Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Putin, Russia, The Religious Right – And The Trump Base

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/6/9/1670247/-Putin-Russia-The-Religious-Right-And-The-Trump-Base
"One of the less well-reported stories of Russia's role in American public life is the relationship between Moscow and key players of movement conservatism – particularly among those of the Religious Right. Indeed, it may very well explain how the president may be maintaining his popularity among one of his core constituencies. As recent as a decade ago if any objective political observer were to have warned about an admiration of Russian political motives by anyone on the American Right, the commentary would have been met with highly audible guffaws. Not anymore. This is not your father’s Russia. Indeed, Russia is clearly on the path to becoming an authoritarian state tinged with Mussolini-style fascism.  President Putin has displayed a particular disdain for Western liberal democracy, evidenced by the way he has surrounded himself with, vehemently anti-liberal thinkers. Alexander Dugin immediately comes to mind. It is in Dugin’s writings and pronouncements that we begin to understand why many fringe conservatives; especially those of the Religious Right would admire Putin’s increasingly authoritarian agenda."