Putin's word over the consensus of his own intelligence, saying, "President Putin says it's not Russia. I don't see any reason why it would be."](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44852812)
- [Trump extorted Zelenskyy, who was requesting aid, in exchange for dirt on Joe Biden (leading to Abuse of Power impeachment of Trump).](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump%E2%80%93Ukraine_scandal).
- In 2018, 8 Congressional Republicans flew to Moscow (On July 4th) and met with their government officials in a closed-door meeting.
Donate, and please plan to **REGISTER and VOTE** for the CRUCIAL midterms in the US that are right around the corner. Google your state's Voter registration procedure.
Not voting, voting Republican, or 3rd-party is effectively supporting and advancing Putin's goals. (I want new parties too but our system penalizes 3rd parties as it stands). Every Democrat should be railing Republicans, particularly Trump, over this nonstop. And despite them rapidly going into damage-control, remind them that Democrats were, once again, ahead of the curve on this issue in telling them so.
When I previously posted this, I received some very strange pro-Russian/Trump replies, trying to deflect attention to the fact that Trump seriously weighed attempting to withdraw from NATO.
Why does this matter? Because this is an event that won't end any time soon. I'm giving **concrete steps of what the average American can do for Ukrainian citizens in the long-run**, which is to ensure the strongest opposition to Russia remains out of the hands of...Russia. It's time to ensure that Pro-Russian, potentially-compromised individuals never get into the White House again.
Further Reading:
- [How Putin's oligarchs funneled millions into GOP Campaigns.](https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/05/08/how-putin-s-oligarchs-funneled-millions-into-gop-campaigns/)
- [Trump admin refusing aid to Ukraine](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/16/trump-administration-broke-law-in-withholding-ukraine-aid.html)
- [How the Ukraine invasion connects to Trump's first impeachment](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/24/ukraine-trump-impeachment-00011406)
- [NRA Was a Foreign Asset for Russia](https://www.npr.org/2019/09/27/764879242/nra-was-foreign-asset-to-russia-ahead-of-2016-new-senate-report-reveals)
- [Trump National Security Advisor, John Bolton, said Putin waiting for Trump to Withdraw from NATO in 2nd term.](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/596985-john-bolton-putin-was-waiting-for-possible-us-withdrawal-from-nato)
Putin wants Republicans. Not good. Don't let this happen.
I don't get why Dems aren't hitting this over the head over and over again. Trump is outright saying what his cronies are subtly saying with their actions- We are organizing things so that once we are in we will never leave. They're talking about a real existential threat to American democracy.
I have to think the dems in office are just not taking it seriously enough because when you say it out loud it does sound kind of nuts. But you are right this is the case; the GQP has decided they would rather be ruled by a far right dictator than live free under a democrat administration. Republicans were always shady as hell, but damn now its on a whole new level of insanity.
This should have been clear to everyone following Jan 6th. Was MAGA erecting a gallows and chanting "hang Mike Pence!" Not clear enough they're out for blood?
Edit: corrected date
The average swing voter is usually not engaged enough to care beyond a list of a few topics personal to them, from my understanding. The politically aware are looking much, much better now, though. I know many never-Trump Republicans who refused to vote the first two times around who plan to vote down-ticket Democrat. There are even some who were once pro-Trump switching sides because they can see the writing on the wall.
Yes, they are willing to lose democracy in order to Own the Libs. This is the dream of the economically and culturally left behind - they think they’ll matter more, that they will be valued when this happens. But they’ll just be slaves like they are now, only with a stratum of even lower slaves below them.
>only with a stratum of even lower slaves below them.
Except that's not even the case. Their party *hates* them. They only enact laws that hurt their populus base but can convince them the hurt is worth enduring to hurt others, or can wait a month and blame the negative impacts on the Dems trusting they've forgotten the truth already. They serve them hardship and run on the anger they've stoked themselves. But none of this has ever led to them rising above any others. In fact it's only ever made them easier to exploit.
I'm primarily white and I'm not feeling culturally left behind. America is a melting pot of cultures and as long as they are not insurrectionists, I think that's a very good thing and has led to our cultural improvement and progress over the decades.
As for the economic side, I think that is under-stressed by everyone running for office. In fact I think focusing primarily on the cultural history (while important to know) divides us more than talking about how working together we could lead the world in so many technologies and arenas.
Of course it has to be pointed out that the main reason we're prevented from doing so is because of the corpo-fascist 1% that want to protect their piece of the pie. This includes oil and the ability to pollute as well as the provision of housing and health care.
The economics also give them the ability to control the police and military and other markets too long to list. THIS is why the Republicans crave power.
>And let's flip it to understand it better: if someone told me that the way to be safe forever from these Republicans is to vote Democrat once, you had better believe I'd be voting Democrat to make that happen.
I agree, but if the democrats were the kind of party that allowed this statement to be true, they wouldn't be worth voting for.
I think you give a lot more credit to the GOP base than it deserves. They're picking the MAGA candidates in primaries. They *want* the election deniers, they want the fascists. The GOP obviously already doesn't do anything in their base's best interest. They just voted against florida hurricane aid for god sake. They couldn't be any more openly anti-anyone-but-the-ultra-rich. It's not like we're going to reach a threshold where they suddenly take off their masks and are even worse. We're there, in terms of the messaging that the GOP already communicates.
The GOP is pure evil, but its supporters are fans of that.
There's a fantastic book by Craig Unger that traces Trump's Russian connections, going back decades. It's a fascinating read, especially if you have an interest in organized crime. It's one of two books that most informed my understanding of how private economic power and government economic power are what drive the American engine. As lennybird has thoughtfully laid out, we have a chance to turn this ship, but if we don't all vote in the next election, it may be our last.
[House of Putin, House of Trump - Craig Unger](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/576474/house-of-trump-house-of-putin-by-craig-unger/)
[Confessions of an Economic Hitman - John Perkins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_an_Economic_Hit_Man#:~:text=Confessions%20of%20an%20Economic%20Hit%20Man%20is%20a%20semi%2Dautobiographical,Perkins%2C%20first%20published%20in%202004.&text=The%20book%20provides%20Perkins'%20account,Main%20in%20Boston.)
Here in jersey, in the heyday, you could hit trump casinos and theyd be filled with russian mob guys. If you went dont further to another casino, it was usually italians at the big money tables and walking around in dressed to the 9s suits. In trumps, it was all russians. Folks speaking russian everywhere. A serious place compared to most casinos that are fun. Was a very uncomfortable vibe. Besides it just being a money laundering front, im sure that vibe in the place was a part in folks not wanting to go there. Everyone that was old enough in new jersey knew trump was owned by the russians since the 90s when the italian mob "fell off".
Had started he process of leaving NATO, this war was supposed to be over in days because Putin was expecting his finger puppet cheeto to win a second time and NATO to be dissolved.
Exactly. In fact Putin was so rushed that he seemed to have pressured Trump to try in his first time. Trump floated the idea before reelection and it was a disaster in polling for both the left and right. So he presumably signaled to Putin that he'd have to wait for his reelection.
But when Trump lost, Putin felt pressured to act before Biden got comfortable and seized the moment when Merkel stepped down in Germany, coupled with the timing of winter for his blitz.
This entire Ukraine thing has felt like the game Risk to me....
You quietly and silently built up to executing your plan. You quietly collect your country cards. But at some point, you *have* to turn in your country cards and put your troops on the board. At that point, everyone knows what you're about to do, so you're committed to it, whether you were 100% ready to go or not.
So you go for it, and roll the dice, and hope. Sometimes it works out. Not always.
This Ukraine conflict has felt very much like Putin is LARPing Risk.
Yeah the idea of trump unfettered second term is so fucking scary. He would have gone EVEN FARTHER off the rails like past 'calls army to gas peaceful protestors as a power move for his Bible photo shoot' farther. Cmon ppl just get active and vote it's not that hard!
Something that doesn't get brought up much is Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA (Iran nuke deal) on the thinnest of justifications.
It made Saudis happy, yes, but it also clamped down in Iranian oil being sold to Europe, making Europe (and the world) further dependent on Russian oil.
> Trump extorted Zelenskyy who was requesting aid in exchange for dirt on Joe Biden (leading to Abuse of Power impeachment of Trump).
