Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Putin's propaganda finds willing listeners
news-record.com/blogs ^ | April 10, 2014 | Doug Clark

Posted on 04/11/2014 12:39:54 AM PDT by Berlin_Freeper

I remain amazed by the self-proclaimed conservatives who have become so enthralled by Vladimir Putin -- especially those who see the Russian president as a defender of traditional Christian and family values.

Pat Buchanan seems to be their leading spokesman:

"In the culture war for the future of mankind, Putin is planting Russia’s flag firmly on the side of traditional Christianity. His recent speeches carry echoes of John Paul II whose Evangelium Vitae in 1995 excoriated the West for its embrace of a 'culture of death.'

"What did Pope John Paul mean by moral crimes?

"The West’s capitulation to a sexual revolution of easy divorce, rampant promiscuity, pornography, homosexuality, feminism, abortion, same-sex marriage, euthanasia, assisted suicide — the displacement of Christian values by Hollywood values."

Much is made of the fact that an organization called the World Congress of Families chose Moscow as the site of its next annual conference.

But this WCF has close ties to Putin's regime, according to Accuracy in Media. In February, it published an article by Cliff Kincaid titled "Putin poses as defender of Christian civilization."

The key word being "poses."

Writing about Alexey Komov, a Russian representative for the WCF, Kincaid writes:

"Komov was pressed repeatedly on his backing of the Putin regime and its oppression of the Russian people. I personally presented him with a list of political prisoners being held in Russia and asked him to seek their release.

"Trying to turn the tables on the questioners, he brought up such topics as:

"Racism in America

"Treatment of the American Indians

"Giving California to Mexico and Alaska back to Russia

"The alleged murders of witnesses to the JFK assassination

"The U.S. invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan

“'Political prisoners' in the U.S., such as the terrorists at Guantanamo Bay

“'Who did 9/11?'”

This "Alaska back to Russia" topic ought to worry Sarah Palin, among others, given recent Russian advances into Ukraine.

On the other hand, who knows? Maybe Alaskans will welcome the Russians. Maybe they'll demand the Russians. Putin is more their kind of guy than the president they have now, right?

Or maybe they'll see through this malarkey.

Russians have long practice in mind manipulation and image control. While the tales of Potemkin villages in the Crimea during the reign of Catherine the Great may be apocryphal, the desire to deceive has always been very real.

In the early Soviet era, countless Western visitors were overly impressed by what they saw as the construction of a workers' paradise. In turn, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Andropov, Gorbachev, Yeltsin and finally Putin all appeared to progressives as friendly to Western values -- until it turned out they weren't so much.

There's really just one reason so many American conservatives have begun to cheer for Putin.

It's not because he's even demonstrated any actual Christian devotion or family fidelity -- he's just divorced a wife after a long estrangement, during which time he's been linked to other women, and his children are never seen with him.

No, it's simply because he's promoted anti-gay measures.

Yet, now that he's initiating aggressive actions against neighboring countries, and showing no sign that he'll be satisfied with annexing only a small slice of Ukraine, he's clearly trying to weaken American opposition.

What better way to do that than to win over some Americans to the notion that he's fighting to reclaim territory for Christian Russia from the decadent and godless West?

And some Americans already seem to believe it.

Maybe it's no surprise, though, because Russians have always found their полезные дураки.


TOPICS: Politics; Society
KEYWORDS: ukraine
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-24 last
To: Reeses

Funny.


21 posted on 04/11/2014 4:29:43 AM PDT by Grzegorz 246
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: BurningOak
Ahmadinejad is a better Christian than Putin, because he at least believes in God and because the Iranian state murdered a lot less Christians than the KGB.

That's one of the most interesting assertions I've read during this debate. You should add it to your FR profile so everyone can see it.

22 posted on 04/11/2014 5:20:44 AM PDT by mac_truck ( Aide toi et dieu t aidera)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Reeses
Russians have a leader that loves his country and looks out for their best interests

You're a little late for April Fool's Day.

23 posted on 04/11/2014 6:52:26 AM PDT by gdani
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: mac_truck

Is that sarcasm? If you want to say something say it, I stand by what I said.

Putin the KGB spook is not a Christian.


24 posted on 04/11/2014 3:09:24 PM PDT by BurningOak (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2830849/reply?c=1)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-24 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson