Top Republican says party base "infected" by Russian propaganda ( www.newsweek.com )

Russian propaganda pushed by the Kremlin has “infected” part of the Republican base, a senior GOP congressman has said, as indications grow that a vital U.S. military package for Ukraine will come up for a vote with U.S. lawmakers this month.

“I think Russian propaganda has made its way into the United States, unfortunately, and it’s infected a good chunk of my party’s base,” House Foreign Affairs Committee chair and Texas Republican, Michael McCaul, told Puck News.

A new tranche of military, economic and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, worth around $60 billion, has been ensnared in Congress for months by infighting, causing deep concerns in Kyiv as Russian forces inch westward and gain territory while Ukrainian forces contend with shortages along the frontlines.

xradeon ,

Just now noticing this??? LMAO

FartsWithAnAccent ,
@FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io avatar

You mean the same people who wear shirts that say "I'd rather be a Russian than a Democrat"?

Shocking.

Hyperreality ,

I wonder if it's dawning on some of them that supporting Russia, a country with an economy the size of the Netherlands and Belgium, is probably less profitable than supporting the US defense industry and selling weapons to markets which make Russia look like Burkino Faso with nukes.

I mean, ignoring the morality or right and wrong of it all, since that's less relevant to some of these ghouls.

drwho ,
@drwho@beehaw.org avatar

If you actually talk to some of those people as people (person to person, just shooting the shit, not questioning or obviously gathering intel or anything) and the subject comes up, they’ll straight up tell you that.

phoenixz ,

Keep in mind there that the Russian population is literally 10 times bigger than the Netherlands, and that the territory size (which they need to defend and all) is over 400 times bigger.

Russia is coming this far by acting like an asshole, posturing like they are strong whilst they are really weak, and just plain cheating where possible.

One wonders why the Republican party likes them so much…

Mastengwe ,

All Americans say-

No shit.

cerement ,
@cerement@slrpnk.net avatar

s/infected/founded on/

gregorum ,
@gregorum@lemm.ee avatar

https://lemm.ee/pictrs/image/abeab70d-9452-44e2-b721-877048dba83e.webp

FiniteBanjo ,

People in countries around the world are starting to see the writing on the wall. There is nothing to gain from siding with a loser.

Kissaki ,
@Kissaki@beehaw.org avatar

I’m not sure which of the parties you label a loser. I certainly think there are gains in supporting Ukraine. Maybe moreso for the EU than the US which is far away at least geographically and on an isolated continent.

Scrof ,

There are nothing but gains for opposing Russia and its ilk (China, Iran, NK, Hamas etc.). There is everything to lose by being complacent.

FiniteBanjo ,

Honestly it seems like even the Taliban is fucking with Russia at this point, some ISIS claim responsibility for that theatre attack a while ago.

t3rmit3 , (edited )

ISIS and Taliban are not at all related, much less ISIS-K…

ISIS and the Taliban are literally enemies.

FiniteBanjo ,

I looked it up and you’re right, the two groups have been getting into gunfights in the streets recently.

How odd, both groups want to expand the power of Islamic Theocratic Rule, and Taliban is a melting pot but they’ve never shown ill will to Sunnī militants before. What’s causing the divide? Leadership dick measuring contest?

fuckingkangaroos ,

Religious people don’t care about reason very much.

t3rmit3 ,

both groups want to expand the power of Islamic Theocratic Rule

Sure, but they have pretty significant divergences in their beliefs about Islamic jurisprudence. IS-K (IS Khorasan) is heavily populated by Salafists, who the Taliban (who are mainly Deobandis) suppressed prior to the US invasion. Now that the US is gone, they’re back to beefing.

But also, ISIS-K’s explicit goal is the establishment of a caliphate across the Khorasan region, which includes Afghanistan, and obviously the Taliban isn’t down with handing over power to them.

FiniteBanjo ,

Is Khorasan not Sunni? The fuck were they beefing for before the US invasion?

t3rmit3 ,

Just like in any religion, there are many more subdivisions and sects than just the larger overall factions. Within Sunni and Shia, there are extremely diverse ranges of beliefs. Salafism is a sect of Sunnism that believes that only the laws and practices of the era that Mohammad lived in were valid. Deobandism on the other hand is extremely heavy in academic analysis and refinement of Islamic jurisprudence, and is very famous for its scholars wanting to debate other religious scholars on theological grounds. They have a very large body of works that they consider important treatise on Islamic law, and Salafists often accuse them of not being true Muslims because of this. Sort of a Lutheranism (Deobandi) vs Fundamentalism (Salafi) dynamic.

FiniteBanjo ,

Alright but hear me out, if the Protestants and Fundamentalists were at war with the Catholics and also at risk of being invaded by the world powers then you’d think they’d at least be smart enough to stop killing each other for a few minutes.

I’m going with the Leadership Dick Measuring Contest theory I presented earlier.

t3rmit3 ,

The Taliban and Salafi militias (including ISIS, once formed) did stop fighting in order to oppose the US invasion together. It’s only because it’s now over that they’re back to beefing. Afghanistan isn’t at risk of being invaded by anyone right now.

FiniteBanjo ,

Who could possibly be the loser in this situation? Is it:

  1. Ukraine, All of Europe, the USA, and the rest of NATO?

or

  1. Russia

hmmmmmmm

Such a tossup /sarcasm

It’s Russia. Russia is losing. They’ve got enemies within and all around, the world is closing off trade with them and they don’t have half the local resources that the failed Soviet Union once had. Once this is over, then there is a non-zero chance they spend the next half a century competing with the east as Cheap Labor for China and the USA.

Hyperreality ,

Next year will be a bit dicey, but after that they're done. Europe alone can outspend Russia 100 times without breaking a sweat. They'll bankrupt themselves, again.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/25/2d/3a/252d3aece2c2e0a80f8db92bb22e5a0e.jpg

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