They. All. Took. The. Dirty. Russian. Money.

[Drahthaardogs]

Ukrainian too.

I have been saying this for three years. It's why they are fighting for the bastard. It's why so many retired. They are all dirty from money funneled through the NRA and RNC.

[Hortensis]

1. We know some did, but paying them all would not be necessary,

you know, only key people who give orders to, and embroil, the rest. And we know about some of those already, of course, such as McConnell and Graham.

The purpose of Russian money is of far more interest to me. We know that Russia exports corruption to take down governments, but our senators aren't using it to buy fast cars and women. Is Russian money one of many clues pointing to a planned Republican takeover that's been gathering speed until we finally became aware of it?

The media's full of reports that Russia is pushing the Ukraine-2016 lies AND that Republcian senators are determinedly doubling down on pushing the lies for Russia anyway. Whatever their goals, they're in very deep, guessing too deep not to push ahead at this point, with everything to win or everything to lose.

[gab13by13]

11. Why do you say they aren't using the money

to buy fast cars and women?

Rachel explained why Republicans are pushing the narrative that Russia didn't hack our election; $500,000,000.00. If Trump and his traitorous cronies convince people that Russia never hacked our election the next move by Trump will be to lift sanctions on Russia.
Russia has a half trillion dollars worth of natural gas and oil sitting in the arctic and doesn't have the technology to get at it. Wonder why Rex Tillerson was picked as SOS? I wonder if it had to do with Exxon Mobil having the technology.

Follow the money; always. I can just imagine what Trump's cut would be from half a trillion dollars?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

15. That would be $500,000,000,000.00. You had 500 million. . . . . nt

[gab13by13]

25. Thank you

I guess I didn't have enough zeroes. The math side of my brain is a little slow.

[Ligyron]

37. But of course money ill gotten from criminal acts is forfeit, no?

Even local police depts are seizing assets of drivers stopped within their jurisdiction for BS without due process last I heard, so. But watch, they will figure a way around that little inconvenience somehow for the GOP criminals.

[Hortensis]

23. Oh, some may be slipped aside by idiots. Corruption destroys

nations, and that's been Russia's game for a long time. And, yes, the corruption goes from top to bottom in our nation now -- it's infected Republicans in governments across the nation and also the electorate, by far strongest the right, but on the left as well.

But above all, the purpose of Russian money is to put corrupt agents in power. TO PUT CORRUPT PEOPLE INTO POSITIONS OF POWER, BOTH GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE. That's how McConnell, their biggest recipient in elective office, uses his -- to elect more and more corrupt members to his legislative team.

[Grasswire2]

41. and judges. nt

[Hortensis]

42. Yes! The Repubs are fasttracking those for all they're worth.

[sandiapeach]

63. Are the Democrats blameless?

Money corrupts, but is it just the GOP who are in hock to the Russians? I may be a cynical old lady, but I fear that an old KGB warrior like Putin would not leave the Democrats alone. The GOP with their greed and basic corruption makes an easy target, but is that the whole story? What would a compromised Democrat even look like?

[Hortensis]

66. Liberal Democrat corruption is comparatively strongly limited to

Last edited Sun Nov 24, 2019, 10:11 AM - Edit history (2)

what people have to do to be reelected, powerful people pleased, principles and positions tabled to please constituents, etc. Not Republican type betrayal of democratic principles, greed for power and wealth, etc.

This has been and is being studied, of course. A political scientist once explained to me the big reason the right is so much more vulnerable to and embracing of corruption than the liberal left. That is that liberals come to office believing in both equality and the value and good of serving the people through government. The belief that government should be of, by and for the people is something that comes from the gut in us. We believe in the vote. To varying degrees, of course, but that's a significant factor, often a passion, drawing most to that work, and it provides a check on how much they can be turned by their weaknesses to betrayal of their core beliefs.

Defining by comparison, conservatives tend to be much less egalitarian, have a darker view of nature (believing that people need some control or will do bad), and are far more hierarchal in orientation. Hierarchy is about strong control from the top and favoring upper levels over lower, both materially and with power, as well as using government to withhold rewards or even punish those seen as less deserving. It'd be a rare conservative in power who doesn't see himself as at least somewhat more deserving than most. And ever read about the cake-cutter experiment? Those given the cutter kept finding reasons to favor themselves; by the end, conservatives holding the cake cutter had reidentified themselves as deserving to take all they could. And conservatives are overall a lot more strongly wired to support whoever's in authority, i.e., holding the cake cutter.

