I’m fighting (and losing to) a sinus infection, so otherwise exhausted after today’s very lively BradCast. Thus, Imma try to keep this short and leave you to tune in for all the juicy fun on today’s program. [Audio link to full show follows this summary.]
In general, amongst the stuff we covered…
- GOP South Carolina primary results prove yet again that about 40% of Republican voters, at least in the nominating contests to date, want an alternative toDonald Trump. Clearly, that’s a crisis for…Joe Biden, as the New York Times helps us understand.
- A whole bunch of primaries (and caucuses and dysfunctional GOP party conventions) are coming up in a whole bunch of states over the next week, beginning with Michigan tomorrow and some 16 states and territories next Tuesday — Super Tuesday — March 5th. We lay out all of the confusing details, attempts by Trump to game the GOP nomination, and a move from some on the Left in Michigan to call out President Biden or his position on Israel.
- In addition to a whole bunch of nominating contests over the next week, the inept House GOP has scheduled a potential (if partial) government shutdown for this Friday, the same day that President Biden is set to deliver his State of the Union Address. At the same time, SCOTUS could come down with two key rulings any minute on whether Trump is allowed to be on the ballot at all this year, as per the Constitution’s “Insurrectionist Disqualification Clause”, and on his ridiculous “Presidential Immunity” argument in his criminal trials. Buckle up for all of the above over the next week or so.
- AND THEN: Russia‘s deadly invasion of its peaceful, democratic sovereign neighbor of Ukraine has now entered its third horrific year. More and more evidence over the past week has emerged to document both Vladimir Putin‘s treachery and his Kremlin’s decade-long, active intelligence operation to interfere with the U.S. electoral system. All of it highlights the perfidy and/or stupidity of a whole bunch of Useful Idiots on the Right — from Trump to rightwing media to Republicans in Congress — who are all too happy to echo blatant Kremlin propaganda for (potential) political gain.
But what of the small, if intense, number of folks on the supposed, “anti-war” progressive Left who have also spent years at this point echoing much of the same Kremlin propaganda? The one who, today, agree with Republicans who want to simply throw Ukraine to the Russian wolves because, something something “World War III”, something something NATO, something something “negotiate” with the invaders, something something “privileged few” who want Ukraine to “fight to the last Ukrainian”? (That last, literally a documented Russian intel talking point, repeated endlessly now by many on the Left and Right who oppose aid to Ukraine to allow them to both defend themselves and democracy itself against imperialist foreign military aggression.)
We call out some of those on the Left today for falling for disinformation and talking points, knowingly or unknowingly…because someone has to…and they call in to today’s BradCast in response.
Lively conversation ensues… 🙂
(Snail mail support to “Brad Friedman, 7095 Hollywood Blvd., #594 Los Angeles, CA 90028” always welcome too!)
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Bravo, Brad. Nailed it on the bizarre, disturbing transformation of historically antiwar “leftists” into fellow travelers of the world’s current leading practitioner of the unprovoked war. (If they’re going to argue that he was “provoked,” will they still insist that Israel was not?)
The Russian people are not all bad, but the Russian government sure seems to be.
Thanks, Russ! In my brief health-related piece tonight, I cited your excellent column this week on the similar (perhaps even exact same?) phenomenon within the Left regarding COVID disinformation. Thank you for that critical work!
Unfortunately, the main part of Russian are like orc Azog https://lord-of-the-rings.org/books/azog.html and they are needed to put in their place again. That doesn’t mean that all of them such bad but the majority is.