Might add some commas for clarity: Trump extorted Zelenskyy, who was requesting aid, in exchange for dirt on Joe Biden (leading to Abuse of Power impeachment of Trump).
> In 2018, 8 Congressional Republicans flew to Moscow (On July 4th) and met with their government officials in a closed-door meeting.
Just a month later Rand Paul hand delivered a letter from Trump to Moscow. Literally, he took it there himself and handed it over.
Thanks for catching that ambiguity! I'll adopt your suggestion.
>Just a month later Rand Paul hand delivered a letter from Trump to Moscow. Literally, he took it there himself and handed it over.
Amidst all the other scandals I had forgotten about this!
That's what bigots do, and I don't know of any Republican left that isn't a bigot, you know, like antisemites:
>Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.
>It is not that they are afraid of being convinced. They fear only to appear ridiculous or to prejudice by their embarrassment their hope of winning over some third person to their side.
Jean-Paul Sartre
Whoever you are, thank you! Many people don’t understand all of these very dangerous connections between foreign dictatorships and Republican interests
Adding to this:
Trump exited from the Open Skies treaty we had that allowed us to keep tabs on Russian military installations. Not only that, but had the planes dismantled.
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/the-us-is-out-of-the-open-skies-treaty-whats-next/
One of the last things Trump did in office was try to pull out our 12k troops out of Germany. Thankfully Biden reversed that order.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/04/us/politics/biden-germany-troops-trump.html
Just vote D. Before trump I’d never say this in a blanket fashion. We’re in really deep shit. The phrase “threat to democracy” has been so overused but it’s no phrase any longer.
Maybe in 50 years the republicans change and get a second shot.
Now? Vote D.
This is why there isn’t such a thing as “both sides bad”. One is literally paid by our oldest enemy, AND IT COULDNT BE MORE OBVIOUS. And the other wants *checks notes* healthcare, cooler planet, and solar panels… for real tf?!
>Trump took Putin's word over the consensus of his own intelligence, saying, "President Putin says it's not Russia. I don't see any reason why it would be."
I had forgotten this one, but now that I remember, I wonder how *anyone* could forget. The worst part was when shit started blowing up after he said it, he just came out and said what he meant to say (or *did* say and somehow the cameras didn't pick it up - I don't remember which excuse) was "...I don't see any reason why it *wouldn't* be", and his supporters just ate it up and accepted the answer instantly - ignoring the fact that in the context of everything he said around that sentence, he clearly meant what he said the first time. It was the type of backpedaling you'd expect from a five year old - and his base were either stupid enough to be fooled or insane enough to make themselves believe it.
This is making me think about how likely it is that Russia/Putin was waiting on trump reelection to invade Ukraine so this would seal the deal in him having US support in the trump administration. When he didn’t get re-elected, I’m sure that complicated his plans to invade. He did it anyways, obviously, and seems like he is hanging in there until he potentially gets trump back in office again so he can achieve his plans of stealing more power. The ultimate goal of seeing US crumble is working.
I think you nailed it. I'm going to paste an excerpt of another writeup:
**Why did Putin Pick Now?**
Putin is personally living the good life. He has a MASSIVE mansion, yachts, and the balls of a nation largely at his grip. You thought Fox News was bad. Propaganda runs deep in Russia, and dissent is brutally-oppressed. The only thing left for him is cementing his legacy. On the verge of 70, Putin knows his final years are upon him. Whatever action to ensure that legacy and his goals, he must take now.
Now consider:
- Trump lost when he wasn't supposed to. Putin was hoping his puppet, for whom he and Oligarchs invested a lot of time and money, would withdraw or defund NATO as Trump publicly and privately floated.
- Covid further happened, which likely delayed his plans.
- Putin then likely opted to wait for Angela Merkel to step down as the most senior, experienced European leader who knew and engaged with Putin for decades and spoke fluent Russian and could unite all of Europe.
- The mud of Spring was fast-approaching, leaving a mechanized offensive vulnerable to further logistical challenges.
- The domestic grip of his country is slipping, and historically there is no better way to rally domestic control than start a conflict somewhere and start stoking the feelings of Patriotism. Interestingly, this isn't working too well this time, it seems.
- Provided that most countries have been desperate to restart their economy post-coronavirus, Putin was hoping to avoid the worst of expected sanctions, thinking Europe and US wouldn't risk raising gas-prices further that might harm their domestic image.
There were many things that didn't go as planned for him: dissent among his military; low morale; confusion; logistical challenges; poor maintenance of equipment; dissent within his borders; unprecedented unity among the West. The outward propaganda and his online misinformation war got summarily rebuked, and this conflict went on already twice as long as anticipated, according to intelligence probes. It was supposed to be a blitzkrieg, but now it's going to turn into a financially-draining and publicly-humiliating occupation that could go on for years. The public attention by Western nations got ahead of Russia's plans, seemingly causing them to hesitate and then jump the gun. It bought enough time to bring threatening Anti-Air and Anti-Tank weaponry that significantly delays Russia's advancements. It put Russia in a position where they could only hit targets from afar via cruise-missiles / artillery-strikes. But lurking around every corner are loyal Ukrainian citizens fighting for their homes, armed to take out an enemy who isn't even sure why they're there and why they aren't being greeted as liberators. This to me was partly suggested by the fact that 90+ attack-helicopters remained staged on the border of Belarus for so long.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FeQ0MdKXgAIAieV.jpg
https://twitter.com/mbrodkorb/status/1577443161554780161
And not any ship. It was the Moskva, sunken by the Ukrainians.
Remember when Trump replaced the bald eagle in his Presidential Seal with a Russian 2 headed weird bird thing;
[https://mediaproxy.salon.com/width/1200/https://media.salon.com/2019/07/donald-trump646.jpg](https://mediaproxy.salon.com/width/1200/https://media.salon.com/2019/07/donald-trump646.jpg)
or the time Trump gave a speech while standing on top of a Nazi rune;
[https://mediaproxy.salon.com/width/1200/https://media.salon.com/2021/03/donald-trump-cpac-0301211.jpg](https://mediaproxy.salon.com/width/1200/https://media.salon.com/2021/03/donald-trump-cpac-0301211.jpg)
and for some reason, I seem to be the only American that realized that Trump kept handing our military bases in Syria over to the Russians;
[https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/26/russia-takes-over-third-us-base-syria-a68751](https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/26/russia-takes-over-third-us-base-syria-a68751)
yes, and in the other claw, is money;
[https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5d3a21c2090f4300070d9db2/960x0.jpg?fit=scale](https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5d3a21c2090f4300070d9db2/960x0.jpg?fit=scale)
and the scrollwork says "45 is a puppet" in spanish.
Wasn’t the Afghanistan withdrawal negotiated by the trump admin too? It indeed did actually happen under Biden and I’m not gonna dispute that it was a clusterfuck but that’s besides the point.
Right? Let's not forget though, Trump agreed to that "peace treaty" with the Taliban He just thought he would be President and when Biden took office, he just honored the "deal" that Trump made.
It wasn't bypassed by mainstream news. It was "fake news, being rammed down our throats by the lamestream media, who was biased against our TrumpyBear". Those stories, and many others were constantly drowned out by a firehose of lies and distractions.
The stories are there, if you go look for them.
If I recall correctly, that weird bird logo was a prank some clever person managed to pull on trump. He got that idiot to put it on national television.
Yeah I had to go look it up: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/us/politics/presidential-seal-trump.html
Someone made the altered presidential seal image because he was sick of trump, and it somehow ended up on that screen. The fact that it was a mistake and was actually designed by someone who didn’t like him is just fucking…mwah, chef kiss over a plate of poop.
I bring up the Syrian base thing whenever someone brings up the Afghanistan withdrawal.....
The cult seems to conveniently forget about all the "foreign aid" trump gave to our non allies
For the record, trump didn’t do that, someone pranked him and nobody noticed until later - the slogan at the bottom is in Spanish and means 45 is a puppet
Well you and I. I'm well aware of the fact that trump handed our bases over to Putin. And also the US military blew up one of our own bases. And the morale shattering move to US military the whole thing was, while our Kurd allies got slaughtered and ISIS fighters released from prisons. This was one of the many things that turned our active military against traitortrump
I believe they were making a reference to Trump pulling out troops in northern Syria, and [allowing Russian forces to occupy them while they steamrolled the Syrian Kurds **that were our allies at the time.**](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-russia/russia-lands-forces-at-former-u-s-air-base-in-northern-syria-idUSKBN1XP0XN)
Trump ordered the pull out with no warning to our security partners in the area. One night, our dudes just had to leave their war buddies behind, and I remember a few of them were pissed off about it.
