# The Republican Party is Now the RePUTIN party **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 6, 2018, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356 "2018-07-06T01:41:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/1 "2018-07-06T01:41:48Z")
As I’ve been trying to explain to the optimists here, Mueller is just scratching the surface. It’s not just Trump that is flirting with Putin; it’s the entire Republican party. Russian oligarchs are taking advantage of Citizens vs United to donate money to political causes. > **[How Putin's oligarchs funneled millions into GOP campaigns](https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/05/08/how-putin-s-oligarchs-funneled-millions-into-gop-campaigns/)** > > As special counsel Robert Mueller's team probes deeper into potential collusion between Trump officials and representatives of the Russian... Meanwhile Russia has infiltrated the NRA. > **[Inside the Decade-Long Russian Campaign to Infiltrate NRA and Elect Trump](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/inside-the-decade-long-russian-campaign-to-infiltrate-the-nra-and-help-elect-trump-630054/)** > > Investigation by Rolling Stone establishes deeper ties between the NRA and Russia – helping to elect Donald Trump – than previously reported. And now this: > **[Russia is seizing on a GOP trip to Moscow to carefully craft its narrative...](https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-uses-gop-moscow-trip-spin-narrative-trump-putin-summit-2018-7)** > > A large delegation of Republican lawmakers met with Kremlin officials this week in an opaque series of meetings in Moscow, and the lack of transparency gave Russia an opportunity to drive its own narrative of US President Donald Trump and Russian... > [@](#): > > A large group of Republican lawmakers spent the Fourth of July with Kremlin officials in Moscow for series of rather opaque meetings, the details of which were largely kept shrouded. > > To be sure, NPR reported that the seven US senators and one US representative went out of their way to avoid reporters and members of the press while in Moscow. > > The lack of transparency afforded Russia the critical opportunity it needed to drive home its own narrative of the visit. Oh, I think we get it now. The Senate wants to be on record as acknowledging their concerns about Russian meddling…while at the same time traveling in secret to cement better relations with an autocrat who has violated the territorial sovereignty its neighbors. > [@](#): > > “I’m not here today to accuse Russia of this or that or so forth,” Shelby told Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament. “I’m saying that we should all strive for a better relationship.” Oh, okay, says the Senator who’s state is about to get fucked up the ass with tariffs that even conservative economists agree are awful. > [@](#): > > Meanwhile, another member of the delegation, Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, said in an earlier statement to Business Insider that he wanted to “try to establish some rapport, talk about common interests and discuss common problems” with Russian government officials. Right, says the senator whose state probably stands to be exposed the most with a trade war with China. Just trust the president’s Russia thaw. > [@](#): > > Kennedy later told the Washington Post that the meetings with Russian officials were “damn frank, very, very, very frank, no holds barred.” > > “I asked our friends in Russia not to interfere in our elections this year,” Kennedy said. “I asked them to exit Ukraine and allow Ukraine to self-determine. I asked for the same thing in Crimea. I asked for their help in bringing peace to Syria. And I asked them not to allow Iran to gain a foothold in Syria.” Oh, but wait for it. Wait for it. > [@](#): > > But Russian officials presented a different overview. OH MY! WHO WOULD HAVE FUCKING THOUGHT?!?!?!?!? > [@](#): > > Meanwhile, BuzzFeed reported that Trump told G7 leaders last month that Crimea is part of Russia because people in the territory speak Russian — a major acknowledgement of one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s main foreign policy goals. See Nazi Germany and Czechoslovakia. Anyway, I digress… Wait for it, wait for it… > [@](#): > > Vyacheslav Nikonov, another member of the Duma who has met with US lawmakers before, told the Post that this meeting “was one of the easiest ones in my life.” He added that the question of Russia’s election interference was resolved quickly because it “was raised in general form.” > > “One shouldn’t interfere in elections — well, we don’t interfere,” Nikonov said. Translation: Looks like Russia told Kennedy (and the entire American delegation) to suck on his kielbasa. And laughed it off all the way, because they know that Republicans want Russian oligarch campaign cash. There you have it folks: Russia is now a donor to the Republican party. This is so much deeper than Trump. The Republican party is a party of international oligarchs. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/2 "2018-07-06T02:10:33Z")
