Author: Pensito Editors

New Website Collects MAGA-GOPers’ Praise of Putin

Pensito Editors


I know it is tiresome, listening to Comrade Tucker Carlson and his ilk suggesting that we choose Russia over Ukraine, Putin over Zelkenskyy. But for your convenience, the Republican Accountability Project collects them as they are uttered and preserves them for all to read.

Here’s how they describe what they do:

Only 5 percent of Republicans support Russia over Ukraine, but the MAGA wing of the GOP has continually sided with Putin and against Ukraine.

Current and former elected officials, candidates for office, and media figures who are popular with the MAGA base have a history of pro-Russia comments. Now, they have decided that they should disparage Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelenskyy despite Russia’s invasion. Some of them have walked back their comments once they saw Putin’s war machine target innocent people, but many still see Russia as an ally.

We’ve collected their quotes below to make sure they can never forget where they stood.

GOPers Taking Credit for Things They Voted AGAINST

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It has long been the practice of Republican lawmakers to take credit for local benefits of bills they voted against. Politico shares these examples of Republican lawmakers taking credit for projects in the government spending bill even though they all voted against it:

  • Claudia Tenney (R-NY): She lists eight projects that she “secured” while noting: “While I could not support this portion of the bill, I am pleased that the bill includes several Community Funding Projects I advocated for to benefit our local communities.”
  • Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA): The Louisiana conservative lists four projects that will get funding “specifically requested and secured” by the congressman. “Despite my objections to the bill in its totality, we worked closely with the House Appropriations Committee to secure funding for several important Louisiana projects.”
  • Rep. Chris Jacobs (R-NY): He lists seven community projects while noting he opposed the overall legislation due to “partisan policies that erode the Second Amendment and grow domestic spending.”
  • Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA): He touts $14 million going to eight projects for his district in a press release. “Passage of this bill is the culmination of more than a year of working with stakeholders in our communities to identify and secure federal support for their critical needs.”

    • Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-NC: Zelenskyy Is a ‘Thug’

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    WRAL-Raleigh: “U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina told supporters he thought Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a ‘thug’—a comment that runs counter to the overwhelming share of Republicans with a favorable view of the leader fending off a military invasion from Russia.

    “‘Remember that Zelenskyy is a thug,’ Cawthorn said in a video obtained by WRAL. ‘Remember that the Ukrainian government is incredibly corrupt and is incredibly evil and has been pushing woke ideologies.’…

    “On Thursday afternoon, one hour after WRAL reported the comments, Cawthorn appeared to walk back his remarks, saying on Twitter that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions are ‘disgusting.’

    “‘I am praying for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people,’ he added.”

    Trump to Putin in 2007: ‘I’m a Big Fan of Yours’

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    Trump to Putin I'm a Big Fan
    Trump wrote this fan letter to Putin in 2007

    Forbes in 2020: “Donald Trump wrote Vladimir Putin a personal letter in 2007, congratulating the Russian president on being named ‘Person of the Year’ in TIME magazine, according to a nearly-1,000-page report that the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released Tuesday.

    “’Dear President Putin,’ the letter began. ‘Congratulations on being named Time magazine’s ‘Man of the Year’—you definitely deserve it. As you probably have heard, I am a big fan of yours! Take care of yourself. With best wishes, Sincerely, Donald J. Trump.’ The future U.S. president put his famous signature on the letter with a thick marker, which he also used to underline the words ‘I am a big fan of yours!'”

    Biden’s Poll Numbers Get SOTU Bounce

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    2022 State of the Union Speech
    2022 State of the Union Speech

    NPR: “After what’s been a bleak several months politically for President Biden, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey finds he is seeing a significant boost in his approval ratings across the board following his State of the Union address and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine…

    • Overall approval rating jumped to 47%, up 8 points from the NPR poll last month. Presidents don’t generally see much, if any bounce, out of a State of the Union address. Since 1978, there had only been six times when a president saw an approval rating improve 4 points or more following State of the Union addresses, according to the pollsters. Three of those bounces were for former President Bill Clinton.
    • Ukraine handling is up 18 points to 52%.
    • Coronavirus pandemic handling is now 55%, up 8 points.
    • Economic handling up 8 points to 45%.

