Here's some interesting polling relevant to the crisis created by Vladimir Putin's apparent intent to subjugate most or all of Ukraine.
Economist data maven G. Elliott Morris contends that Republicans may have veered into feeling favorably toward Putin and Russia during fan boy Donald Trump's administration, but they have largely fallen back to earth.
He cites Pew research.
But Morris discovered that more recent polling told a different story:
The Trump effect on Americans' attitudes towards Vladimir Putin has mostly worn off
Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign raised GOP favorability of Putin. But nearly 80% of Republicans, up from 50%, now say Russia is our enemy.
... opinions among Republicans have shifted dramatically towards those of the Democrats, and the population as a whole. Three in every four Americans who align themselves with the GOP now say Russia is our enemy, with only 10% saying they are our friend. ...
... After looking at updated polling data, Republicans and Democrats actually look to be pretty close to lock-step on Russia, at least at the mass level. And even while there are some differences between them, a majority of members in both parties favors the same general approach to dealing with Putin.
Apparently nobody told Fox News gabber Tucker Carlson, who The Bulwark's William Saletan likens to the 1930's American Hitler lover radio sermonizer Charles Coughlin.
Eighty years ago, when a dictator rose to power in Europe and invaded his neighbors, he found an ally in the United States. The dictator was Adolf Hitler, and his ally was Charles Coughlin, a popular radio host. Coughlin belittled democracy, defended the Nazis, and opposed America’s entry into the war, arguing that the movement to enlist the United States was a conspiracy on behalf of a sinister minority: Jews.
All too familiar. The old pattern was that, when push came to shove, these demagogues lost their appeal. Does the declining pseudo-democracy in the USofA still have the internal strength to slough off yet another round of homegrown fascists? To the horror of our right wing, I suspect this is a struggle in which newer immigrant citizens may play a wise role. Many recognize these charlatans all too clearly.
UPDATE: as the rockets strike Kviv and other Ukrainian cities, Colonel Alexander Vindman, immigrant American, makes the case against fascist sympathizers like Carlson in this tweet:
No one wants war. I’ve seen war & can envision the human toll & the geopolitical catastrophe that will ensue. The way we prevent war is by defending U.S. interests & values. What you don’t appreciate is that this country is wonderful, it’s the greatest country in the World.
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