The Vlad Fad ~ How Trump got his party to love Russia
The two types of Republicans who abandoned onetime opposition to support Vladimir Putin.
By James Kirchick Washington Post
For decades, anti-communism united conservatives behind the Republican
Party. An otherwise disparate collection of national security hawks,
free-market enthusiasts and social traditionalists rallied to the GOP,
resolutely committed to checking Soviet influence around the world. All
of these constituencies had reason to despise godless,
revolution-exporting Bolsheviks. Although Russia no longer subscribes to
Marxist-Leninist doctrine, it still presents a threat to the United
States, its allies and the liberal world order. Witness its aggression
against Ukraine, its intervention in Syria and its support for
extremists across Europe.