    Russian Official Says the Quiet Part Out Loud on State TV

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    DailyBeast: “On [‘The Evening With Vladimir Soloviev’]—an Orwellian environment, typical of the Russian state media—the host and every panelist repeatedly denied the obvious, attempting to disprove the notion that Russia is at war with Ukraine. Soloviev asked: ‘Are we de facto at war with NATO?’ Kartapolov concurred: ‘De facto, we are at war with NATO, because all of Ukraine’s military formations are carrying out NATO’s tasks… NATO is also solving another problem, getting rid of Europe’s excess migrants by sending them to fight in Ukraine.’ He pompously concluded: ‘God is not in power, but in truth.’

    As to the Kremlin’s aims in Ukraine, [Andrei Kartapolov, who heads the Russian parliament’s defense committee,] explained them in detail: ‘Our position is clear and transparent, including during these negotiations. The essence is as follows: Ukraine will recognize Crimea as the Russian Federation, as well as DPR/LPR [‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ and ‘Luhansk People’s Republic’] within their administrative borders. Ukraine will change its social and state system and become a neutral, demilitarized country. That’s it.‘ [Emphasis added.]

    Lawmaker Konstantin Zatulin, who is deputy chairman of the Duma commission on relations with the former Soviet Union, seemed unsettled by Kartapolov’s revelations and angrily replied: “When a horse has something to say, a saddle shouldn’t be the one to talk. This is not the time to tell everything. First of all, we’re not the ones who should be saying that, they [Ukrainians] need to be the ones who say that. But that situation has to ripen first. It won’t be done during the thunder of cannons. Until our operation has concluded, it won’t be clear what ‘denazification’ will consist of.’”

    Mitt Romney Called Trump’s Praise for Putin ‘Almost Treasonous’ – He Was Almost Right, It Definitely Is Treasonous

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    Daily Beast: “Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) on Sunday took aim at conservatives who have heaped praise upon Russian President Vladimir Putin as Russia launched a full-scale and deadly invasion of Ukraine—and he seemed to include former President Donald Trump in his harsh criticism…

    “Stating that ‘a lot of those people are changing their stripes’ due to shifting political and international responses, the longtime Russia critic said it was ‘unthinkable’ and ‘almost treasonous’ that ‘anybody in this country’ could side with the murderous Russian dictator. Considering that Trump has recently lauded Putin as ‘very savvy’ for his ‘genius’ invasion of Ukraine, [CNN host Dana] Bash said ‘treasonous is a big word’ while wondering if Romney was referencing the twice-impeached ex-president. ‘Well, I said it’s nearly treasonous,’ the former GOP presidential nominee replied. ‘Standing up for freedom is the right thing to do in America. Anything less than that, in my opinion, is unworthy of American support.’”

    Here’s a list via Reddit of 20 instances of Trump lavishing praise on Vladimir:

    […]

    The Future of Republicanism Is … Rick Scott??

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    US Senator Rick Scott, Republican of Florida, speaks to the media. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

    Rick Scott, the first-term senator from Florida who is best known on Capitol Hill for filing dumb bills that waste the august body’s time and energy, has, in the absence of an agenda for the GOP, provided one.

    And, of course, it’s a doozy:

    Senate Republican leaders have no plans to release an alternative agenda as they try to win back the majority this fall. So Rick Scott is pursuing his own plan.

    The Florida Republican senator is devising a conservative blueprint for Republicans to enact should they win Senate and House majorities this fall. Among Scott’s priorities: completing the border wall and naming it after former President Donald Trump, declaring “there are two genders,” ending any reference to ethnicity on government forms and limiting most federal government workers — including members of Congress — to 12 years of service.

    Hey, I don’t mind naming the wall after Trump — he deserves it — but everything else is unadulterated hooey.

    Read the rest at Politico.

    Trump Is Like a ‘Typical Gangster’

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    “Donald is a master at figuring out how to make it in your interest to solve his problem. Suggesting bad things might happen if he doesn’t get his way is how Trump—like a typical gangster—works his will. If Donald ran as an independent, that sinks the party. They have to keep Donald inside the tent because if he bails, the party’s over.”

    – David Kay Johnston, Pulitzer-prize winning journalist written extensively about Trump, his taxes, and his unsavory business practices.