Simplified version, of course. But look around and see who's corrupt and who's not. Our liberal democracy's liberal dominated parties have never had the kind of corruption that's always been comparatively strong in the dominant conservative party (but overwhelmingly so now).

That picture's complicated, of course, by the reality that most parties have never been either-or, but always mixed. Even now with the strong ideological sorting out, not all those elected to office as Democrats are liberal by nature, or even by ideology. If you checked into the backgrounds of those Dems who are indicted for venal, money-type crimes you'd find more of those are conservative by nature than their percentage of the whole. We own them anyway, of course, but it's something to know.

Liberals really are different, and in a liberal democracy with strongly liberal and conservative-dominated parties that difference is playing out huge.

But what an individual compromised Dem would look like? I'd sure like to know. Russia really does hunt those we put in power, and I'm with you in thinking they must have had some successes. There are other traps than cookie jars. These days a record of good character and smarts -- and the respect and cooperation of colleagues, who'd be the first to pick up on something wrong -- have become a lot more important to me as indicators than what they prate on the stump.

[KPN]

19. Well said and spot on imo.

[certainot]

22. unless fiona hill is stupid or lying, putin's been using rw radio for at least a decade

going back to manafort as mccain cochair and linmbaugh not endorssing mccain until he chose paalin, who the russians had been courting re oil and gas

at $1000/hr x 15 hrs x 1200 radio stations = about $5BIL/yr ---- policed by talk radio gods like limbo - that $5BIL/yr in talk radio is free, paid for by advertisers often pushed onto those radio stations in discount bundling. that 's all going to push those politicians and 'their' interests.

in 2009 limbaugh led creating 'climategate' which saved russian oil/fossil industry billions by derailing copenhagen climate talks. that started with a russsian hack and wikileaks and within 5 days was aanaalyzed and on limbaugh's desk

and the tea party

then linmbaugh selling debt default for 6 weeks in 2011, resulting in sequestration - whaat american billionaaire would want that!

and so on, with trump team studying "1000s of hours of talk radio" in 2014 and johnathan swan of axios writing recently that trump has been listening to talk radio for a decade.

luckily, destroying rw radio would be easy

[Grasswire2]

43. I had to listen to a couple of hours of hate radio two years ago..

..while riding home with my cousin, a retired cop. It was shocking. But I knew then how this family man cousin, good in so many, many ways, had turned into wingnut politically.

Let's call it what it is. Brainwashing. A good portion of working class males have been brainwashed by AM radio.

[certainot]

47. i just saw that the BREXIT guy, nigel farage, has a talk radio show!

[RVN VET71]

53. Farage lied bald fadedly about Brexit -- before the vote

After the vote he admitted he'd been lying!

If the U.K. begins crumbling after Brexit, I wonder what it will take when, governmental sanity restored, the U.K. petitions for re-entry?

[Arthur_Frain]

62. Grooming is probably a more accurate term

They can’t make you do anything, but they know enough about human behavior that given a particular set of stressors, they can predict your reaction with frightening accuracy.

That’s what the right wing radio has been doing for decades, introducing and fanning those stressors.

[DENVERPOPS]

69. It's as simple as doing what the rich do......

Get a credit card from whatever offshore bank you stash your money in..........

Years ago, the U.S. Courts ruled that Master Card, Bank of America, Am ex, etc did not have to provide charge card records for cards from a foreign bank........

In the case of another foreign country wanting to supplement the income of say a U.S. Republican Senator (or group of them), Russia provides the cards and simply pays the monthly bills.....Then THEY also have written proof of Kompromat on each of those individuals.
This, and one only knows what else is the way Trump and McConnell keep their Senate Republicans in tow........

You know it works.....Look at Lindsey Graham.........He was an extremely outspoken Trump hater on Friday, went up to have dinner and a round of golf with Trump for the weekend, and came back on Monday and was one of Trump's true lovers, ready willing and able to immediately start singing the accolades of Kavanaugh and any other thing he could say about the tremendous job Trump and his entire administration was doing. What do YOU think happened that weekend? My guess is that Putin sent over some color glossies of Lindsey doing some other famous male in a bedroom and Putin told Trump: get your homo boy in line, right now......