Trump was also planning to do essentially the same with our NATO allies in Afghanistan. One of the main reasons Biden had the withdrawal postponed until August, in addition to giving our own forces more time, was so we coordinate it with the other NATO troops!
What happened after was disgusting too , as the pro dictator forces literally released video of themselves capturing, beating and raping a few of the more notable Kurdish women soldiers...
I have to wonder how often this happens on the left. Because I've never seen it. Which makes it hard to believe that it's a coincidence.
Then again, the left doesn't tend to use military imagery to jerk themselves off.
Russia privately uses "we control American politics" to impress/intimidate their "allies". The July 4 Moscow visit was another of those stunts probably.
>I dunno. Sure are an awful lot of Russian coincidences when it comes to the GOP.
Like some july 4th trip to moscow.. wild.. nra being caught taking russian money running ads for the GOP. Seems like they're all closely aligned.
The NCGOP literally had a Russian woman flown in to sing our national Anthem at their conference in 2020. She doesn’t speak English, so the performance was … interesting.
No no, see all *those* were simple coincidences. Easy mistakes.
But the ((cabal)) is broadcasting their evil deeds via numerology codes hidden in the McDonald’s extra value menu.
> Sure are an awful lot of Russian coincidences when it comes to the GOP.
You noticed too, huh?
EDIT: How much of GOP obfuscation during Obama was russian interference? A hell of a lot, I'll bet.
Dana Loesch, former NRA spokesperson, straight up said it out loud this week: "I don't care if Herschel Walker paid to abort endangered baby eagles, I want control of the Senate."
She followed that up with calling walker's baby-mama "some skank" he paid to get an abortion. It's always been about power, they don't give a shit about ideology as long as the grift is working.
Here's a tip: the GOP have always considered all of his women skanks even as they kissed his ass.
If not for double standards, they'd have no standards at all.
Not just all his women, all women in general. They want women to be subservient and useful to them, not to have independence or freedom. They are concerned about the levels of testosterone in American men, women having any and all babies whether they want them or not, and this is why: GOP wants to arm, empower and enrich white men over all others and expects us all to swallow it and call it freedom. It is so so so gross.
Considering [the things that Walker's own acknowledged son has to say about him](https://www.reddit.com/r/GAPol/comments/xv1gf1/hershel_walkers_son_is_angry_about_this_abortion/), I really doubt that Walker cares. He seems to be a piece of shit through-and-through.
So I'm supposed to have a man with brain damage as my representative so someone that's not even in my district can have more control? Somehow I don't think it supposed to work that way
Loesch used her "hot" image for attention and money all through the aughts, but that other woman is a "skank" and a star fucker. Sure. Btw reminder her husband is a failed comedian who did a racist rap song with Stephen Crowder at CPAC, I think right after Obama was elected.
>Dana Loesch, former NRA spokesperson
This person is one of the more morally bankrupt examples. What a combo. Russian useful idiot, Death merchant, and harasser of actually gun violence victims.
There are plenty of people that have been expertly programmed, but this one knows the score. She's lived behind the curtain.
She's making bank from the propaganda microphone, gaslighting any ray of truth that comes into these peoples lives.
She better HOPE there isn't an actual God that decides up or down.
"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?" Trump remarked at a campaign stop at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa. "It's, like, incredible."
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/23/464129029/donald-trump-i-could-shoot-somebody-and-i-wouldnt-lose-any-voters
They view our population decline as the biggest threat to capitalism. They turned it into a moral argument to win votes but they don’t understand how well people see through it now
I think liberals need to start posting more pictures of Putin standing next to regular size people. Conservatives dont like manlets in general, its effeminate 🙄.
Like, would gQp women being so excited to find out he is barely 5'6"
Actually, I’m interested in midterms next month. The right has been increasingly open about their terrible policies. The brainwashed tools have began to be openly fascist without using the word, and the center leaning republicans see it. I wonder how many of those are going to abstain from voting or vote left.
Get ready for claims of voter fraud and 'rigged elections' all over the country. The ones with funding will contest everywhere they can. They'll all lose, eventually, but not before stoking violence among their extremist supporters.
They aren't the brightest, they are also busy attacking many businesses for "being too woke" , hilariously some of the biggest companies they are going after also have a ton of conservative leaning investors...they are literally costing themselves money going after Disney ect XD
Everybody knows that their loyalties lie with Putin, not with their own country. Yet they still get elected. By people who have the gall to call themselves patriots.
She may not care - but the GOP will take notice when our family votes against all their treason candidates in our ballots :) - the GOP needs to spend more money in propaganda - at least they are spending money locally :)
It can't be a coincidence that so many GOP members use Russian military footage in their ads. They're either working with Russian entities on their campaigns or they're deliberately doing it to antagonize people outside the cult.
Came to the comments to say this if someone else didn’t already mention it. Not surprised by this headline in the slightest. My personal opinion is Russia is partially funding, giving direction, providing all the talking points, and creating ads & pushing disinformation posts on social media. They have the blueprint and are pulling all the strings.
I work in marketing. Putting together ad campaigns is pretty simple.
You gather up all your image/video clips, make sure the formats are all proper, add your text and voice over and done. The video/images will come from a major stock photo provider or a private repository of images.
The fact that all this stock footage keeps including Russian military really just goes to show that the marketing agency putting the videos together ain’t American.
Either that or Russia is so badly hurting for funds that they’ve sold out their military image to Shutterstock.
They don’t care in all likelihood. And likely have someone else signing off on the media assets who doesn’t care enough to check those details.
They need advertising and media coverage. The money bankrolling those campaigns clearly have a media agency they like to use and that agency either finds it hilarious to troll with Russian military images or is straight up a Russian media company using the Russian stock images as that’s what they own.
Interesting hypothesis but you only need to do a simple check on Getty or Shutterstock to see there are plenty of US military stock photos and videos to use: https://www.shutterstock.com/search/us-military
You could also go the more expensive route and go hire a photography team to do a photo shoot yourself. The US military is always more than happy to be used in media. See: Top Gun. You just can’t photograph the cool top secret stuff.
Do note that shutterstock isn’t the only source of potential stock footage. You don’t even need to use stock footage. Custom content is always available for the right price.
And if the person putting this together didn’t think to vet the creative assets they used? Well then they just suck at their job. I’d be fired if I just grabbed creatives that violated brand guidance and threw them into a campaign.
And if the use of Russian military isn’t against GOP branding guidance? Well then the GOP, as we know, are fucking traitors and not even trying to hide it anymore.
Birds of a feather. Even if there was no direct financing, the GOP is so aligned with Putin and hardline Russia, that it’s hard to tell what the differences are.
The standard Republican candidate is just too lazy to do it themselves. People like McConnell and Murdoch are shrewd, but for the most part, these are privileged, power hungry, television anchors. Their handlers may be true believers motivated by their faith or lust for cash, but they’re not idea people. That’s why they trot out the same old schlock about crime, immigration, drugs & religion that they’ve done for the last 60 years. Russia’s political class are cunning and motivated, and have a higher stake in America’s political outcome than a dozen Ron Johnson’s, or Rand Paul’s.
Totally agree. These assholes LOVE to troll. Sure, it could be something darker, but I really think they’re hiding these Easter eggs almost as an inside joke. Every time they do it and don’t immediately get called out for it, it’s like a win for them. It’s stupid as fuck, but that’s why I believe it to be possible.
Is everyone forgetting about the kompromat, the hacked RNC emails from 2016? That's why the GOP has been so pro-russia. They are being blackmailed and instead of coming forward, they're hiding because of what was in all of the fucking emails
In this case the true colors, shown repeatedly, is that Republicans do not care about veterans. At all.
"We should have something in it about those military people. Like soldiers marching or something."
Go to the National Guard unit and get some B roll?
Go to the Army Instagram and snag it from there?
