Russia's lasting grip on Christian conservatives

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Prominent Russian nationals and members of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) continue to build bridges with American right-wing politicians and may be influencing policy.

Despite being sanctioned by the US Department of Treasury and the European Union for crimes in Ukraine, the same Russians under investigation for meeting with National Rifle Association (NRA) members are using Christian fundamentalist groups as a conduit to influence lawmakers.

Russians continue to skirt around sanctions by penetrating American churches and “family values” nonprofit organizations, and by manipulating IRS 501(c) loopholes, which do not require these groups to disclose their donations.

This is similar to the way members of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle infiltrated the NRA.

Recently disclosed documents reveal that, over the last decade, at least $50 million has been dumped into fascist European fundamentalist groups. The list of donors includes former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon; Trump legal advisor, who converted from Judaism to become a Christian televangelist, Jay Sekulow; US Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos; and DeVos’s brother, former Blackwater mercenary founder turned Virginia cattle rancher, Erik Prince.

Another top donor is one of Russia’s richest men, oligarch Konstantin Malofeev — Putin’s most effective Eurasianism lobbyist. Malofeev’s stature catapulted him to the center of America’s growing Christian fundamentalist syndicate, with a healthy boost from Rupert Murdoch’s right-wing media empire. In 2011, together with Jack Hanick, a former producer of Sean Hannity’s Fox News program, Malofeev launched an Orthodox Christian network called Tsargrad.

-more-

https://www.salon.com/2019/05/04/russias-lasting-grip-on-christian-conservatives_partner/

[Initech]

1. No collusion!!!!

Yeah fucking right. There's collusion happening all around us. They're guilty and they know it. Fuck Trump, fuck Russia, and fuck the Christian right.

[Lars39]

2. I see Southern Baptist's are represented at the WCF.

[klook]

3. The same dopes who used to rail against

“the Commaniss.”

[Lars39]

4. Yep

And you could chart this out in 20 point font and they still wouldn’t believe it.

[certainot]

5. thanks. relating to that, the russians have been using rw radio for at least a decade

that's why hannity's name was redacted in the mueller report - for 'harm to ongoing matters' - and that's why trump paraded limbaugh at the golf course - to make sure the con reps stayed in line

religion is part of the tool box but talk radio is how they relate it to everyday political events

[MadDAsHell]

6. Russia was a threat in 2012. Just not the threat we thought 'ol Mittens was referring to.

In reality I kind of wish we'd taken him seriously. I know he wasn't referring to what turned out to be the real Russian threat but mocking him at the time has made it harder to make the anti-Russia case now.

[SergeStorms]

7. It's time to start taxing...

the ever living shit out of these churches. Keep your damned churches out of our government or one day we will surely have our government walk all over your stinking churches.

[mountain grammy]

8. Will anything save us from the religious fanatics?