How did Pro-Putin/Isolationists Tulsi Gabbard, Greenwald & Jill Stein Fall From Favor in the Left... [View all]
...while folks pushing similar talking points on the right like Tucker Carlson, Matt Gaetz, MTG, and Lauren Boebert suddenly become the Republican mainstream? Indeed, you can often fine folks Gabbard and Greenwald being featured on right wing shows like Tucker Carlson in order to Democrats from the left with talking points that seem remarkably similar to the pro-Putin talking points that are now fairly common on the Republican side. What happened?
There was once a time when Republicans defined themselves by standing up to Russia with Democrats being attacked for being communists who could not defend the U.S. and the world from Russian expansionism. But perhaps after Trump rode a Russian social media fueled rise to the Presidency in 2016 that was premised on isolationism, criticizing international trade and NATO, and anti-immigration rhetoric, other Republicans have realized that riding a similar wave will guarantee a certain baseline of support (both real and manufactured) from the Republican's Russian/racist base.
On the left, in 2016, it was popular to attack Democratic leaders as being "pro-establishment," with "progressives" also riding a tide of isolationism to attack the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which excluded China in order to counter China's growing influence in the Pacific rim. Ironically, these attacks on TPP were echoed by Trump who also attacked Democrats for not being sufficiently "tough" on China. Of course, with the defeat of the TPP, China's influence grew.
What is amazing is that with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its threats of escalation to Europe, you would have expected Putin's allies on the right and far left to temper their support of Russia. Yet, while Tulsi Gabbard and Jill Stein no longer enjoy the support they used to have on the left, Putin supporters on the right have continued to increase their control of the Republican party, which is just amazing.
The question for 2024 will be who on the Republican side will make a deal with the devil and be the first to take a very pro-Russian/anti-NATO platform to secure Russian social media support? With Elon Musk taking over twitter, this would seem to guarantee that whoever is most outspoken in their support of Putin would likely gain a boost from Russian social media efforts.
Conversely, who will be Tulsi Gabbard's heir apparent who will sell out and push pro-Putin/Tucker Carlson type talking points in order to develop a social media base of support? It probably can't be Tulsi Gabbard, since she has so clearly sold out by appearing on RW media and at Republican campaign events to attack Democrats such that it is easy to forget that she was once considered to rising star on the left.
If anything, with the Ukraine War going on, there will not be much reason for Russia to retrain itself in its efforts to interfere with the 2024 election, particularly since you have so many Republicans who are brazen in their embrace of pro-Putin rhetroic.
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/04/the-gops-new-russia-friendly-campaign-trail-buddy-tulsi-gabbard-00065024
Republicans once slammed Tulsi Gabbard as a socialist seeking to appease dictators like Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin. These days, much of the GOP is embracing her.
Since the former Hawaii Democratic congresswoman made a public show of her decision to leave the party last month, she has gone on to endorse several top Republicans in the run-up to next week’s midterm elections. Some GOP candidates appearing with Gabbard — who previously defended Putin’s rationale for invading Ukraine — have echoed Donald Trump’s opposition to helping Kyiv beat back Moscow.
Republicans across the ideological spectrum are eagerly accepting Gabbard’s endorsement and even hosting her for rallies in their home states, arguing her departure from the Democratic Party bolsters their view that it has moved too far to the left.
But the GOP’s unapologetic embrace of Gabbard is particularly conspicuous as its leaders try to dispel the notion that they’re not tough enough on Russia amid a sharp internal divide over aiding Ukraine. It also comes as questions mount over whether a Republican-controlled House would continue to approve funding for Ukraine’s defense and humanitarian needs.
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