We all know how Republicans despise Homo's, Cho-Mo's etc unless it is one of their closeted politicians or zillionaire donors and enablers of their fetishes...............And we all have the recent evidence to show it: get a Republican Judge to let him off easy if caught, and if tripped up and arrested again, throw him somewhere where he conveniently "commits suicide"................At least that is better than russia where they arrange a "nuclear" cocktail........

[Sherman A1]

2. Yup 👍

No real surprise here. The GOP is a threat to the Democracy of The United States.

[JPK]

3. To me there are only one reason they are so lock step

Money. Russian money. Putin has been seeding the republicans for years with cash. Their love of money and power will take them down.

[gab13by13]

12. Bingo! See post #11.

[underpants]

14. Steps 2 & 3

They don't just love the money, they are compromised now. If they were exposed they could keep the money but they and their party would be ruined. Putin knew what he was doing the whole time.

What's the joke about drug dealers? ----Want some? The first ones free.

[gab13by13]

26. Great analogy

[Grasswire2]

44. yes, great analogy

Think mob. More of us should study how the mob hive works. The boss has his bag men. And if the recruit isn't already blackmailable by some taint, he is asked to do something that he will not ever want revealed.

[MBS]

4. Agreed!

I also have been yelling about this, since spring 2016. It’s so shocking, and so dangerous - and treasonous. The republicans and Russians are kindred, pro-authoritarian, pro-white-nationalist, enemies of our democracy.

[Ligyron]

40. Precisely, and that's the other half of the answer to the question of:

Why are these former enemies now such fast friends and why did it seem to flip so quickly?

Or did it really?

When the Soviet Union collapsed many of our policies toward them became more welcoming esp back when Gorbachev was in power but When Boris Yeltsin chose Putin, before too long back we go, and rightfully so, to being suspicious at a minimum.

Lots of people have speculated that Putin had some underage film of Trump as blackmail but I don't think Trump would give a moment's pause to claiming he didn't know that girl was only 8 or whatever and even his Phony Evangelicals would give him a pass I do believe.

[Tanuki]

5. Moscow Marsha Blackburn is a prime example.

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/opinion/times/story/2018/jul/30/sohn-nras-russilink-hties-blackburn/475893/

[True Blue American]

6. Nunes also

Took dirty Reussian money and met with them.

Midnight ride to the WhiteHouse, just the opposite of the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

24. Good article. . . . nt

[NJCher]

60. and she's so freaking lazy she can't even be bothered to

write an explanation when asked:

Blackburn's campaign did not respond Friday to a Times editorial page editor's request for a more timely and specific comment. However, on Sunday, the campaign sent us the same statement we noted here earlier — the one she gave to the Tennessean last March.

If it weren't so sad and pathetic, it would make me laugh--all those dues-paying NRA'ers, thinking that they are the last bastion of freedom, holding true to the 2nd Amendment. And here it is, nothing but a front organization for their biggest fear: Russia.

It's been over a decade ago, but I actually have talked to some right-winger gun nuts who really think that having a rifle will help protect them in case Russia ever invades. I do recall laughing right in their faces.

-----

This is a very good article--I highly encourage reading it. It tells how much money these politicians have taken from Russians. First this paragraph, then this sentence which I find particularly ominous:

Blackburn, a U.S. House of Representatives member since 2002 and now a Tennessee Senate candidate seeking Bob Corker's open seat, is a longtime NRA supporter and recipient of at least $34,700 in NRA donations, according to opensecrets.com, which tracks campaign donations. According to the Washington Post, Blackburn received the most NRA money since 2002 of any Tennessee Congress member.

But by widening the lens, the NRA money picture gets a bit darker. The NRA spent $30 million on Trump's campaign in 2016 and another $40 million in various efforts to lobby and help elect Republicans, according to a recent New Republic report.

[Maribelle]

7. Why do I feel we've only seen the tip of one iceberg?

And there are even more icebergs just beginning their trip down the cold Labrador Stream meeting up with the warm Gulf Stream in an odd year where spring has come early and truth seeks the warmth of daylight?

