A reader writes concerning Professor Richardson’s observations of elite internecine warfare now that the Soviet Union is gone:
Yes, exactly. And also, you may have noted a rather large degree of coziness between those young-punk Republicans and Russia (as well as the old corrupt Republicans) — something that’d be unheard of 50 years ago. Those old Republicans invented McCarthyism after all. Today they kiss up to the reds, the communist Russians.
And in response to a query:
Any Republican politician under the age of say 35 who has said anything positive about Russian policies or oligarchs will fill the bill, in my book. For example, Ashley-Madison Cawthorn.
I do have a vague memory of Representative Cawthorn (R-NC) having some Russian connection, and here’s a recent story by Susie Madrak on Crooks and Liars about the matter:
Madison Cawthorn recently announced his divorce from Cristina Bayardelle, an Instagram fitness instructor.
But now he’s sharing the strange story of how they met — set up with a fake story by an American stranger he just happened to meet in Russia! I suspect there will be much, much more about this story, because this sounds like a national security problem:
Grant Stern on Twitter said, “Madison Cawthorn’s divorce just went from boring information to national security concern in about 77 seconds of interview time with the Daily Caller.
“This does not sound a normal meet-cute story whatsoever. Very few of these stories involving Russia are.”
“All I got from this video is that Madison Cawthorn married a honeypot,” tweeted Angry Staffer, a former White House staffer.
Make of it what you will. