One of my friends Great Rants.
You have to hand it to those Russians! Their propaganda campaign has been pretty damn effective! Yesiree!
Consider the modern day Republican. They just heard, under oath, (from another Republican. A man with such impeccable credentials that even the Republicans had to ok him to do a special investigation). He said, under oath, unequivocally, that our elections had been determined by our CIA and FBI to have been hacked by the Russians, and that not only had they been hacked last time, but they would be hacked again next time too!
Reacting to the urgency of this, quite understandably, both congress and the senate put forth bills to protect our election system from this happening again. The Republican senate rejected that legislation from even being considered or debated!
This means that Republicans are actively trying to destroy democracy at this point! In effect, our minority elected government has become a Russian sponsored coup, that apparently, in broad daylight, has taken control of our government!
Really? Are you ok with this?
The special counsel of course, convicted many of the president’s associates, and stated clearly that he would have indicted the president had he not been president, and able to abuse the power of his office (with help from the Republican senate, who also ignored the constitution in stacking the Supreme Court).
The special counsel also testified that the president not only didn’t do anything about Russian involvement, but he actually welcomed it! Seems like the Republicans are still welcoming it.
Yet, confront a Republican about losing their country to a Russian sponsored coup, and they reflexively go into "Dotard turd polishing mode", unable to confront reality.
Oh, they will change the subject to Democrats, and say something wildly distorted about a president who left office 20 years ago, or talk about Dixiecrats in the reconstructionist south, inventing unsubstantiated charges to distract (that never seem to end up in convictions), they will fantasize about world wide banking conspiracies, media conspiracies, they will even attack Mueller and their own CIA and FBI, but they will be unable to confront or rationalize today’s political and economic reality, or take responsibility for it.
It is like they are addicted to Dotard and his welfare, even to the point of their own self injury. Addicted to an idiot they don’t even know? Some even say he was sent by God! All out of locusts I guess.
The Russians have to be very pleased with their propaganda campaign indeed! Just talk with a Republican. Wildly successful!
Of course, Republicans scoff at the notion of being influenced by the Russians, but ask them why they are addicted to an idiot to the point of self injury, and they either give you a propaganda slogan, or they have to change the subject to wild, unsubstantiated accusations about past Democratic politicians (it is how they have been programmed to respond).
So how did the Russians do it? How did they get so many Americans (granted still a minority, but a lot of them), to abandon their reason so profoundly as to willingly root for endangering themselves and their country?
I think they exploited the myths and propaganda that were already here. For example:
America had passed civil rights legislation, had the words “all men are created equal” in their founding documents, but the reality was that America was founded on the justification of white supremacy (called “Manifest Destiny” a few centuries ago). Many white Americans had not emotionally let go of that concept. The Russians exploited that.
America has long propagandized that it is “the Greatest Country in the World”, a leader in “freedom”, and “human rights”. In reality, America has been an abuser of other nations, (including Russia ironically enough), for self interest. Hardly the "Greatest Nation" anymore, due to Republican political deception, in recent times, America has fallen dramatically in stature, and ranks 39th in health care, even worse in education, 13th in standard of living. The Russians exploited that.
America had prided itself as a great humanitarian nation, and a melting pot, a caring nation. Yet advertising, greed, and commercialism had long turned Americans into focusing on a petty competition with themselves, trying to make each other feel inadequate by having more, or better possessions than others. The Russians exploited that too.
The already long established, and very effective nationalist propaganda of the United States, and it’s non-thinking allegiance, (which has been effectively exploited politically by right wing propagandists, in rationalizing theft for themselves, here in the United States for decades now), made easy targets of compliant, non-thinking, allegiant conservatives. Conservatives who could get emotional about a flag, but not about inequality under the law for example.
Russia saw a tremendous opportunity! Simply take a fraction of the money (that they were already spending to keep up with us militarily), to buy off Republicans!
Republicans had already railroaded through Citizen’s United and other bribery legalization measures on behalf of the Koch brothers and other wealthy donors, and they had all but hung a sign out, offering the resources of American tax payers to the highest bidder.
I’m sure that the Russians thought in fact, why not make it totally absurd and humiliating, a joke to the whole world, by supporting the least qualified presidential candidate they could find, insuring that a half wit, someone they could easily compromise and walk all over, would be in charge!
Other Republicans, who were on the take, couldn’t object because they had all taken money from the highest bidder (without regard for the intent of the benefactor), so they were all forced into compliance, by being exposed to blackmail from their past mistakes (mistakes of putting self interest over their duties as public servants of course).
The Republican following, already brainwashed to follow them without questioning, to the point of self injury, would simply go along, especially with carefully constructed propaganda from the Russians, telling them what to think, and what to feel “passionate” about. Reality, logic, and reasoning were already proven to be minor obstacles with Republican voters. They could get emotional about absurdity if it was crafted well enough!
Yup, pretty well thought out on Putin’s part (this is why a smart leader is important, by the way).
In fact, the bad news is that the country has been sold to a Russian coup, but the good news is, at least they are smarter than the Republicans! I'm not sure that they have our interests at heart, but I am certain that the Republicans didn't.
Of course, despite losing their democracy to a Russian sponsored coup, (and already more than a third of their standard of living in the last three decades to Republican advocated thieves), Republican faithful are like "thank God that we don’t have to deal with Hillary’s emails”!
Republicans haven’t been effectively propagandized though, oh no, not them!
I still have no doubt that the president and Republicans will be overwhelmingly defeated in the next election by popular vote of the rational, (and rightly, very concerned majority) like they were last election. The question is, will it matter?
- Brian Keene
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