If you listen to GOP potential candidates like Ron DeSantis or Greg Abbott, you will hear Russian, far-right extremist ideology, not American values.
A fairly short TAT today due to a long list of catch-up chores after being out most of last week.
As I was doing some more research today on Russia being one of the core disseminators of far-right, extremist propaganda globally, I received a notification on my phone about a law, popularized by mini-Trump, Ron DeSantis. It was about his attempts to expand Florida’s extremist law called, “don’t say gay.” Yup, you guessed it, this assault on gender issues is part and parcel of global RWE/ right wing extremist ideology and a weapon against democratic nations all over the world. Much of this ideology is disseminated by Russia to degrade Western opposition to Putin’s aggression. If you still doubt DeSantis’s Russian support, look no further than his recent comments about Ukraine.
Since Trump first came down the escalator in the now infamous video, Russian ideology has become a global threat. My job in uniform was CT/ counterterrorism and employing influence, to either support our CT efforts or to degrade enemy extremist propaganda. For the twenty years after 2001/ 9-11, we only focused on one type of extremism, Islamic. In the meantime, ignoring other types has led them to expand and offer a whole different type of threat, and one far more serious.
Today, RWE is the most serious extremist threat to the US and the West with no close second. Yes, this is my professional opinion. The data and research bears this out. It doesn’t always look like what we experienced on 9-11 but it’s a far more insidious threat because it is the controlling element of today’s, GOP or what I call the MAGA wing.
DeSantis, my governor Greg Abbott and the GOP in general perpetually employ the same narratives and supporting themes that Putin exports. A close review of the 2022 Texas GOP midterm platform shows this in frightening detail. He does so because it weakens the West and NATO in particular. The evidence is all over Europe with RWE governments in Hungary, Italy and powerfully political forces in the rest of Europe. Yes, Russian propaganda and funding supports all of this. Marine le Pen in France is one of the best examples.
“In his statement this week, Abbott even called on other Texans to act as watchdogs and report any parents for abuse if they believe the parent is supporting their child’s gender transition with professional help.”
Greg Abbott
Texas Tribune
February 2022
When I, as an expert in this profession hear GOP politicians expressing the same views Putin employs at home and abroad, I cringe. When I hear politicians talk about stopping or decreasing support to Ukraine, I know exactly where these thoughts come from. The ugly truth is, Russia, their Western connections and influencers, including the infamous FOX News, are mere parrots of Russian, anti-American propaganda. For those my age, you’ll get this reference; Tucker Carlson is the Tokyo Rose of modern American media.
I often work on recommendations and analysis to mitigate all extremism, especially violent extremism. Any extremist belief is cancerous. Left untreated it is lethal to individuals, societies and in fact, nations. NAZI Germany is a perfect example.
As a nation, we’ve already lost 7 + years to the MAGA crowd and the clock is ticking. McCarthy, Speaker of the House, is really the “Speaker for Putin” with his culture war ideology and operations based on RWE ideology, mostly conspiracy theories. As I said at the beginning… the evidence is overwhelming for anyone who has the guts to look. What drives me the craziest is that the US, after Russia, is the next largest exporter of RWE. Here though, we lie and call it politics.
Happy “hump day” everyone,
Paul