What Rep Malinowski brought to people's attention yesterday isn't anything new. There has been an aggressive and intentional radicalization in America focused on making the GOP base more and more supportive of Putin and authoritarianism.
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For years now, shockingly, the GOP has held a higher opinion of Putin than Democratic presidents.
This wasn't an accident, but the consequence of years' worth of manipulation, fearmongering, and a push of authoritarian, anti-democracy ideals for a purpose.
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In the wake of all of this, we are watching the birth of a new movement called National Conservatism that is wrestling for control of the GOP.
It is authoritarian in nature and wants nothing more than an illiberal system in the United States.
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Part of the trend in this direction began with the Obama Presidency, which Fox News and the GOP attacked as a socialist-dictatorship-in-waiting.
These were fascist, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories which frightened viewers and voters into believing a crisis was nigh.
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The attack on Obama framed him as an Antichrist in thrall to the "New World Order" globalist conspiracy.
For some, it was the fulfillment of biblical prophecies, meaning there was a full-on war of Good vs. Evil.
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Right Wing billionaires took advantage of the fearmongering, creating an artificial "Tea Party Movement" which forced the GOP even further right and into conspiracy world, all as a matter of dismantling government as a public good and earning more wealth for the wealthy.
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Failure of a businessman Donald Trump recognized an opportunity with this development.
More than happy to use his celebrity to further racist conspiracy theories, he became a fixture on Fox News and Right Wing media, growing his position as a potential leader.
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In all of this, Trump didn't serve as an ideologue. He had inherent authoritarian tendencies, but not much in the way of principles or discipline.
His candidacy, however, created a moment for authoritarian tendencies in America to massify into a movement.
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People like Steve Bannon, who was obsessed with bringing an end to liberal democracy, saw an incredible opening with Trump.
Bannon jumped at the chance, using Trump and his movement to further sow anti-democratic, anti-liberal energies to try and change the world.
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As president, Trump laundered authoritarians like Vladimir Putin, bestowing them power and legitimacy, assuring supporters they were on the same team.
This only furthered support among the GOP for Putin and other anti-democratic dictators.
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To understand Putin's appeal to the GOP, we first have to look at what keeps him in power.
It's the same conspiracy theories and authoritarianism that is currently being peddled by the Republican Party.
In other words, they're on the exact same page.
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The Republican Party, Putin, and other authoritarians around the world base their ideas on an opposition to "the New World Order" conspiracy theory that a satanic global cabal is attacking their cultures.
It's fascistic, anti-Semitic garbage, but effective.
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Like Putin, the GOP holds that the only defense against the conspiracy against them is an embrace of Christianity, a reestablishment of past traditions and laws.
That is, to use religion as a means of asserting authority over all society.
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We've been seeing this idea grow among the Right, including people like Tucker Carlson lauding authoritarian Viktor Orbán in Hungary, selling his control over politics and culture to his viewers.
This is part of this ongoing project of unseating liberal democracy.
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The story Tucker and others like him are weaving is that "Western Civilization" (white Christian control) is under attack by a global conspiracy.
Democracy leaves it vulnerable, meaning a strongman is needed to bring order and reassert that control.
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By selling Putin and Orbán to the GOP base, these people are preparing them for the destruction of democracy, widespread oppression through violence, intimidation, and censorship.
The ground is being prepared for an illiberal state controlled by white evangelical illiberals
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National Conservatism is an anti-liberalism movement, an attempt to dismantle democracy in totality, unseat the current system of power, and erect something that looks more like Putinist Russia or Orbán's Hungary.
It's gaining traction by the day.
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What we have seen so far is only a preview. The attempted coup was proof that this new movement could coalesce, take action, and threaten the system as it stands.
As Putin and Orbán to be sold to the GOP, these energies will only increase and spread.
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It's not a coincidence that Fox and Right Wing media air all of these pro-Putin/anti-Biden segments.
They're serving as a propaganda organ for this whole thing, selling viewers on the need for a strongman and illiberalism, which benefits the wealthy and powerful.
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The GOP, in lockstep with the same billionaires who created the Tea Party and funded January 6th, are purposefully radicalizing its voters and millions of Americans.
Support for Putin and other dictators is only going to grow if we don't recognize what they're doing and why
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I don't know what's going to happen in Ukraine, but the crisis at the moment only underscores what has been happening and what continues to fester.
This authoritarian, neofascistic threat is growing with every single day. We have to see it and understand it.
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The most important story of the 2024 Election is going untold.
Kamala Harris isn’t just facing Donald Trump, JD Vance, and the GOP. She’s squaring off against fascist Tech billionaires using them as puppets to destroy democracy.
Vance becoming Trump’s VP pick was a political marriage between MAGA and Far Right Tech Fascism. They are now a front for Musk, Theil, and a generation of tech oligarchs who have been quite open about their desire to co-opt government for power and profit.
What is happening with the Tech Fascists is the same thing we’ve seen before. Industrialist always use their obscene wealth to corrupt government and then find authoritarian puppets to finish the job and multiply their power.
This is yet another chapter in a long, long story.
JD Vance is a historic piece of shit who sold out his family and people to make a buck and gain power. He’s in bed with techno-fascist billionaires and is one of the foremost advocates for a literal fascistic ideology that seeks to take MAGA to the next level of oppression.
It’s bad enough that Vance is such a colossal asshole and that his ideology is literally fascistic, but he is capable of taking the MAGA baton and turning it into a force the likes of which most have yet to even imagine.
Terrible, terrible day for the country.
If our media returns to fawning over Vance because they want to hate poor people, I’m going to lose my everloving mind.
This is serious, serious business. And we all got a whole lot less safe today.
For years MAGA has promoted a culture of violence and oppression.
Now, in the wake of the shooting, calls to lower the temperature disgustingly obscure that fact and also undermine the need to protect millions of Americans from authoritarianism.
This isn’t a “both sides” issue. One side has waged an authoritarian war on democracy predicated on violence. The other has said people deserve safety and dignity and shouldn’t be hunted and systematically erased.
This false equivalency is disgusting. And telling.
The Center in America has now revealed what it truly believes. Fighting authoritarianism is “ugly” and “dangerous.”
It’s much easier and more pleasant to wring hands and welcome the authoritarianism and make nice with it. The media and political class enjoys that privilege.
Absolutely disturbing but unsurprising that they’ve managed to equate a movement’s constant fearmongering and calls for literal violence and murder with people saying, hey, maybe this other side calling for literal violence and murder is dangerous.
I just want people to remember that the reason this environment is so charged is because 1. One group has spent years openly talking about carrying out a bloody, reactionary revolution and 2. There are literal human beings whose lives and fates are on the line.
When you say, “Hey, let’s all take it down a notch,” you’re spitting in the face of women, people of color, immigrants, gay and trans people.
The stakes are actually as high as they can be. But there is one side constantly pushing a bloody resolution.
Trump has used Christianity’s persecution complex and obsession with apocalyptic danger to his advantage, crediting imaginary battles between Good and Evil.
Now, they have a ready-made situation that will inflame those fears and necessitate more extremism.
The ground was prepared for the MAGA Cult when evangelicals merged with the GOP a half century ago. Now, Christian Nationalism and the MAGA Cult are logical evolutions of a religious-backed push for power.