Here’s my WAG: the right-wing American establishment see China as the long-term enemy. And who will help them contain China? Not Canada, not Europe, and not even their best buddy Australia. Only Russia might help them deal with China. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/3 "2018-07-06T02:23:09Z")
Yeah its not too surprising that the Republican reaction to Russian interference isn’t “How dare they!” but rather “How can I get me some of that action?” ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/4 "2018-07-06T02:34:10Z")
So the Republicans have finally stopped being paranoid about the Russians? That is good news. We really are going to need all the allies we can get to counterpoise the growing power of a China looking in the 21st century to extend its influence over the whole globe. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/5 "2018-07-06T02:39:22Z")
Remember the Russian nerve agent attack in the UK a few months ago? Another couple seems to have run across the same nerve agent. Amesbury poisoning: Novichok victims 'handled contaminated item’[Amesbury poisoning: Novichok victims 'handled contaminated item' | UK News | Sky News](http://news.sky.com/story/amesbury-poisoning-novichok-victims-handled-contaminated-item-11427497) Of course, Jeremy Corbyn and some Republicans will keep screaming that we have no proof it’s the Russians ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/6 "2018-07-06T02:42:54Z")
> [@](#): > > Meanwhile, BuzzFeed reported that Trump told G7 leaders last month that Crimea is part of Russia because people in the territory speak Russian — a major acknowledgement of one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s main foreign policy goals. So, uh, the United States is part of the UK because people in the territory speak English, amiright? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/7 "2018-07-06T02:52:10Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > So the Republicans have finally stopped being paranoid about the Russians? That is good news. We really are going to need all the allies we can get to counterpoise the growing power of a China looking in the 21st century to extend its influence over the whole globe. FFS! What good is stopping China when you’re entering an unholy alliance with a head of state that invades neighboring countries and has contempt for the very democracy you supposedly participate in? China probably has more to do with your employment and/or retirement portfolio than Russia. But you’re concerned about China? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/8 "2018-07-06T02:52:54Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > So the Republicans have finally stopped being paranoid about the Russians? That is good news. We really are going to need all the allies we can get to counterpoise the growing power of a China looking in the 21st century to extend its influence over the whole globe. Stop trying to spin collusion and infiltration as some sort of alliance. That “paranoia” you claim was entirely justified, seeing as they were trying to (and possibly succeeded in) secretly hijacking our elections. We’re currently in the middle of an investigation that has already resulted in arrests, along with plenty of proof of collusion by people in the current administration. Stop ignoring reality to fit your agenda. You can’t ally with a country that is currently trying to destroy us. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/9 "2018-07-06T02:56:58Z")
Oh, and Russia’s economy isn’t that great. We’d do better allying with other countries. Oh, wait, we were in the middle of doing that, and Trump scrapped it rather than trying to fix it, all the while destroying the allies we have by trying to undermine all of them. NATO and NAFTA are being attacked. So don’t try and spin it as if we’re actually doing this about China. It’s just about Republicans putting party over country. The head of the party is soft on Russia, likely due to collusion, and so they have to be on his side. So they, like you, spin it. Reality exists. Stop trying to pretend you can change it with alternate facts. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/10 "2018-07-06T02:59:39Z")
Not to mention this improved relationship with Russia is degrading relationships with our long established NATO allies. So we gain 1 friendship and lose 20, is this what winning looks like? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/11 "2018-07-06T02:59:41Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > So the Republicans have finally stopped being paranoid about the Russians? That is good news. We really are going to need all the allies we can get to counterpoise the growing power of a China looking in the 21st century to extend its influence over the whole globe. Accepting bribes from somebody doesn’t make them your ally. It makes you their employee. Allies work together for a common goal. People who are paying you bribes expect you to work on their goals. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/12 "2018-07-06T07:28:10Z")
