James Kirchick has an interesting article about "How Trump Got His Party To Love Vladimir Putin," in today's
Pro-Russian converts on the American right appear to take two forms. The opportunists simply want power and are willing to sacrifice principles in pursuit of it. The ideologues, meanwhile, see Russia as nothing worse than an occasional nuisance, if not a potential ally in the fight against Islamic extremism.The prototype opportunists suggested by Kirchick are the loathesome Newt "Poot" Gingrich, Sean "Heil" Hannity, and Sarah "Mooselini" Palin; the ideologues are the likes of American Conservative Union chairman David Keene (who's been a raving jackass since his days at the =sigh= University of Wisconsin) and white nationalists like Richard Spencer, who are attracted to the notion of a "white world" united against the rest.
The Russians, playing their usual long game, identified and zeroed in on a vulnerability:
In an interview recorded more than 30 years ago, Russian defector Yuri Bezmenov revealed the KGB’s counterintuitive approach to recruiting. “This was my instruction: Try to get into large-circulation, established conservative media. Reach . . . cynical, egocentric people who can look into your eyes with angelic expression and tell you a lie. These are the most recruit-able people, people who lack moral principles, who are either too greedy or suffer from self-importance.” Say this for Bezmenov: He knew his mark. (our emphasis)That's the profile of the Trump Republican Party and its propaganda arm right there, folks. Easy marks for Putin.
