No doubt, in Putin’s invasion calculous is the weakened state of America’s democracy, a weakening with great contributions by a now seditionist GOP and a loud anti-democratic right-wing for-profit media, and even with contributions from corporate-influenced and owned mainstream sources as well. Mainstream media helps to amplify the hate and vitriol of a Fox Spews by repeating it, and thus giving it some credence, along with the Democratic Party, ever in a defensive posture.
Still Fox Spews is the voice, you might say the leading voice now, of the Republican Party.
Putin must now revel in the supporting voices in the Republican Party, giving more reason for him to continue a full invasion of the Ukraine, a venture nearly akin to Hitler’s invasions and annexations of neighboring countries almost a century ago.
Putin’s continuing cyber war took chaotic roots in the United States contributing to the election of Donald Trump who gave transparency to already furtive GOP attacks on democracy and common good under the guise of neoliberalism and with the financial support of corporate chieftains.
Certainly, the steady erosion of our democracy wasn’t planned by its contributing forces but was a byproduct. We all had a role: the majority taking our democracy for granted and not participating in its strengthening or maintenance, political parties in losing allegiance to democracy’s precepts, and corporate forces putting greed and profit above our sacred union.
But the most prominent role belongs to corporations beginning almost two generations ago when they were the targets of an egalitarian wave of government: media and the public combined in reform movements of civil rights, cleaning up the environment, labor union movements and voting reform.
Corporations began to fight back against environmental regulations, favorable union contracts, court rulings and an accountability for their actions. It was cutting into profits.
With a call to action for business, the Powell Manifesto, much like the call for workers to unite more than a century earlier in the Communist Manifesto, the gradual cultural coup began with large infusions of money and resources.
America’s corporate coup has erased any egalitarian threat and helped make our democracy much weaker in the process. Their principle egalitarian threat, the government, has been demonized and weakened, at least for democracy. SCOTUS has been captured by a strong, right-wing majority. Civil rights and voting rights weakened by legislation and SCOTUS rulings. The attack on climate change is still languishing. Labor unions are much weaker.
The largest contribution to its success was the Republican Party, its members more than willing to energize the corporate effort in exchange for campaign contributions. Democrats, in the beginning, were willing as well, sharing in the largesse of donor money and forgetting about their pledges to the labor movement and unions.
By and by, Republicans gave it more gusto, completely forgetting about the role of consumers, voters, and the common good. Both parties lost their way and let egalitarian interests go by the wayside. Large swaths of the working middle class suffered in Midwest states as decisions of both parties took their jobs and their livelihood. Thus, democracy was forgotten and the voice of the people became weaker, the corporate voice much louder, suffering coming to labor and workers to a greater degree.
This left an opening to a totally corrupt, fraudulent man like Donald Trump who became somewhat of a savior to a large minority, forgotten by both parties. Trump’s four years left large openings to the revitalization of Vladimir Putin and a resurgence of the lost Soviet Union.
Putin’s ruthless and reckless attack of Ukraine is reminiscent of Hitler’s aggressions after Germany’s World War I defeat and the allied punishment under the Versailles Treaty.
Hitler took advantage of the suffering and resentment (inflation and joblessness, for example) of the German people, and took over lost territory around him and started a global war, World War II. We see sort of a replay with Vladimir Putin, almost a century later, in 2022.
Like Hitler, Vladimir Putin, is a ruthless calculator of strengths and weaknesses of opposing powers, helping to foster their divisive forces, by using cyber capabilities. Putin, too, exhibits a great quest for power, controls his media and spurs nationalistic glory while he amplifies the resentments of his own people.
The GOP is in the throes of authoritarianism as a majority of states threaten voters rights. Why wouldn’t Putin be emboldened to extend his empire with our democracy in a weakened state and voters possible soon to be captured by the authoritarianism of a deceitful Republican Party?
With several Republicans and his former Secretary of State, Trump is an admirer and supporter of Putin. Thus, Republicans and Trump embolden Putin’s murderous conquest resolve in Ukraine as Putin attacks Kyiv’s where almost 3 million citizen lives are in peril.
For Trump, the utter disregard of life for our Ukraine ally and praise of a ruthless dictator is astounding: “I mean, he’s taking over a country for $2 worth of sanctions. I’d say that’s pretty smart. Ukraine is “a great piece of land with a lot of people, and just walking right in.”
Former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo also gives cause for Putin’s Hitleresque actions: “He is a very talented statesman. He has lots of gifts. He was a KGB agent, for goodness sakes. He knows how to use power. We should respect that.”
More and more, KGB is sounding like GOP, while most Democrats are finally pushing for progressive changes to help all Americans.