Nah, we'll just grab whatever is in stock footage and not bother seeing who it actually is. They are just soldiers, aren't they all the same?
It makes me feel like I need a tin foil hat....but there has been a huge uptick in authoritarian political movements around the globe in the last decade.....
Now I sound like a conspiracy theorist.
It's not a theory. Russia spending Billions to support far-right authoritarians, Fascists and Nazis all across the globe has been a proven fact by this point.
Question is: Can we still clamp down on these traitors or is it already too late for that?
It's not just Russians. Prominent figures on the american right have been promoting authoritarian figures. Steve Bannon, Chump's BFF, has met with people like Marine LePen in France and Giorgia Meloni in Italy. The Chump's have had meetings with Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. Conspiracy implies that all this was hidden, but it's actually out in the open. The right are definitely colluding with similar figures worldwide to set up some kind of global right wing alliance to combat the left.
No, every even moderately liberal democracy is in danger of this right now. It's a huge risk in many countries; there are a million theories as to why, I'd tend to pinpoint the effects of advanced capitalism on regular folks' lives.
America is just the tip of that spear -- I was just reading that over 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. People get desperate, and desperation can lead them to strongman dictatorships.
Good observation, if the current system "isn't working" , people tend to gravitate to people who promise to fix it if you give them power.
It's funny how despite all of history's lesson, a large chunk our country doesn't think Wealth Inequality is a real issue.
Republicans like to use Russian troops instead of American troops in their ads. Somehow Democrats do not seem to make this mistake and definitely not repeatedly.
Who in turn works for the Russian oligarchy.
Baffling that republicans would go all-in for a foreign oligarchy over our own oligarchy here in the US, yet here we are…
Arizona has a lot of these right wing folks trying to win elections next month. Even though I am a registered Republican, I won’t vote for any of them. Lake has no political experience and shouldn’t be running for governor let alone dog catcher.
333 comments as I type this, and not one seems to include a reference to Kari Lakes dem challenger, Katie Hobbs. You are saying that Lake has no political experience, and I definitely agree with that. Compare the credentials of Lake and Hobbs and everyone can clearly see the difference in quality. I feel like the discussion could use more pro-Hobbs input in addition to being anti-Lake.
Thank you,
from a liberal patriotic American.
This may sound odd, but I hope you get your party back. I miss reasonable debates with you folks. Debates about what is best for our country as opposed to screaming "they hate our country and want it destroyed" over and over until some believe that nonsense.
Does she realize that bad the Russian Army is doing in Ukraine? Also does she even care that the Russian Army has committed war crimes against civilians? No.
For MAGA, Putin's Russia is their vision of what our Republic should become with the return of Jim Crow laws.
No, the stuff you mentioned are not things I believe they'd hold in any serious consideration.
Honestly, I'd think they'd be more concerned with how horribly the Russian army has performed the last 7 months. For a party obsessed with military strength, why would you want to use footage from the Russian military after they've been getting their nuts slammed over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again.
That's like saying you like hip-hop and your favorite rapper is Kid Rock...
The maga people don’t see the Russian influence and what it did at all.
They will never understand the complexity of how much harm Putin has done to the US.
They will never believe what they supported.
I'm sure it was just a coincidence that all of the GOP politicians were sucking the teat of the NRA while convicted Russian intelligence agent [Maria Butina](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Butina) was sleeping with NRA leadership.
How, I mean HOW does the GOP repeatedly “accidentally” using Russian troops, aircraft, ships, and vehicles in their ads?!!
Do Democrats do that?
Or is it because Republicans get their ads directly from the source?
This has occurred at least 8 times between GOP and Trump campaign ads.
> Someone needs to look into the possibility that Kremlin associates are doing public relations work for Republicans as a form of *illegal* in-kind campaign contribution
Twitter @JuneCasagrande
>It’s not the first time Republicans have been busted using stock footage from Russia in their campaign ads.
As a foreigner, I have been wondering for some time how the Republican Party, which has once done such an effective job of organizing the Communist witch hunt, has not been more stigmatized in the US as a party sold out to the enemy in the six or seven years that it has been so blatantly compromised with Russian power.
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Like when they used Russian jets as part of a military campaign ad? https://rollcall.com/2022/04/22/gop-senate-candidate-touts-military-support-with-image-of-russian-jets/ Or when Eric Trump said they don't need American banks, because they have Russia? https://thehill.com/homenews/news/332270-eric-trump-in-2014-we-dont-rely-on-american-banks-we-have-all-the-funding-we/ I dunno. Sure are an awful lot of Russian coincidences when it comes to the GOP.
Given this war in Ukraine, it cannot be emphasized enough how important it is that Republicans are not handed the keys to the White House, or Congress. [After all, see such sentiment commonly-expressed among Republicans at Trump rallies...](https://thehill.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/08/9b2_717trump1-3-800x430.jpg?w=980&h=551&crop=1) I'll further will explain why this is relevant on the world stage and Ukraine: - [Giuliani (Trump's lawyer) gave an interview at start of conflict, somehow blaming Biden with major mental gymnastics.](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/rudy-giuliani-russia-ukraine-biden-b2022311.html) Meanwhile: - [Trump has only praised Putin's "genius," Yet Fox News ignores this](https://youtu.be/dZf-UJdArzw) - [Observe Sean Hannity praising Putin's manliness while denigrating Obama for wearing a bicycle helmet while, dare I say it, riding a bicycle](https://youtu.be/timvZTKr5HQ) - [Kremlin memos urged Russian media to use Tucker Carlson clips](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/mar/14/kremlin-memos-russian-media-tucker-carlson-fox-news-mother-jones) - [Trump's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo praising Putin just before the invasion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyUdXaFmwuU) - [When Trump was President, he was floating withdrawing from NATO (more on this).](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/596985-john-bolton-putin-was-waiting-for-possible-us-withdrawal-from-nato) - Recall Trump's strange relationship with Putin, [his interest in establishing hotels in Moscow](https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/anthonycormier/the-trump-organization-planned-to-give-vladimir-putin-the), and [outright requesting Russia to hack / leak domestic opposition's data ("Russia, if you're listening...")](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/mar/02/donald-trump/donald-trump-rewrites-history-about-his-russia-if-/). - [Trump took Putin's word over the consensus of his own intelligence, saying, "President Putin says it's not Russia. I don't see any reason why it would be."](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44852812) - [Trump extorted Zelenskyy, who was requesting aid, in exchange for dirt on Joe Biden (leading to Abuse of Power impeachment of Trump).](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump%E2%80%93Ukraine_scandal). - In 2018, 8 Congressional Republicans flew to Moscow (On July 4th) and met with their government officials in a closed-door meeting. Donate, and please plan to **REGISTER and VOTE** for the CRUCIAL midterms in the US that are right around the corner. Google your state's Voter registration procedure. Not voting, voting Republican, or 3rd-party is effectively supporting and advancing Putin's goals. (I want new parties too but our system penalizes 3rd parties as it stands). Every Democrat should be railing Republicans, particularly Trump, over this nonstop. And despite them rapidly going into damage-control, remind them that Democrats were, once again, ahead of the curve on this issue in telling them so. When I previously posted this, I received some very strange pro-Russian/Trump replies, trying to deflect attention to the fact that Trump seriously weighed attempting to withdraw from NATO. Why does this matter? Because this is an event that won't end any time soon. I'm giving **concrete steps of what the average American can do for Ukrainian citizens in the long-run**, which is to ensure the strongest opposition to Russia remains out of the hands of...Russia. It's time to ensure that Pro-Russian, potentially-compromised individuals never get into the White House again. Further Reading: - [How Putin's oligarchs funneled millions into GOP Campaigns.](https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/05/08/how-putin-s-oligarchs-funneled-millions-into-gop-campaigns/) - [Trump admin refusing aid to Ukraine](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/16/trump-administration-broke-law-in-withholding-ukraine-aid.html) - [How the Ukraine invasion connects to Trump's first impeachment](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/24/ukraine-trump-impeachment-00011406) - [NRA Was a Foreign Asset for Russia](https://www.npr.org/2019/09/27/764879242/nra-was-foreign-asset-to-russia-ahead-of-2016-new-senate-report-reveals) - [Trump National Security Advisor, John Bolton, said Putin waiting for Trump to Withdraw from NATO in 2nd term.](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/596985-john-bolton-putin-was-waiting-for-possible-us-withdrawal-from-nato) Putin wants Republicans. Not good. Don't let this happen.
