Putin, in a wide-ranging interview with the Financial Times, said among other things — “the so-called liberal idea has outlived its purpose. some elements of the liberal idea, such as multiculturalism, are no longer tenable. the liberal idea has become obsolete”. He might as well have added that he is the mastermind behind its supposed demise.
Illiterate, illegitimate and unstable president trump, when asked to comment on it, had no clue what western liberalism is, did not want to cross Putin and relished the opportunity to attack his enemies — the American public in general and California in particular. He had this to say, attacking “liberals” in California. There is good chance the words were handed to him by the Russians at the G20.
Here is a full transcript of the long interview of Putin -
Putin’s toxic words sound like those parroted by right-wing operatives like Steve Bannon, Hannity, the religious right, racists and hard-right autocrats around the world —
- He attacks immigrants and multiculturalism.
- Defends the interests of the “core population”.
- Trashes Angela Merkel for her approach to immigrants.
- Praises trump for doing something about the huge inflow of migrants and narcotics.
- States that proponents of liberal ideas are not doing anything. The liberal idea presupposes that nothing needs to be done.
- The migrants can kill, plunder and rape with impunity because their rights as migrants must be protected.
- Traditional values are more stable and more important for millions of people than the liberal idea.
- He is not not a fan (wink, wink) of shutting, tying, closing, disbanding everything, arresting everybody or dispersing everybody (liberals).
- The liberal idea has become obsolete. It has come into conflict with the interests of the overwhelming majority of the population.
- He claims that he has no problems with LGBT persons. “God forbid, let them live as they wish.”. But he then goes on to trash them as a threat to traditional values of the “core population”.
Note the careful and narrow way Putin defines and trashes Western liberalism — by fanning the fear of immigrants and by defending “traditional” values. Words that appeal to the white-evangelical-racist base of the GOP. Divide-and-conquer, the tool of invaders and tyrants since the dawn of civilization.
One can expect the GOP and right-wing media to use these words as talking points in the next year and a half, perhaps spiced up with some standard American conservative toxic blather.
Here is a video of the segment on liberalism -
Here are some responses from around the world.
Putin is certainly reveling in the havoc he has caused here in the U.S. and in Europe and admiring his handiwork. He could not have done it without the help of the illiberals here at home and in Europe. And he is not done yet; he is still pulling strings and controlling the GOP narrative. We have to stay vigilant, fight back with every ounce of our strength — both him and the fascists here at home. The future of civilization may very well depend on it.