Putin understood US politics. He knew attacking gays would get RW America cheering him, and

[blm]

even praising him as a leader over that gay-friendly black guy Obama.

In his own country he used his attacks on gays to strengthen his support from church leaders there and used goons to attack gays on the street - highly PUBLICIZED attacks, especially here in the US. Bigots and homophobes are the same the world over. Putin became a RW superstar in the US by the start of the Olympic games.

I think Putin's plan for Ukraine had been in the works for much longer than media suggests. I believe he was calculated in his attacks on gays to specifically curry admiration with churches and RWers in his own country and in the US. The end of the Olympics triggered the beginning of his military actions to resurrect the USSR.

The GOP voter base have been useful idiots for Putin and his power grab.

I think today's GOP would repel and disgust Reagan at this point.

[riqster]

1. Plausible. K & R

[TwilightGardener]

2. Russian propagandists spend a lot of time on Free Republic and

other RW blogs talking about how the US military is weakened by homosexuals and can't fight anymore. They refer to the the US and Europe as "sodomites" and ruled by George Soros. The Soros talking point even came up here on DU a few weeks back.

[JI7]

4. it was brought up to show what the right wing was saying

or brought up by someone who believed it ?

[TwilightGardener]

6. Well, I don't know if the commenters who say such things believe it, but

the opinions I mentioned come up a lot. I figured out that it was propagandists because some of the exact same talking points started showing up everywhere, all the time, across blogs and news sites of all political spectrums. All saying the same things, in the same wording. Edit to add: when it showed up on DU about "Soros" controlling events in Ukraine, another DUer called that poster on it as using a RW talking point.

[JI7]

8. i'm not surprised, it has been happening a lot

[blm]

12. Yep - I don't get why anyone thinks the timing is just coincidental.

Putin prepared for his invasion the same way Bush prepared for his candidacy and for his invasion. By strengthening his alliance with the religious fundamentalists and bigots.

[HooptieWagon]

3. I think Putin is appealing to the Russian RW....

and probably doesn't give a flying fuck what either the U.S. RW or LW thinks.

[JI7]

5. didn't he write some piece in the nytimes ? and he certain does care how the world

views him and he hates Obama.

[Cha]

27. Yes, he did.

[blm]

11. He's far more vain and calculating than you recognize.

I don't believe in coincidences. If you do that is your right.

[Behind the Aegis]

7. Some how I doubt Pooty gives a mink's furry ass what RWers in the US think.

He is very clear in his homophobia, despite his defender's claims.

[blm]

9. He likes that the RWers help to undermine Obama's power with congress in Washington.

And he is way more vain about his influence over RW Americans than you think. His attacks on gays did NOT just 'happen' to coincide with increased media checking out preparations for Olympics.

[Spider Jerusalem]

10. I doubt that Putin gives much of a fuck what anyone in the US thinks of him.

[stevenleser]

13. Oh he cares. What we think/would do was part of his Crimea calculus. He thought that

there would be some screaming for a few weeks but then things would go back to normal.

Now, whether OPs contention that his anti-gay policies took right wingers in the US into account, I am not sure about that. But Putin does think a lot about what the US thinks of him and Russian policies, just as we do the reverse with Russia, China, etc.

[Spider Jerusalem]

17. He cares about the actions of the government, not the opinions of the public.

I say again, he doesn't care what anyone in the US thinks of him. (And he probably perceives Obama as being both weak and hamstrung by the Republicans in Congress.)

[blm]

19. The GOP congress keeps undermining Obama to keep him weak mainly to impress the RW base.

It is all related, and Putin is not so stupid to NOT use it to his advantage. The RWingnuts reaction to all things Obama has been a political goldmine for Putin.

[blm]

14. Except how the RWers here influence a GOP congress intent on keeping Obama's presidency as weak as

possible.

[IDemo]

15. Repel and disgust Reagan?

Reagan and company chuckled at the specter of HIV when it first hit the US.

[blm]

25. I get that - I was being narrow, specifically in regard to Putin's goal to reconstruct USSR

.

[RandoLoodie]

16. I don't think he really cares

what America actually thinks.

A man who wrestles bears and eats shards of glass for breakfast (shirtless, naturally) probably wasn't put in this world to win popularity contests.

[blm]

26. And Kerry killed a man with his bare hands in Vietnam to save his crew. Yeah, but Putin is so much

cooler when he takes his shirt off and makes the RWers swoon.

We get it.

Propaganda works.

[pampango]

18. He understands European right-wing politics, too. "Europe's Right wants closer ties with Russia"

European Parliament elections are to be held at the end of May, and right-wing populist groups with parties in several states, are well positioned to profit in the coming ballot. They are being more and more open about their wish to act as an advocate for Moscow in Brussels, stresses the German newspaper. "I think we can be a good partner for Russia in the European Parliament," said Filip Dewinter, a senior member of the Flemish Vlaams Belang in Belgium. "And Russia sees us as a potential partner," he added.

And the Russian side has been no less supportive. "We hope that the results of the coming elections will give these people more power," said Sergey Markov, a conservative political scientist with close connections in the Kremlin. "We need to move forward to further develop this cooperation", he added, referring to the European right-wing parties.

A recently held conference in the European Parliament was the most serious attempt so far, by European right-wing parties to woo Russia. Called "EU-Russia: Deescalating the Crisis-Roadmap for Peace in Europe," the conference was organized by Fiorello Provera, senior member of Italy's right-wing Lega Nord and deputy chief of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, together with David Lasar from Austria's Islamophobic Freedom Party.

According to Der Spiegel, many parallels could be drawn between the rhetoric of Russia's President Vladimir Putin and European right-wing parties. Skepticism in terms of immigration and constant concern about the threat posed by Islamist extremism make Putin a "natural ally for xenophobic right whose political bread and butter is their vociferous attacks on European immigration policy," Der Spiegel writes.

http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/25089/53/

[blm]

20. Exactly - Putin's RW fan clubs are popping up all over the world.

.

[yurbud]

21. you're possibly right about Putin, but over-estimating Reagan

[blm]

22. I'm pretty clear-headed when it comes to Reagan. My point was that he'd be rolling to think GOP base

was cheering Putin on while he reconstructs the USSR.

That is all. ; )

[yurbud]

23. that's more credible. thanks for clarification

[Bosonic]

24. Similar to Russian support for Euro RW/Eurosceptics

Which is an attempt to chip away at the EU powerblock.