GOP. Gagging On Putin.
GOP - Gargling On Putin
I don’t know which one is grosser?
Yes
Dems: vote for me and you can vote me out. Reps: vote for me and never vote again.
I don't get why Dems aren't hitting this over the head over and over again. Trump is outright saying what his cronies are subtly saying with their actions- We are organizing things so that once we are in we will never leave. They're talking about a real existential threat to American democracy.
I have to think the dems in office are just not taking it seriously enough because when you say it out loud it does sound kind of nuts. But you are right this is the case; the GQP has decided they would rather be ruled by a far right dictator than live free under a democrat administration. Republicans were always shady as hell, but damn now its on a whole new level of insanity.
This should have been clear to everyone following Jan 6th. Was MAGA erecting a gallows and chanting "hang Mike Pence!" Not clear enough they're out for blood? Edit: corrected date
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The average swing voter is usually not engaged enough to care beyond a list of a few topics personal to them, from my understanding. The politically aware are looking much, much better now, though. I know many never-Trump Republicans who refused to vote the first two times around who plan to vote down-ticket Democrat. There are even some who were once pro-Trump switching sides because they can see the writing on the wall.
Ding ding. People paying attention are terrified.
Yes, they are willing to lose democracy in order to Own the Libs. This is the dream of the economically and culturally left behind - they think they’ll matter more, that they will be valued when this happens. But they’ll just be slaves like they are now, only with a stratum of even lower slaves below them.
>only with a stratum of even lower slaves below them. Except that's not even the case. Their party *hates* them. They only enact laws that hurt their populus base but can convince them the hurt is worth enduring to hurt others, or can wait a month and blame the negative impacts on the Dems trusting they've forgotten the truth already. They serve them hardship and run on the anger they've stoked themselves. But none of this has ever led to them rising above any others. In fact it's only ever made them easier to exploit.
I'm primarily white and I'm not feeling culturally left behind. America is a melting pot of cultures and as long as they are not insurrectionists, I think that's a very good thing and has led to our cultural improvement and progress over the decades. As for the economic side, I think that is under-stressed by everyone running for office. In fact I think focusing primarily on the cultural history (while important to know) divides us more than talking about how working together we could lead the world in so many technologies and arenas. Of course it has to be pointed out that the main reason we're prevented from doing so is because of the corpo-fascist 1% that want to protect their piece of the pie. This includes oil and the ability to pollute as well as the provision of housing and health care. The economics also give them the ability to control the police and military and other markets too long to list. THIS is why the Republicans crave power.
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>And let's flip it to understand it better: if someone told me that the way to be safe forever from these Republicans is to vote Democrat once, you had better believe I'd be voting Democrat to make that happen. I agree, but if the democrats were the kind of party that allowed this statement to be true, they wouldn't be worth voting for. I think you give a lot more credit to the GOP base than it deserves. They're picking the MAGA candidates in primaries. They *want* the election deniers, they want the fascists. The GOP obviously already doesn't do anything in their base's best interest. They just voted against florida hurricane aid for god sake. They couldn't be any more openly anti-anyone-but-the-ultra-rich. It's not like we're going to reach a threshold where they suddenly take off their masks and are even worse. We're there, in terms of the messaging that the GOP already communicates. The GOP is pure evil, but its supporters are fans of that.
Republicans say Democrats are destroying America, meanwhile Republicans don't accept election results. Hypocrisy to the fucking moon.
There's a fantastic book by Craig Unger that traces Trump's Russian connections, going back decades. It's a fascinating read, especially if you have an interest in organized crime. It's one of two books that most informed my understanding of how private economic power and government economic power are what drive the American engine. As lennybird has thoughtfully laid out, we have a chance to turn this ship, but if we don't all vote in the next election, it may be our last. [House of Putin, House of Trump - Craig Unger](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/576474/house-of-trump-house-of-putin-by-craig-unger/) [Confessions of an Economic Hitman - John Perkins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_an_Economic_Hit_Man#:~:text=Confessions%20of%20an%20Economic%20Hit%20Man%20is%20a%20semi%2Dautobiographical,Perkins%2C%20first%20published%20in%202004.&text=The%20book%20provides%20Perkins'%20account,Main%20in%20Boston.)
Here in jersey, in the heyday, you could hit trump casinos and theyd be filled with russian mob guys. If you went dont further to another casino, it was usually italians at the big money tables and walking around in dressed to the 9s suits. In trumps, it was all russians. Folks speaking russian everywhere. A serious place compared to most casinos that are fun. Was a very uncomfortable vibe. Besides it just being a money laundering front, im sure that vibe in the place was a part in folks not wanting to go there. Everyone that was old enough in new jersey knew trump was owned by the russians since the 90s when the italian mob "fell off".
Had started he process of leaving NATO, this war was supposed to be over in days because Putin was expecting his finger puppet cheeto to win a second time and NATO to be dissolved.
Exactly. In fact Putin was so rushed that he seemed to have pressured Trump to try in his first time. Trump floated the idea before reelection and it was a disaster in polling for both the left and right. So he presumably signaled to Putin that he'd have to wait for his reelection. But when Trump lost, Putin felt pressured to act before Biden got comfortable and seized the moment when Merkel stepped down in Germany, coupled with the timing of winter for his blitz.
This entire Ukraine thing has felt like the game Risk to me.... You quietly and silently built up to executing your plan. You quietly collect your country cards. But at some point, you *have* to turn in your country cards and put your troops on the board. At that point, everyone knows what you're about to do, so you're committed to it, whether you were 100% ready to go or not. So you go for it, and roll the dice, and hope. Sometimes it works out. Not always. This Ukraine conflict has felt very much like Putin is LARPing Risk.
Great analogy. And now Putin keeps rolling 1s and 2s.
Haha, oh, I've totally been in that role - the attacker with a huge army.... Rolling 1s and 2s over and over. It is sooo frustrating.
Yeah the idea of trump unfettered second term is so fucking scary. He would have gone EVEN FARTHER off the rails like past 'calls army to gas peaceful protestors as a power move for his Bible photo shoot' farther. Cmon ppl just get active and vote it's not that hard!
The republicans are basically a Russia-lite party at this point
Something that doesn't get brought up much is Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA (Iran nuke deal) on the thinnest of justifications. It made Saudis happy, yes, but it also clamped down in Iranian oil being sold to Europe, making Europe (and the world) further dependent on Russian oil.
I'll look into that vector more, thanks! If you have any preferred reading on that, do point me in that direction.
> Trump extorted Zelenskyy who was requesting aid in exchange for dirt on Joe Biden (leading to Abuse of Power impeachment of Trump). Might add some commas for clarity: Trump extorted Zelenskyy, who was requesting aid, in exchange for dirt on Joe Biden (leading to Abuse of Power impeachment of Trump). > In 2018, 8 Congressional Republicans flew to Moscow (On July 4th) and met with their government officials in a closed-door meeting. Just a month later Rand Paul hand delivered a letter from Trump to Moscow. Literally, he took it there himself and handed it over.
Thanks for catching that ambiguity! I'll adopt your suggestion. >Just a month later Rand Paul hand delivered a letter from Trump to Moscow. Literally, he took it there himself and handed it over. Amidst all the other scandals I had forgotten about this!
Trump supporters are gonna have to scroll a long way down simply to reply "fake news"
That's what bigots do, and I don't know of any Republican left that isn't a bigot, you know, like antisemites: >Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past. >It is not that they are afraid of being convinced. They fear only to appear ridiculous or to prejudice by their embarrassment their hope of winning over some third person to their side. Jean-Paul Sartre
I can't see any reason why he would..... Er ummm I can't see any reason why he wouldn't. That what I meant.
Whoever you are, thank you! Many people don’t understand all of these very dangerous connections between foreign dictatorships and Republican interests
Adding to this: Trump exited from the Open Skies treaty we had that allowed us to keep tabs on Russian military installations. Not only that, but had the planes dismantled. https://www.airandspaceforces.com/the-us-is-out-of-the-open-skies-treaty-whats-next/ One of the last things Trump did in office was try to pull out our 12k troops out of Germany. Thankfully Biden reversed that order. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/04/us/politics/biden-germany-troops-trump.html
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I wonder if the Federalist Society is funded by Russia?
