The fringes’ alliance included far-right GOP politicians Tulsi Gabbard and Ron Paul, and leftist Jill Stein of the Green Party. Fox News’ Tucker Carlson promoted the event and Russian flags were seen in the crowd. Seemingly a natural fit.
It would appear that leftists are willing to make common cause with some of the most rabid pro-Trumpians, like Carlson who has said, “Has Putin ever called me a racist?”. Marjorie Taylor Greene, touted by some as a perfect running mate for Trump, is also on record: “America needs to stop pushing the war in Ukraine.”
The American far left have also embraced this narrative – the culprit for hostilities is expansionist NATO, fueled by an aggressive US foreign policy. The left, like the Kremlin, reject reality – every nation that has joined NATO did so willingly, in fact abided by the overwhelming demand of its citizenry to be part of the alliance. Every country that has joined NATO enjoys a democratically elected government. The left denies the fear of central and eastern Europeans who have always warned of Russia’s capability of invading a neighbour. The left embraced Putin’s argument that he was pushed into a corner by NATO’s move eastward.
The far left also denies the fact that not single new member of NATO from the former Soviet Bloc has shown any signs of being a threat to Russia. This is in sharp contradiction with the dictatorship-ruled countries who voted with Russia to oppose the UN resolution calling for Russian withdrawal from Ukraine – Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua, Eritrea, Syria, with Mali being the exception.
As an aside perhaps, leftists could also align with possible GOP presidential nominee Ron DeSantis, not identified with the fringe right. He has adopted a typical leftist argument that US support for Russia is not an issue of “vital national interest” and called the war a mere “territorial dispute”.
The love affair between Putin and the Western far right was flaunted by the America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC), convened in Florida just one week after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. While the world was affixed with Russia’s attack, Greene set the tone at the gathering with no mention of Russia’s full-scale assault. In fact, applause for Putin exposed his cheerleaders in the audience. Now, with over a year of Russia’s relentless attack, the far right is no longer on the fringe of Republican politics.
Just after Russia’s egregious attack, the “genteel” wing of the Republican party could not be seen as tolerating autocratic regimes. But the political damage that the far right can inflict on support for the Ukrainian cause can now be seen in recent polling of Republicans. Almost two thirds of Republican voters oppose the continuation of financial and military aid for Ukraine. This is in stark contrast with US voters in general who overwhelmingly support Ukraine.
(Pikemalt saab lugeda Eesti Elu 19. mai 2023 paber- ja digilehest)