I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to be allied to Putin’s mob; they’re not politically stable. Picking them over China, or (for maximum delusion) hoping you can point them at China, seems reckless to me. But maybe these Republicans know that too, and are really just trying to have lines of communication set in place after Trump goes down, without actually buying in to the Putin paradigm. Maybe more “cooperation” than cooperation. I am trying not to assume that the professional politicians are stupider than I am. But they might just be that venal. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/13 "2018-07-06T11:13:21Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Yeah its not too surprising that the Republican reaction to Russian interference isn’t “How dare they!” but rather “How can I get me some of that action?” But as the idea of taking Putin’s money becomes more of a mainstream Republican thing, Putin’s influence will spread deeper. Russia will influence senate races, house races, governor’s races, and state legislative elections. Russian oligarchs will cooperate with American (and other international) oligarchs to disrupt the democratic interests. The implications of this are chilling: we have a major political party - the one that controls the White House, that controls the US House, that controls the US Senate, and the one that controls 32 legislatures - being severely corrupted by a foreign power that is hostile to the U.S. and its democratic process. And that wants to see that process collapse into disarray. Another implication is that the longer this alliance continues, and as Republicans seeking Russian influence becomes more mainstream within the party, the more likely it is that they will get their instructions from these oligarchs, some of which might come from Putin himself. The Republican party is actively complicit in helping Russia destroy American democracy, and it is almost certain that this cancer is only going to spread within the party. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/14 "2018-07-06T11:49:46Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Accepting bribes from somebody doesn’t make them your ally. It makes you their employee. > > Allies work together for a common goal. People who are paying you bribes expect you to work on their goals. This. Fucking traitors, the lot of them. Sen. Richard “Neville” Shelby (R-Ala.), Sen. Steve “Neville” Daines (R-Mont.), Sen. John “Neville” Hoeven (R-N.D.), Sen. Ron “Neville” Johnson (R-Wis.), Sen. John “Neville” Kennedy (R-La.), Sen. Jerry “Neville” Moran (R-Kan.), and Sen. John “Neville” Thune (R-S.D.). ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/15 "2018-07-06T12:08:55Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > This. > > Fucking traitors, the lot of them. > > Sen. Richard “Neville” Shelby (R-Ala.), Sen. Steve “Neville” Daines (R-Mont.), Sen. John “Neville” Hoeven (R-N.D.), Sen. Ron “Neville” Johnson (R-Wis.), Sen. John “Neville” Kennedy (R-La.), Sen. Jerry “Neville” Moran (R-Kan.), and Sen. John “Neville” Thune (R-S.D.). They don’t believe that their behavior is traitorous because they no longer view international politics in nation-state terms. They have a common interest: oligarchal power over democratic power. This is just the beginning, and it’s why our democracy is in danger. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/16 "2018-07-06T15:20:21Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Oh, and Russia’s economy isn’t that great. We’d do better allying with other countries. Oh, wait, we were in the middle of doing that, and Trump scrapped it rather than trying to fix it, all the while destroying the allies we have by trying to undermine all of them. NATO and NAFTA are being attacked. > > So don’t try and spin it as if we’re actually doing this about China. It’s just about Republicans putting party over country. The head of the party is soft on Russia, likely due to collusion, and so they have to be on his side. So they, like you, spin it. > > Reality exists. Stop trying to pretend you can change it with alternate facts. True if we really wanted to get serious about China we would form an agreement with most of their trading partners in the regoin to reduce their influence, some sort of trans-Pacific partnership. Too bad nobody thought of such a thing before now. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/17 "2018-07-06T18:33:26Z")
[http://en.ytc.cn](http://en.ytc.cn) BUY BUY BUY ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-party-is-now-the-reputin-party/817356/18 "2018-07-06T18:43:23Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Not to mention this improved relationship with Russia is degrading relationships with our long established NATO allies. So we gain 1 friendship and lose 20, is this what winning looks like? Our relationship with Russia is NOT improving. It never will. They are using Traitor Trump and the Traitor Party against us. Putin is getting **everything** he ever wanted. Trump and his toadies are making sure of it.