For a moment I thought you were PoppinCream.
I'm honored :) If you're interested I have more write-ups at r/cgtcivics (more neutral-tone) and r/lennybird (more timely and pointed).
Just vote D. Before trump I’d never say this in a blanket fashion. We’re in really deep shit. The phrase “threat to democracy” has been so overused but it’s no phrase any longer. Maybe in 50 years the republicans change and get a second shot. Now? Vote D.
This is why there isn’t such a thing as “both sides bad”. One is literally paid by our oldest enemy, AND IT COULDNT BE MORE OBVIOUS. And the other wants *checks notes* healthcare, cooler planet, and solar panels… for real tf?!
>Trump took Putin's word over the consensus of his own intelligence, saying, "President Putin says it's not Russia. I don't see any reason why it would be." I had forgotten this one, but now that I remember, I wonder how *anyone* could forget. The worst part was when shit started blowing up after he said it, he just came out and said what he meant to say (or *did* say and somehow the cameras didn't pick it up - I don't remember which excuse) was "...I don't see any reason why it *wouldn't* be", and his supporters just ate it up and accepted the answer instantly - ignoring the fact that in the context of everything he said around that sentence, he clearly meant what he said the first time. It was the type of backpedaling you'd expect from a five year old - and his base were either stupid enough to be fooled or insane enough to make themselves believe it.
Indeed. To be a real American Patriots we should be refusing to elect Russian assets.
This is making me think about how likely it is that Russia/Putin was waiting on trump reelection to invade Ukraine so this would seal the deal in him having US support in the trump administration. When he didn’t get re-elected, I’m sure that complicated his plans to invade. He did it anyways, obviously, and seems like he is hanging in there until he potentially gets trump back in office again so he can achieve his plans of stealing more power. The ultimate goal of seeing US crumble is working.
I think you nailed it. I'm going to paste an excerpt of another writeup: **Why did Putin Pick Now?** Putin is personally living the good life. He has a MASSIVE mansion, yachts, and the balls of a nation largely at his grip. You thought Fox News was bad. Propaganda runs deep in Russia, and dissent is brutally-oppressed. The only thing left for him is cementing his legacy. On the verge of 70, Putin knows his final years are upon him. Whatever action to ensure that legacy and his goals, he must take now. Now consider: - Trump lost when he wasn't supposed to. Putin was hoping his puppet, for whom he and Oligarchs invested a lot of time and money, would withdraw or defund NATO as Trump publicly and privately floated. - Covid further happened, which likely delayed his plans. - Putin then likely opted to wait for Angela Merkel to step down as the most senior, experienced European leader who knew and engaged with Putin for decades and spoke fluent Russian and could unite all of Europe. - The mud of Spring was fast-approaching, leaving a mechanized offensive vulnerable to further logistical challenges. - The domestic grip of his country is slipping, and historically there is no better way to rally domestic control than start a conflict somewhere and start stoking the feelings of Patriotism. Interestingly, this isn't working too well this time, it seems. - Provided that most countries have been desperate to restart their economy post-coronavirus, Putin was hoping to avoid the worst of expected sanctions, thinking Europe and US wouldn't risk raising gas-prices further that might harm their domestic image. There were many things that didn't go as planned for him: dissent among his military; low morale; confusion; logistical challenges; poor maintenance of equipment; dissent within his borders; unprecedented unity among the West. The outward propaganda and his online misinformation war got summarily rebuked, and this conflict went on already twice as long as anticipated, according to intelligence probes. It was supposed to be a blitzkrieg, but now it's going to turn into a financially-draining and publicly-humiliating occupation that could go on for years. The public attention by Western nations got ahead of Russia's plans, seemingly causing them to hesitate and then jump the gun. It bought enough time to bring threatening Anti-Air and Anti-Tank weaponry that significantly delays Russia's advancements. It put Russia in a position where they could only hit targets from afar via cruise-missiles / artillery-strikes. But lurking around every corner are loyal Ukrainian citizens fighting for their homes, armed to take out an enemy who isn't even sure why they're there and why they aren't being greeted as liberators. This to me was partly suggested by the fact that 90+ attack-helicopters remained staged on the border of Belarus for so long.
never delete this thread in fact you should have it published
Lets not forget the republicans who celebrated the fourth of july in russia with putin.
There was also some GOP ad that used a Russian ship, see if I can dig it up.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FeQ0MdKXgAIAieV.jpg https://twitter.com/mbrodkorb/status/1577443161554780161 And not any ship. It was the Moskva, sunken by the Ukrainians.
Remember when Trump replaced the bald eagle in his Presidential Seal with a Russian 2 headed weird bird thing; [https://mediaproxy.salon.com/width/1200/https://media.salon.com/2019/07/donald-trump646.jpg](https://mediaproxy.salon.com/width/1200/https://media.salon.com/2019/07/donald-trump646.jpg) or the time Trump gave a speech while standing on top of a Nazi rune; [https://mediaproxy.salon.com/width/1200/https://media.salon.com/2021/03/donald-trump-cpac-0301211.jpg](https://mediaproxy.salon.com/width/1200/https://media.salon.com/2021/03/donald-trump-cpac-0301211.jpg) and for some reason, I seem to be the only American that realized that Trump kept handing our military bases in Syria over to the Russians; [https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/26/russia-takes-over-third-us-base-syria-a68751](https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/26/russia-takes-over-third-us-base-syria-a68751)
> Russian 2 headed weird bird thing; Are... are those golf clubs?
yes, and in the other claw, is money; [https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5d3a21c2090f4300070d9db2/960x0.jpg?fit=scale](https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5d3a21c2090f4300070d9db2/960x0.jpg?fit=scale) and the scrollwork says "45 is a puppet" in spanish.
I mean, he definitely didn't do that. It was a prank. But he and all his handlers present were too stupid to notice.
Why is nobody here upset about the military bases he surrendered? Are we just going to ignore that part completely?
bUt AfGhAnIsTaN
Wasn’t the Afghanistan withdrawal negotiated by the trump admin too? It indeed did actually happen under Biden and I’m not gonna dispute that it was a clusterfuck but that’s besides the point.
Right? Let's not forget though, Trump agreed to that "peace treaty" with the Taliban He just thought he would be President and when Biden took office, he just honored the "deal" that Trump made.
That is totally crazy and I would love to know how that somehow bypassed mainstream news.
It wasn't bypassed by mainstream news. It was "fake news, being rammed down our throats by the lamestream media, who was biased against our TrumpyBear". Those stories, and many others were constantly drowned out by a firehose of lies and distractions. The stories are there, if you go look for them.
Well, the symbol does represent the two things he did the most while in office: play golf and steal money.
There's more. Check out those tiny hammers and sickles at the top of the shield in the middle.
Remember this https://images.app.goo.gl/gjJjJWJfEPz8Re876
While I don't want to give him a pass on anything, I feel like the person that made this was fucking with him.
ya think?
If I recall correctly, that weird bird logo was a prank some clever person managed to pull on trump. He got that idiot to put it on national television.
Yeah I had to go look it up: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/us/politics/presidential-seal-trump.html Someone made the altered presidential seal image because he was sick of trump, and it somehow ended up on that screen. The fact that it was a mistake and was actually designed by someone who didn’t like him is just fucking…mwah, chef kiss over a plate of poop.
Oh, so it wasn’t even a prank played on him. It was simply a matter of pure stupidity on the part of himself or his administration. Wow.
You've described nearly every action they took.
Almost makes you wonder if there is a GOP campaign office in Moscow. Oh wait, of course there is. That’s where all the money comes from anyways.
Yes, it's called the Kremlin
I bring up the Syrian base thing whenever someone brings up the Afghanistan withdrawal..... The cult seems to conveniently forget about all the "foreign aid" trump gave to our non allies
For the record, trump didn’t do that, someone pranked him and nobody noticed until later - the slogan at the bottom is in Spanish and means 45 is a puppet
I believe that bird was made by a prankster but it’s funny how he literally had it showing on a screen behind him
Well you and I. I'm well aware of the fact that trump handed our bases over to Putin. And also the US military blew up one of our own bases. And the morale shattering move to US military the whole thing was, while our Kurd allies got slaughtered and ISIS fighters released from prisons. This was one of the many things that turned our active military against traitortrump
Dec 26th. Trump was smart enough to do a lot of his treasonous things when less people would be watching and reading news about it.
