Thread by @randymot4

How the Heritage Foundation became a pro-Russian force.

You may have seen their TV ad that supports cutting off US aid to Ukraine, a major objective of Putin and the only possible way Russia can even get a "draw" out of the war. So let's start with how phony the ad is./1

The aid starts the full 7 yr authorization figure for Ukraine to create a big number that is makes absurd comparisons to Hawaii initital FEMA aid. The annual number is small & declining each yr. It is mostly spent in US, creating jobs to replace & update the donated eqpt./2

Heritage shifted to a claim that the aid is not accounted for. A blatant lie which plays on low information voters' fears and bias. Totally crap and Heritage must know it!/3

https://twitter.com/randymot4/status/1609500922413187073?s=20&t=GCU6HgYkddmW8RXYdvzR8w

The implication is often made by folks suckered by Russian propaganda or paid to promote it that the US weapons are not tracked. Another deliberate lie./4

https://twitter.com/randymot4/status/1597285896273154049?s=20

Underneath this disinformation campaign is their effort to influence the GOP, @RonDeSantis "Playing a quiet but important role in shaping the governor's remarks was the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, America's top conservative think tank."/5
reuters.com/world/us/conse…

"Generra Peck, who would later serve as DeSantis' first campaign manager, thanked the Heritage officials for helping lay the groundwork for the governor's position on the conflict."/6
reuters.com/world/us/conse…

"Last week, the top defense expert at the influential conservative Heritage Foundation think tank left the organization after being blindsided by an op-ed written by the organization’s president, Kevin Roberts" [who has been a DeSantis adviser]./7
foreignpolicy.com/2023/08/24/rep…

The Heritage position raises questions over Roberts judgment, experience and, to me, possibly his loyalties. /8

"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has tried to frame himself as a China hawk, mostly stayed silent during the back-and-forth on Ukraine, though he did say U.S. aid to Ukraine should be conditioned on European countries doing more to help."
Foreign Policy, supra./9

DeSantis' shift from his earlier Roberts' inspired remarks may reflect either factual, political push- back or both. Most Republicans support aid to Ukraine, as many arguing for more and faster aid than for cutting it./10
idahocapitalsun.com/2023/04/10/not…

Heritage itself seems to be trying to contain the damage, as DeSantis did in the debates, by shifting to a bogus claim that full aid accountability is needed. This, like DeSantis remark, is a false statement designed to appease aid skeptics w/o actually changing any policy./11

I tend to Roberts the benefit of the doubt: that he is merely totally uninformed and inexperienced in foreign policy and mliitary issues. This tenure at Heritage seems to support this conclusion./12
!realclearpolitics.com/articles/2021/…

Before Roberts torpedoed Heritage's conservative credentials, "several days after DeSantis' March comments on Ukraine, his top aides met privately with Heritage President Kevin Roberts and other officials of the think tank./13
reuters.com/world/us/conse…

Linkage between #HeritageFoundation and the DeSantis campaign grew with this recent appointment./14
heritage.org/press/david-de…

The connection has been strong and very much in the open. It is also behind Gaetz' frequent ridiculous statements./15
heritage.org/press/gov-ron-…

DeSantis as a Congressman was very much mainstream on the threat from Russia. The suggestion is that he is responding to a perceived shift in GOP voters with a significant number opposing aid./16
edition.cnn.com/2023/02/26/pol…

This purely political move appears to be already blowing up as the polls now show it alienates a majority of GOP voters & an overwhlemingly number of the non-Trump GOP voters./17
Reuters June 2023:

The fraility of the anti-aid arguments belies their sincerity and veracity, e.g. the accountabliity scam. The latest "Europe must do more" is equally disingenuous. Europe was nearing the US level in May and will even exceed it in new Setempber figures./18

The need to pivot to China is equally a bogus rationale to abandon Ukraine to Russia. Defeating Russia is a key to both deterring China & creating Europe with an ability to contain Russia on its own./19
threadreaderapp.com/thread/1683525…

The polling on Ukraine also suggets that as Ukraine shows progress on the battlefield and voters learn the actual facts about aid opposition fades to a small hardcore isolationist faction./20
thehill.com/homenews/40723…

"Large majorities of Americans - 67% and 73% - are more likely to support a candidate in next year's U.S. presidential election who will continue military aid to Ukraine and one who backs the NATO alliance."/21
ipsos.com/en-us/reuters-…

These numbers also will grow when folks start getting likely voter polls: the most likely voters are the most pro-Uraine aid./22

Another factor is the notion that the US can somehow reach a new rapproachment with Russia. Most experts say this was the underlying cause that enabled Putin's war. Voters now have very much soured on this old mantra./23

The policy reasons for support remain stronger than ever. The political calculation indicates opposition is suicide in the GE and a loser in the primaries. Also a very poor strategy to consolidate the non-Trump vote. Most Trump voters are anti-aid. /24
news.yahoo.com/poll-most-trum…

All of this explains the retreat from cutting aid by both Heritage and DeSantis. We will have to listen to empty phrases that are offered to appease aid skeptics. Relying on "unnamed" sources and crappy polls is not a smart move on the merits or politically./25