Putin Republicans: Follow The Money

Democracy Labs

4 years ago

Putin Republicans : Follow The Money

What makes Putin Republicans adore the Russian dictator? Follow the money.

Putin has bought corrupted the Republican Party. Follow the money to see how this lets him get sanctions on Russia lifted, aid to Ukraine denied and public support for his invasion from prominent Republicans. This infographic draws a timeline of the Putin – Republican love affair. Can you name?

Republican Senator was rewarded with a $200m factory in his state after voting to block sanctions on Russia?
President who abruptly withdrew American troops from Syria giving Russia a golden opportunity to take it over?
Russian millionaire who invested millions in Facebook?
Republican congress(wo)men attended a far-right convention where the crowd cheered for Putin?
Republican operative with close ties to Russian oligarchs ran Trump’s presidential campaign?
American evangelist visited Russia and praised Putin’s attack on gay rights?
Former Republican Secretary of State is calling Putin “savvy and talented”?
Russian oligarch who bought five condos in Trump Towers each for $6 million in cash?

Putin Republicans

Republicans for Putin

“Fox News personality Tucker Carlson’s monologues are so supportive of Putin they are being replayed on Russian state television, Representative Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) has called Zelensky a thug and says democratic Ukraine is “incredibly evil and has been pushing woke ideologies,” and Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) were part of a conference in which white nationalists cheered on Putin’s attack on Ukraine and chanted his name. A tape revealed today that Cawthorn called into a right-wing talk show on January 6th and said he had brought “multiple weapons” with him that day, suggesting he had known what was planned.”

Republican assault on American Democracy

At the same time, the findings of the January 6 committee reveal that the pro-Putin wing of the Republican Party appears to have been willing to overturn our own liberal democracy so long as it could get what it wanted. American focus on the horrors unleashed on Ukraine has clarified our own struggle between democracy and authoritarianism here at home.

To solidify their hold on power, they have spread distrust in elections, as former president Donald Trump famously did in the 2020 election season even before his loss to Democrat Joe Biden, claiming that he would only lose if there were fraud. National, state, and local officials lined up behind Trump to try to overturn the election results, spreading the Big Lie that Biden’s election was illegitimate. The result was the assault on the U.S. Capitol.

That failed, but those who backed it, as Repucci and Slipowitz note, “continue to exert significant influence on the US political system,” while those “who refused to display loyalty to the former leader faced political marginalization, severe intraparty pressure, and outright threats of violence.” – Letters From An American