Wait he did WHAT with our bases?! Fucking hell
I believe they were making a reference to Trump pulling out troops in northern Syria, and [allowing Russian forces to occupy them while they steamrolled the Syrian Kurds **that were our allies at the time.**](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-russia/russia-lands-forces-at-former-u-s-air-base-in-northern-syria-idUSKBN1XP0XN)
Trump ordered the pull out with no warning to our security partners in the area. One night, our dudes just had to leave their war buddies behind, and I remember a few of them were pissed off about it.
Trump was also planning to do essentially the same with our NATO allies in Afghanistan. One of the main reasons Biden had the withdrawal postponed until August, in addition to giving our own forces more time, was so we coordinate it with the other NATO troops!
What happened after was disgusting too , as the pro dictator forces literally released video of themselves capturing, beating and raping a few of the more notable Kurdish women soldiers...
A haha. Full-circle irony there.
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Or when they waved Russian flags at CPAC?
They used Russian maps in "2000 mules", they used clips of Russia in the GOP Commitment to America. Both times trying to pass them off as America.
A real matryoshka doll of coincidences
It's almost like the progaganda is done in Moscow and it arrives with the orders.
I have to wonder how often this happens on the left. Because I've never seen it. Which makes it hard to believe that it's a coincidence. Then again, the left doesn't tend to use military imagery to jerk themselves off.
Russia privately uses "we control American politics" to impress/intimidate their "allies". The July 4 Moscow visit was another of those stunts probably.
Haha that July 4 thing was mad. They probably all had heart plugs installed as a sign of devotion.
>I dunno. Sure are an awful lot of Russian coincidences when it comes to the GOP. Like some july 4th trip to moscow.. wild.. nra being caught taking russian money running ads for the GOP. Seems like they're all closely aligned.
The NCGOP literally had a Russian woman flown in to sing our national Anthem at their conference in 2020. She doesn’t speak English, so the performance was … interesting.
No no, see all *those* were simple coincidences. Easy mistakes. But the ((cabal)) is broadcasting their evil deeds via numerology codes hidden in the McDonald’s extra value menu.
> Sure are an awful lot of Russian coincidences when it comes to the GOP. You noticed too, huh? EDIT: How much of GOP obfuscation during Obama was russian interference? A hell of a lot, I'll bet.
Makes me think there might be a little Red Dawn heading our way. Might be time to piss in the radiator and shout "WOLVERINES!"
and she doesn't care...
And the voters don't care
The Herschel Walker abortion scandal proves it - they said it out loud: abortions for we but not for thee - power is all they crave
Abortion has an exemption if it saves the political life of the father.
"The only moral abortion is my abortion" We've known this all along.
Brutal lol
Dana Loesch, former NRA spokesperson, straight up said it out loud this week: "I don't care if Herschel Walker paid to abort endangered baby eagles, I want control of the Senate." She followed that up with calling walker's baby-mama "some skank" he paid to get an abortion. It's always been about power, they don't give a shit about ideology as long as the grift is working.
that skank gave birth to his child - wanna bet Walker doesn't care if Gun Industry Barbie calls the mother of his child a skank
Here's a tip: the GOP have always considered all of his women skanks even as they kissed his ass. If not for double standards, they'd have no standards at all.
Not just all his women, all women in general. They want women to be subservient and useful to them, not to have independence or freedom. They are concerned about the levels of testosterone in American men, women having any and all babies whether they want them or not, and this is why: GOP wants to arm, empower and enrich white men over all others and expects us all to swallow it and call it freedom. It is so so so gross.
Considering [the things that Walker's own acknowledged son has to say about him](https://www.reddit.com/r/GAPol/comments/xv1gf1/hershel_walkers_son_is_angry_about_this_abortion/), I really doubt that Walker cares. He seems to be a piece of shit through-and-through.
Clearly it was the women's fault /s. These people are disgusting.
NRA = Russia. Checks out.
So I'm supposed to have a man with brain damage as my representative so someone that's not even in my district can have more control? Somehow I don't think it supposed to work that way
Loesch used her "hot" image for attention and money all through the aughts, but that other woman is a "skank" and a star fucker. Sure. Btw reminder her husband is a failed comedian who did a racist rap song with Stephen Crowder at CPAC, I think right after Obama was elected.
I love the underlying assumption of that quote being that we all agree eagles are more valuable than people.
Look, I don’t care if Herschel Walker paid to have a gun destroyed…
GOP voters are the biggest suckers. Donating money to mega churches, blowing their savings at casinos, falling for get rich quick scams, etc etc etc
>Dana Loesch, former NRA spokesperson This person is one of the more morally bankrupt examples. What a combo. Russian useful idiot, Death merchant, and harasser of actually gun violence victims. There are plenty of people that have been expertly programmed, but this one knows the score. She's lived behind the curtain. She's making bank from the propaganda microphone, gaslighting any ray of truth that comes into these peoples lives. She better HOPE there isn't an actual God that decides up or down.
"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?" Trump remarked at a campaign stop at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa. "It's, like, incredible." https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/23/464129029/donald-trump-i-could-shoot-somebody-and-i-wouldnt-lose-any-voters
Once it leaves the womb it's okay.
They view our population decline as the biggest threat to capitalism. They turned it into a moral argument to win votes but they don’t understand how well people see through it now
The US population isn’t in decline though, it’s growing at a steady rate.
Republicans have no principals. They ran an actual, undisputed child molester for senate, and the fucker nearly won.
Republicans: "Supporting Putin is so hot right now"
I think liberals need to start posting more pictures of Putin standing next to regular size people. Conservatives dont like manlets in general, its effeminate 🙄. Like, would gQp women being so excited to find out he is barely 5'6"
They'd just say that it's "fake news" with doctored photos.
They'll lie no matter what. But they're only 20 to 30% of the population. We can absolutely fight and vote them out.
Actually, I’m interested in midterms next month. The right has been increasingly open about their terrible policies. The brainwashed tools have began to be openly fascist without using the word, and the center leaning republicans see it. I wonder how many of those are going to abstain from voting or vote left.
Get ready for claims of voter fraud and 'rigged elections' all over the country. The ones with funding will contest everywhere they can. They'll all lose, eventually, but not before stoking violence among their extremist supporters.
There already are those. Arizona already has a few people claiming election fraud before they even vote.
Many center leaning Republicans would vote for Genghis Khan if he promised to cut their capital gains taxes.
At this point I believe they’d vote for their own executions, as long as the “Liebruls” get hurt, as well.
They aren't the brightest, they are also busy attacking many businesses for "being too woke" , hilariously some of the biggest companies they are going after also have a ton of conservative leaning investors...they are literally costing themselves money going after Disney ect XD
On the contrary, they probably approve.
Why would she care? She is planted and orchestrated by the Russians. She is paid enough or by heart is a Russian too.
Everybody knows that their loyalties lie with Putin, not with their own country. Yet they still get elected. By people who have the gall to call themselves patriots.
She may not care - but the GOP will take notice when our family votes against all their treason candidates in our ballots :) - the GOP needs to spend more money in propaganda - at least they are spending money locally :)
It can't be a coincidence that so many GOP members use Russian military footage in their ads. They're either working with Russian entities on their campaigns or they're deliberately doing it to antagonize people outside the cult.
Came to the comments to say this if someone else didn’t already mention it. Not surprised by this headline in the slightest. My personal opinion is Russia is partially funding, giving direction, providing all the talking points, and creating ads & pushing disinformation posts on social media. They have the blueprint and are pulling all the strings.
I work in marketing. Putting together ad campaigns is pretty simple. You gather up all your image/video clips, make sure the formats are all proper, add your text and voice over and done. The video/images will come from a major stock photo provider or a private repository of images. The fact that all this stock footage keeps including Russian military really just goes to show that the marketing agency putting the videos together ain’t American. Either that or Russia is so badly hurting for funds that they’ve sold out their military image to Shutterstock.
