How Vladimir Putin won Republicans' approval

[Quixote1818]

[democratisphere]

1. What we have learned:

1.) Republican voters are easily brainwashed.
2.) Republican voters should investigate immigrating to Russia.

[War Horse]

2. Parts of the Right have been Putin fanboys for a long time

The 'at least Putin is a strongman, and not some wishy washy (redacted) like we have' meme started even before W took office, gained a lot of ground as his approval ratings declined, and intensified big, big time during the Obama admin.

[J_William_Ryan]

3. Like most on the right

Putin is an authoritarian, a warmonger, and someone who seeks to compel conformity and punish dissent.

The irony is that this was true of Soviet leaders during the Soviet Era – behavior now admired and supported by most American conservatives because Putin is not a ‘communist.’