Posted on 08/23/2013 11:44:23 AM PDT by MetaThought
Russian President Vladimir Putin, the career KGB officer who has presided over the rollback of his country’s post-Communist freedoms and revived Cold War-style anti-Americanism, is an unlikely hero for American conservatives. Yet the Kremlin strongman has lately found some fans on the right who see him as a defender of Christian values — most recently, in the imbroglio over Russia’s new legal ban on gay “propaganda.” It is a sad misjudgment that does a disservice to the causes of conservatism, freedom, and religion alike.
Spokesmen for several right-wing groups including the American Family Association have praised the Russian law, which prohibits any pro-gay speech or expression that could be accessible to minors. Veteran columnist Pat Buchanan has joined the Putin cheerleading squad. And, shockingly, the usually thoughtful author Rod Dreher, who blogs for The American Conservative, has added his own “1.5 Cheers for Putin.”
While condemning anti-gay violence and authoritarianism in Russia, Dreher praises Putin’s willingness to speak up for Christianity and laments that “post-Soviet Russia, for all its grievous flaws, is . . . more conscious of its Christian history and character than the United States.”
This is a truly grievous misunderstanding of the reality of religion and politics in 21st Century Russia. Russia today is outwardly far more religious than most of Western Europe, but it’s a religion of state more than church: Orthodox Christianity has taken Communism’s place as the new official ideology, with church membership an official badge of patriotism and loyalty.
(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...
Ms Young and her fans don’t seem to understand that Putin is a leader who fits the circumstances of Russia, not those of the United States. Were he the POTUS here, he’d fit the American culture, and that is what the conservatives (assume and) admire in him.
Because, in comparison to Obama, Putin looks pretty good - ruthless, competent, and proudly nationalistic.
Which is scary as hell, because Putin is so far away from "traditional America(n)" values that the light from them take a thousand years to get here.
At least Putin is interested in the survival of his country and its culture, as he obviously sees America and the West’s days are numbered, as it continues its slide down the sewer, enwrapped in its celebration of homo depravity.
I have total admiration for Putin for his actions over this. He’s showing the kind of bravery and leadership I don’t see much of over here, even if there is a bit of domestic political motivation on his part.
You can bet the Bed Wetting Free Trade Commie Globalist types in the GOP are not happy Putin is getting conservative respect....
and every TV network would be...
well...
bad example
but opposition leaders would have “accidents”... or turn blue and die... or be arrested for whatever pretext
Simple — Putin looks out for the interests of his country, Russia, and the h*ll with his enemies and everyone else.
Obama looks out for the interests of our enemies and everyone else and the h*ll with his country, the US. Well, I guess this is not quite correct — it’s questionable whether the US is or isn’t his country.
And you know that how?
Because when you scratch a protectionist, you find a totalitarian who only wants the trains to run on time.
I think we wish we had a president that loved his country, unlike Obama that loves the Soviet Union.
Proved my point.
Putin is making better strategic choices than most western leaders. He may be playing a rather complex deep game and may not necessarily hold to his current positions. For me it is not a question of cheering him on, but knowing what is right or wrong for our North American society (which is essentially the same large-scale sort of thing in Canada as in the U.S.A. with obvious important differences). Our leaders are making different choices than Putin in terms of who to support in the Middle East conflicts, what to say about the massive fraud of climate change economics, and to different extents on the rainbow agenda. I would describe the Canadian government as further along but less enthused, two factors that might perhaps cancel out so we could say that we’re all at about the same point now in terms of sliding down the slippery slope to oblivion.
Who knows whether Putin is sincere on his opposition to the rainbow agenda, or whether he’s actually driving that opposition or just tolerating it for now. But it is the right response for social integrity and cultural survival. Two or three generations later, I fear that any society which adopts the rainbow abd green agenda will be dormant and easy pickings for something like militant global Islam.
Russia seems to have summoned up the will to fight these threats. We are at the point of welcoming the Trojan horse and admiring the view as it comes inside our fortress. Our leaders just can’t wait to open up and see what’s inside.
“I’ve never understood it either.”
See my post 29.
Two can play the game of sophistry.
Putin actually likes his country....can’t say that for some of the anti-American globalist types all bothered about it.
That’s right, comrade. I always suspected you were posting from the basement of the Kremlin.
You and Obama still holding hands? You and your fellow Free Traders are some of the biggest statists around. You should tell us how great Obama’s Free Trade deal with the EU is going to be....those carbon taxes must be great in your America hater mind
Putin wouldn’t fit American culture, my hot headed friend. However, Putin successfully installed a flat tax, balanced his budget, understands the corrosive effect of the homosexual movement on his own society, and has what appears to be his national interests as his strategic and tactical imperatives.
As such, having a man such as this, an American with a similar agenda and list of accomplishments, would be better than the quisling we currently have occupying the office who only pretends at being American.
You sort of get it now?
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.