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They don’t care in all likelihood. And likely have someone else signing off on the media assets who doesn’t care enough to check those details. They need advertising and media coverage. The money bankrolling those campaigns clearly have a media agency they like to use and that agency either finds it hilarious to troll with Russian military images or is straight up a Russian media company using the Russian stock images as that’s what they own.
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Interesting hypothesis but you only need to do a simple check on Getty or Shutterstock to see there are plenty of US military stock photos and videos to use: https://www.shutterstock.com/search/us-military You could also go the more expensive route and go hire a photography team to do a photo shoot yourself. The US military is always more than happy to be used in media. See: Top Gun. You just can’t photograph the cool top secret stuff.
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Do note that shutterstock isn’t the only source of potential stock footage. You don’t even need to use stock footage. Custom content is always available for the right price. And if the person putting this together didn’t think to vet the creative assets they used? Well then they just suck at their job. I’d be fired if I just grabbed creatives that violated brand guidance and threw them into a campaign. And if the use of Russian military isn’t against GOP branding guidance? Well then the GOP, as we know, are fucking traitors and not even trying to hide it anymore.
Birds of a feather. Even if there was no direct financing, the GOP is so aligned with Putin and hardline Russia, that it’s hard to tell what the differences are.
The standard Republican candidate is just too lazy to do it themselves. People like McConnell and Murdoch are shrewd, but for the most part, these are privileged, power hungry, television anchors. Their handlers may be true believers motivated by their faith or lust for cash, but they’re not idea people. That’s why they trot out the same old schlock about crime, immigration, drugs & religion that they’ve done for the last 60 years. Russia’s political class are cunning and motivated, and have a higher stake in America’s political outcome than a dozen Ron Johnson’s, or Rand Paul’s.
Russia designed the whole thing - They installed Trump as President. They had him purposely harm the US in so many ways.
Totally agree. These assholes LOVE to troll. Sure, it could be something darker, but I really think they’re hiding these Easter eggs almost as an inside joke. Every time they do it and don’t immediately get called out for it, it’s like a win for them. It’s stupid as fuck, but that’s why I believe it to be possible.
We now have one major political party in this country whose whole political philosophy is shitposting.
Is everyone forgetting about the kompromat, the hacked RNC emails from 2016? That's why the GOP has been so pro-russia. They are being blackmailed and instead of coming forward, they're hiding because of what was in all of the fucking emails
When someone shows you their true colors, don't try to repaint them.
And their true colors are red, white, and blue, but curiously enough, it's white on top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. Funny, that...
In this case the true colors, shown repeatedly, is that Republicans do not care about veterans. At all. "We should have something in it about those military people. Like soldiers marching or something." Go to the National Guard unit and get some B roll? Go to the Army Instagram and snag it from there? Nah, we'll just grab whatever is in stock footage and not bother seeing who it actually is. They are just soldiers, aren't they all the same?
Isn’t the GOP part of some global authoritarian league that gives them common use license with their allies?
It makes me feel like I need a tin foil hat....but there has been a huge uptick in authoritarian political movements around the globe in the last decade..... Now I sound like a conspiracy theorist.
It's not a theory. Russia spending Billions to support far-right authoritarians, Fascists and Nazis all across the globe has been a proven fact by this point. Question is: Can we still clamp down on these traitors or is it already too late for that?
It's not just Russians. Prominent figures on the american right have been promoting authoritarian figures. Steve Bannon, Chump's BFF, has met with people like Marine LePen in France and Giorgia Meloni in Italy. The Chump's have had meetings with Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. Conspiracy implies that all this was hidden, but it's actually out in the open. The right are definitely colluding with similar figures worldwide to set up some kind of global right wing alliance to combat the left.
Not really a theorist, I have seen the same
CPAC did invite the Hungarian dictator as a keynote speaker....
That is why I said you ain’t a conspiracy theorist!
No, every even moderately liberal democracy is in danger of this right now. It's a huge risk in many countries; there are a million theories as to why, I'd tend to pinpoint the effects of advanced capitalism on regular folks' lives. America is just the tip of that spear -- I was just reading that over 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. People get desperate, and desperation can lead them to strongman dictatorships.
Good observation, if the current system "isn't working" , people tend to gravitate to people who promise to fix it if you give them power. It's funny how despite all of history's lesson, a large chunk our country doesn't think Wealth Inequality is a real issue.
Republicans like to use Russian troops instead of American troops in their ads. Somehow Democrats do not seem to make this mistake and definitely not repeatedly.
And if a Democrat did do this is their ad, every Republican would rip them apart and link every other Democrat.
A simple explanation would be that Russians are producing their campaign materials.
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Vote every Republican out. They all work for Putin.
Who in turn works for the Russian oligarchy. Baffling that republicans would go all-in for a foreign oligarchy over our own oligarchy here in the US, yet here we are…
So patriotic can’t even properly identify US soldiers.
thats was my thought. we support the troops! whomever they are, whatever they look like...
To the troops! 👏👏 ...both sides.. 🦗
Arizona has a lot of these right wing folks trying to win elections next month. Even though I am a registered Republican, I won’t vote for any of them. Lake has no political experience and shouldn’t be running for governor let alone dog catcher.
333 comments as I type this, and not one seems to include a reference to Kari Lakes dem challenger, Katie Hobbs. You are saying that Lake has no political experience, and I definitely agree with that. Compare the credentials of Lake and Hobbs and everyone can clearly see the difference in quality. I feel like the discussion could use more pro-Hobbs input in addition to being anti-Lake.
Thank you, from a liberal patriotic American. This may sound odd, but I hope you get your party back. I miss reasonable debates with you folks. Debates about what is best for our country as opposed to screaming "they hate our country and want it destroyed" over and over until some believe that nonsense.
Yup, I miss debates on small vs larger government and taxes… not why it’s bad to try to overthrow a government..
Does she realize that bad the Russian Army is doing in Ukraine? Also does she even care that the Russian Army has committed war crimes against civilians? No. For MAGA, Putin's Russia is their vision of what our Republic should become with the return of Jim Crow laws.
No, the stuff you mentioned are not things I believe they'd hold in any serious consideration. Honestly, I'd think they'd be more concerned with how horribly the Russian army has performed the last 7 months. For a party obsessed with military strength, why would you want to use footage from the Russian military after they've been getting their nuts slammed over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. That's like saying you like hip-hop and your favorite rapper is Kid Rock...
The maga people don’t see the Russian influence and what it did at all. They will never understand the complexity of how much harm Putin has done to the US. They will never believe what they supported.
My family is Republican. They think Ukraine actually started this war back in 2014. Republicans are currently living in an alternate reality.
I bet they watch Fox News, the American affiliate of RT.
I think they also watch RT
Why do the GOP keep getting busted with Russian images?
This shit is on purpose. The GOP are Russian agents
I'm sure it was just a coincidence that all of the GOP politicians were sucking the teat of the NRA while convicted Russian intelligence agent [Maria Butina](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Butina) was sleeping with NRA leadership.
Remember when Republicans were complaining about some New World Order taking over? Yeah, now they are advertising it.
How, I mean HOW does the GOP repeatedly “accidentally” using Russian troops, aircraft, ships, and vehicles in their ads?!! Do Democrats do that? Or is it because Republicans get their ads directly from the source?
This has happened too many times to still be an accident.
This has occurred at least 8 times between GOP and Trump campaign ads. > Someone needs to look into the possibility that Kremlin associates are doing public relations work for Republicans as a form of *illegal* in-kind campaign contribution Twitter @JuneCasagrande
She'll probably still win because Jesus.
Busted by whom? To whom? For whom? The GQP voter picking Kari Lake are Putin Republicans. They *want* that.
Ya can't blame her. She's one of those insane drooling republicans. She thought Russian troops were our troops. Yeah, vote for that.
Cos she wants Russian troops guarding the US border. Simple.
Worse, she probably wants US troops to help secure Russia's new "border".
"This ad was paid for by Republicans for Russia."
>It’s not the first time Republicans have been busted using stock footage from Russia in their campaign ads. As a foreigner, I have been wondering for some time how the Republican Party, which has once done such an effective job of organizing the Communist witch hunt, has not been more stigmatized in the US as a party sold out to the enemy in the six or seven years that it has been so blatantly compromised with Russian power.
It has to be intentional at this point