Why are some people surprised the GOP sees Russia as any ally and a model?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

It's a right wing state with some social programs. Remove the social programs and you have the state the GOP longs to be.

[still_one]

1. When you deal with either extreme positions, it is hard to differentiate. One gets burned with

extreme cold or extreme hot either way

[DURHAM D]

2. Their true bond is -

.

"Make White Men #1 Again !"

.

[KittyWampus]

3. No, their true bond is removing nation-state borders for the oligarchs...

the "white men" thing is just a way to stir up the peasants.

[Demit]

5. This rings true.

[JI7]

4. putin is a bigot

Racist anti lgbt etc

[J_William_Ryan]

6. Conservatives and Republicans are, for the most part, authoritarians as is Putin.

Most on the American right have contempt for the democratic process, contempt of a free press, and contempt for dissent, diversity, and expressions of individual liberty – as does Putin.

And most on the American right and Putin share a love of militarism and a propensity for war.

[malthaussen]

7. There are good Realpolitik reasons to seek a Russian alliance.

If one sees China as the up-and-coming menace to the American Way (tm), then a link with Russia makes sense. And setting aside nukes, Russia is really not particularly powerful these days. As Jerry Brown likes to point out, California's economy is twice that of Russia's.

It even works if one also wants to destabilize Europe as competition. Make them nervous, make them waste more money on the military to offset Russian sabre-rattling, cheer on the breakup of the EU. If one is an isolationist and economic imperialist, these things make sense. That they are good for neither the majority of American citizens, nor the rest of the world, does not enter into the equation.

-- Mal