TomCADem
TomCADem's JournalRepublicans Are Supporting Putin/Saudi Arabia In Return for Help In Nov Election
We have all heard how Republicans have been signaling that if they control Congress, they will begin to oppose US support for Ukraine.
Kevin McCarthy’s Threatens To Cut Ukraine Aid At A Vital Moment
Support for Ukraine is shifting among Republicans
In return, Russia and Saudi Arabia have further cut oil supplies the November election when inflation started to moderate in order to spike gas prices and increase inflation to aid Republicans:
Saudi Arabia pushed other OPEC nations into oil cut, White House claims
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/white-house-pushes-back-saudi-claim-oil-cut-was-purely-economic-2022-10-13/
What does Saudi Arabia get out of this? More oil friendly policies such as roll backs efforts to promote fuel efficiency and support for cuts in oil production to aid the oil industry similar to US policy under Trump:
Special Report: Trump told Saudi: Cut oil supply or lose U.S. military support - sources
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil-trump-saudi-specialreport/special-report-trump-told-saudi-cut-oil-supply-or-lose-u-s-military-support-sources-idUSKBN22C1V4
Trump finalizes rollback of Obama-era vehicle fuel efficiency standards
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-autos-emissions/trump-finalizes-rollback-of-obama-era-vehicle-fuel-efficiency-standards-idUSKBN21I25S
So, you have Republicans willing to actively support a US adversary in Russia and US dependence on foreign oil, including Russia, in order to win elections by signaling to Russia that they will oppose support for Ukraine. In return, Russia and Saudi Arabia will make effort to increase oil prices near the election to improve Republican chances of controlling Congress with Republicans blaming Biden, and giving Putin and Saudi Arabia a free pass. and echoing Russian talking points in the right wing media.
It is unethical, unpatriotic and treasonous, but Trump showed that this works and with a vast right wing media apparatus to run interference, Republicans can blatantly coordinate with forces hostile to interest of Americans. If Republicans control Congress, and Russia wins in Ukraine, Republicans will happily sell out Europe, which will underscore that the U.S. in unreliable as an ally. Thus, Russia can continue to expand and threaten Europe.
Likewise, as Republicans oppose fuel efficiency standards and work with oil producing countries to increase US dependence on oil, the oil industry will reward Republicans with millions in campaign support, which does not include the value of support provided by Russia and Saudi Arabia.
LA Times - People's Convoy of truckers shows nation divided by reality
I think a mistake among progressives and the left is expecting a top down, Democratic leadership "media strategy" to counter right wing misinformation and reach out to the right. This misses the problem, which is the need for progressives and the left to develop a grass roots approach that begins at the local government / state level, which is where a lot of right wing rhetoric is focused. Complaints about efforts to fight the pandemic or "critical race theory" or "grooming" are raised in local school boards and city council meetings.
Democrats and progressives need to rediscover and adapt to grass roots organizing. Its not all about a once in a year march or rally. Instead, it is about a stead and organized effort targeted at local governments and school boards, because people are like the person described in the article are tuning out any media that does not confirm or reinforce their existing biases. To the contrary, you have both domestic and foreign actors happily pushing out content that further radicalizes the right.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-04-22/peoples-convoy-truckers-shows-nation-divided-by-reality
I believe he’s been lied to and manipulated by those seeking political and financial gain. It’s not that I think he’s a bad person, or has ill intent. I liked Donny. I just think he’s not functioning in reality, the same way he thinks I’m not.
But I don’t think there’s anything I can say that will make him reconsider these false “truths” he now holds dear. I’ve spoken to families desperate to pull their loved ones out of conspiracies such as QAnon, and reported on the intricacies and extremes that have taken ordinary people like Thomas and made them feel as if they are in an extraordinary moment.
It’s the energy of that alternative belief system that should concern us all. Trump isn’t the center holding these believers together anymore. As much as many still love Trump and will rally to a 2024 campaign, their focus is also on school boards and election offices and health departments, even as the rest of us pay little attention to the institutions of everyday life they are trying to transform.
Salon - Media messes up coverage of voting rights, blames Biden for GOP's racism
This article hits the nail on the head and explains why the media, and even many progressives, end up blaming Democrats for GOP racism. For example, look at this Board. Rather than discuss any of the 50 Republican Senators that are actively supporting racist vote suppression efforts in the States, you have much of the attention being focused on Manchin and Sinema, two Democrats. All this focus obscures and gives a free pass to Republicans.
This is sort of like how right wing media managed to flip the script and blame President Obama for not doing enough to stop racial tensions. Likewise, Republicans blame Biden for not doing enough to overcome their anti-vaccine misinformation efforts, which have lead to the death of many unvaccinated Americans.
At this point, I guess everyone on this Board should take responsibility for their crazy, racist Trump supporting uncle. Why are you not doing enough to prevent him from displaying a Trump flag? We will not blame him, because he is a Republican, and we expect no less.
https://www.salon.com/2022/01/20/media-messes-up-coverage-of-voting-rights-biden-for-gops/
The opposite is true, however. It's Republicans who are swiftly dismantling the right to vote, in the name of preserving their own power. As such, the party has been passing state-level voting restrictions targeting people of color, redrawing district maps to marginalize minority populations, and running unmistakeably racist purges of election offices. So President Joe Biden was right to ask, in a speech in Atlanta last week, "Do you want to be the side of Dr. King or George Wallace? Do you want to be on the side of John Lewis or Bull Connor? Do you want to be on the side of Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis?"
Republicans made their choice Wednesday, using their filibuster power — which is shamefully being protected by two turncoat Democrats, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona — to block the passage of the Senate voting rights bill. Some Republicans are no doubt personally racist, in full agreement with Donald Trump's repeated insistence that racially diverse voters in cities like Philadelphia and Detroit are "frauds". Some are just worried about their own power, which they know is threatened in all Americans, regardless of race or ethnicity, have equal rights to the ballot box. Either way, the use of the filibuster — in line with its history — was leveraged by Republicans as a tool of white supremacy.
The obvious people to blame for this gross behavior are Republicans themselves. But what's the fun in that? So, instead, far too many in the media are letting Republicans off the hook and instead fixing the blame on Democrats for somehow not doing more to make Republicans less evil.
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