[Evolve Dammit]

16. Eloquently said! Here's hoping.

[JHB]

39. Because it's icebergs all the way down.

[RVN VET71]

54. When Shelby and 5 other Republican Senators (plus a Republican Representative)

went to Russia to have private meetings in which they all said they "scolded" their Russian representatives about election meddling -- as in "hey, take our word, that's what we did! Would we ever lie to you?" -- they invited no Democratic Senators or Representatives to be part of this "scolding" team.

That they engineered their visitation of the 4th of July just warms the cockles of my patriotic heart.

[duforsure]

8. Graham and Nines both need to be compelled to testify under oath

If they were taking, or funneled money from russians (putin) into their pockets or to their campaigns funneled through others , or knew of it happening for others, and the real reasons they public promote putins talking points, and actions for trump . Both in the House and before the Senate under oath. They'll both balk at doing this because they'll be exposed they are both conspiring, obstructing justice, and working with a foreign enemy country undermining this country and our Democracy, or be forced to lie , and end up in prison. Other GOP members of Congress need to be exposed and called before both houses too to stop this corruption. Graham starting the Biden investigation demands answers, and Nunes, his involvement with russian mobsters working for putin trying to create dirt for them against the Bidens for negative publicity, and for disinformation away from the impeachment hearings. They both corrupt? Sure looks like it. Compromised, very likely.

[onlyadream]

9. This explains Nunes flop sweat.

He needs to be investigated and removed.

[KPN]

20. At this point, they would lie. They have no other option.

[Botany]

10. And they know that the voting machines are dirty too

Look @ them fight tooth and nail to stop the truth from coming out. Hillary won easily
if you looked at the exit polls but somehow the vote didn't match the exit polls in many
states.

[gab13by13]

13. I agree,

Exit polling has always been a reliable source to determine whether an election was fair. Funny isn't it that after electronic voting machines came around that exit polling all of a sudden was deemed unreliable.

I vote into a black hole, no paper trail, no receipt.

[Botany]

17. If you can vote early and on paper (absentee ballot)

The republicans know that they are doomed by demographics and what the majority of what
the people want as per social issues so they have been working every angle they can to keep
power. Russia didn't only install Trump and Pence but in races all over America they fucked with
the vote. Russ Feingold was @ > 90% of winning back his senate seat.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212718069

[DENVERPOPS]

48. Early voting and "absentee ballots"

Early voting and "absentee ballots" are also very easily corruptible. I don't know that they are the fool proof answer...........

[OhNo-Really]

58. "Signatures must match". Match what? Drivers license I was told.

So I try hard to match it.

[DENVERPOPS]

67. That is only ONE cute trick they pull

There are many other more subtle tricks that help their cause.........

(They use the signature you wrote on your voting registration, maybe decades ago. A lot of people's signature or how they sign their name has changed since they were younger......)

[OhNo-Really]

68. 🤯🔥🔥🔥🤯🤯🤯🔥

[kentuck]

18. How big is this scandal ??!

It looks like almost all of the State Dept and the White House, for sure.

[KPN]

21. It's not a scandal. It's an undeclared war that has

been waged by Russia and, as a result, a covert coup d’etat happening in real time right before our eyes.

[gab13by13]

27. Listening to Thom Hartmann yesterday

he said the same thing. We are at war.

[Grasswire2]

45. Is there audio of Hartmann's comments available somewhere? nt

[starphlo]

59. thom hartman

https://www.youtube.com/user/thomhartmann

[doc03]

28. What ever happened to that investigation

in SDNY about money laundering thru DB.

[Major Nikon]

29. The dirty Ukrainian money came from a Russian source

So it's really all dirty Russian money. As Pelosi said, all roads lead to Putin.

The sad part is not just that our country could be bought so easily, but rather than it could be bought so cheaply.

[FakeNoose]

35. This! Ukraine has never been our enemy

However the previous President of Ukraine WAS in cahoots with Putin and Manafort/Chump. He's gone now and the new guy Zelensky is trying to make amends. He sees how evil Putin really is, and what a threat to Ukraine he is.

[duforsure]

30. Both nunes and Graham needs to go before the House under oath now

And either lie and face prison , or under oath tell the truth. They will have to tell the truth as a lot more gets exposed proving they lied, and conspired. We'll see some go to prison , and know they will too . Nunes is stupid so he will just lie, but Graham knowers better and will talk hoping he'll get off. Graham's investigation into Biden is backfiring and exposing them more.

