Remember back when Tucker was on “Crossfire” (Kids, that was a show on CNN back when a conservative and liberal could sit in the same room and question a politician or VIP)? Remember the bowtied boy? He was maddeningly conservative, and yet he was clearly also a genius and could be funny. If that conservative Tucker could meet today’s softer Putin-Pumping Tucker, he’d likely beat the bank account out of the old guy. Tucker was a conservative back when a conservative meant you damn well police the world and make sure that Russia and China don’t get too aggressive.

This Tucker must be on Putin’s payroll, or Putin “has something on him” (as Donald Trump likes to say, so we know it’s a thing nowadays). No, I can’t prove it. I don’t know if the CIA or FBI could prove it or have suspicions. Is it even illegal to accept money for favorable opinion coverage? Unethical, to be sure. Illegal? Dunno. I do know there is no evidence of which I’m aware other than the number of times Tucker has said exactly what Putin would say if he guest-hosted Tucker’s show. When your show is played on Russian state television as propaganda, you probably best take stock.

Having already said that Tucker is “cheering for Russia to win,” (That was as the war started, now that Russia is sending missiles into apartment buildings, it’s easier to just make Ukraine and Zelensky the bad guys that actually try to make Russia good). Tucker now says, according to Mediaite, that the ten-month war is a “forever war,” using the time-tested Republican strategy of assuming its audience is stupid AF and believes that the war has gone on for years. Even more insidiously, as covered in Mediaite and in my writing for months, is the idea that United States aid to Ukraine is actually prolonging the war, causing more deaths. This is dumber than a panda fight, and yet it works on their audience. It works because they never once say, “Of course, all of this could end tomorrow if Putin, the guy who started the war for no reason other than TAKING Ukraine, would pull his forces out, stop shelling, and then try to rejoin the international community. Obviously, Putin needs to get out now, too.”

They never say it. They talk about Ukrainian “demands.” Zelensky didn’t make a single demand. He asked for an “investment” in democracy in Eastern Europe. Because if Putin learns that he gets to invade and just has some economic sanctions, but no one drops bombs on his head, the Baltic countries are next. Belarus would likely join a “pact” by which they’re essentially controlled by Moscow, the same for Hungary. Democracy in Eastern Europe would be dead, and if there is one lesson we’ve learned from the Tsars to Hitler-Stalin, a militant, anti-democratic Eastern Europe is soon hungry for more and will continue to push its own agenda.

But a lot of Republicans love Putin and Russia. What’s not to love? They’re all white. They hate foreigners. They’re led by a strongman who “doesn’t take any shit” and (this is twisted) Putin “owns the libs” by favoring the Republican party. Additionally, and this is where Tucker and a lot of powerbrokers come in, the Republican party is about to become a permanent minority, almost exclusively a rural and regional party. What is the only way to keep power if you’re in the minority? Correct. Take it. Abandon democracy, create chaos, and use martial law, just the way Putin does it.

Have no doubt. Not only does a growing fraction of Republicans want to end U.S. aid to Ukraine, that same fraction sees Putin far more favorably than you, you “woke” POS, trying to let minorities run the United States government. Of course, they haven’t thought through things too well. Putin likely isn’t a fan of the 2nd Amendment, and an American dictatorship would not be, either. And, all these powerful people like Tucker, Tulsi, Marj, some could start being “suicided” by falling off tall buildings or falling down dozens of floors of stairs.

They’re still too American, and at some point, they are going to believe they still have the right to speak out, and it won’t be until the pavement is rushing up at them will they figure it out, “This isn’t fair!”

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[email protected], @JasonMiciak, SUBSTACK 2023 Predictions