Emerging alliance between Putin and Trumps God Squad

[Tanuki]

https://thinkprogress.org/religious-right-russia-3e80e2ea2e4a
...."The media and enemies of President Trump have tried to drive a wedge between Russia and the United States,” Graham, who is known for spouting Islamophobic and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, wrote. “Our country needs Russia as an ally in the fight against Islamic terrorism. Join me in praying for President Trump and President Vladimir Putin as they have this very strategic meeting.”

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Yet Graham’s remarks are the result of a years-long international power consolidation effort by Putin, who is is well known for using faith — particularly the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), a subset of Eastern Orthodox Christianity whose reach extends beyond Russian borders — as a mechanism to expand his country’s influence and antagonize Western opponents.
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The potential political benefits for the Kremlin are obvious: The Religious Right would be a prize for anyone looking to gain influence American politics, as right-wing faith leaders — especially those who claim evangelical Christianity — have long played an active role in elections. What’s more, some of theirmost controversial members (including Graham) have only gained influence during Trump’s rise.
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But the shift has accelerated in recent years. Other anti-LGBTQ groups such as the American Family Association, American Center for Law and Justice, and National Organization for Marriage (NOM) have all endorsed various anti-gay legislation in Russia. NOM head Brian Brown even traveled to Russia to testify on behalf of anti-gay legislation and deem Putin a “lion of Christianity.”

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Just a few decades ago, an alliance between a major American evangelical leader and a Russian president would have been unthinkable. The rise of the so-called Religious Right was triggered largely by the onset of the Cold War, when famous evangelists such as Billy Graham regularly denounced communist Russia as a “godless” nation. The phrase “in God we trust” was added to U.S. currency around the same time, and “under God” was inserted into the Pledge of Allegiance — both in an effort to distance America from Russia’s officially officially atheistic disposition.

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For Graham, though, Putin quickly transformed into a favorable figure, and he repeatedly used him as a foil to prod the Obama administration. Graham evenmet the Russian president during a visit to Russia in 2015, where he also declaredthat Obama “promotes atheism” while speaking to ROC Patriarch Kirill — who is allegedly a former KGB agent.".....(more)

[Moostache]

1. KGB....he (Putin) is/was/always shall be K. G. B.

The Soviets were avowed ATHEISTS (a fact apparently totally lost on these rubes).

You people (Franklin and your cohort), you HATE American atheists with a passion....yet you will cozy on up to Putin and his kind?
Sweet fucking irony that you are too stupid to recognize...