[yardwork]

31. This has been obvious and the evidence is in plain sight.

Also, it's known that the Russians literally hacked into voting tabulation machines in districts all over the country on Election Day 2016, including in my city. The New York Times reported on this. Not just propaganda, literal hacking.

[Frustratedlady]

32. Let us not forget Ryan. He escaped at the right time, but had already benefited.

Wiping out the Republican's foundation will be a big help.

[Drahthaardogs]

33. He knew.

Some of the old timers got the fuck out because they knew this was coming.

[meadowlander]

56. And Jason Chaffetz.

He took one look at whatever the intelligence community had, shit himself and quit Congress only six months into the administration.

[Pepsidog]

34. Occam's Razor seems the most reasonable explanation for Republicans complicity.

[Texin]

36. It isn't all about the money. Putin is using this payola as leverage on each individual.

The acceptance of the money paid is one part of the leverage, but what other krompomat does he have/know and then, in turn, provided tRump to use against these members? In the case of Lindsey, it must be pretty explosive. I'm not talking merely about him be a closeted gay man. Everyone has known this forever. Putin must have a cache of photographs and/or videos of Graham that would be so damning, i.e., illegal - say having sex with underage boys, and not just fifteen or sixteen years old, but much, much younger than that. tRump knows about it and that's why Graham is so willing to debase himself on tRump's behalf.

There's also the angle the rethugs are using as a through line for the past couple of years: their mantra of "let the voters decide tRump's outcome." They're putting everything they've got on their friends the Russians to manipulate enough voter databases, electronic equipment and social media accounts (I wonder what Putin's got on Zuckerberg?) to produce the outcome he and his GOP lickspittles want. They're putting everything on the table in this. It's a gamble they're all willing to take because it worked in tRump's favor the last time. Sadly, the Dem's have a lackluster group of candidates to field in the Presidential race. I'll vote for whomever gets the nomination (except Gabbard), but the longer this all plays out, the more concerned I am about one of them being enough to actually win this race. Any one of these people (except Gabbard) are qualified enough for the job, but I'm getting very uneasy about things, because the rethugs don't seem all that worried about the outcome. That's why they've circled the wagons and dug their heels in. That, or the kompromat Putin's holding over their heads is so dire they'd do anything to prevent him from using it.

[Grasswire2]

46. whatever the Kompromat is......how can it be worse than being known as a traitor forever?

Bezos showed us the way to deal with blackmail. Run straight at it with the truth, and take your lumps for your bad acts.

Then, and only then, you are free of the grip and able to hold your head up and live honestly thereafter.

Anyone in this criminal conspiracy who flips could even be thought a hero, a la John Dean.

[Texin]

50. Because they believe to the man and woman, there's nothing wrong about being a traitor.

[fleur-de-lisa]

38. The RNC is under a RICO investigation

for accepting illegal Russian campaign money during the 2016 election.

They are all crooks.

[Joinfortmill]

49. Yup, and it's going to be exposed, bigly.

[Jewls2]

51. Absolutely. Ryan too.

[Initech]

52. I've been saying it since the beginning too.

They are all in on it. As George Carlin puts it - it's a big club and we're not in it. They on the other hand, are. And they will most likely get away with murder before it's all over.

[Scotch-Irish]

55. This is disturbing to a huge degree.

How can we make our country safe from this nightmare, while 90% of the media is owned by 6 companies, controlled by republican boards?

[shanti]

57. I totally agree with you on this

and have thought so from the beginning also. It's not too hard to understand. That and the fact that the R's are becoming obsolete. It is an existential crisis for them, and they know it.

If we, as political watchers know this, Dem leadership must know too.

[NJCher]

61. their last gasp. Desperate men (and women) do desperate things

Regarding Dem leadership knowing this:

[Aussie105]

64. For sure

there is something wicked going on in the background of the GOP inner circle.

Something so evil, something so entrenched and ongoing, that they need to do the reality distortion two step shuffle dance to try to hide it.
I can think of no other reason why normal, grown men would act like they do.

Hopefully, the truth will come out. And Madame Guillotine will have her day, figuratively if not literally.

[Mike Niendorff]

65. #ExactlyThis

They're all up to their eyeballs in it.


MDN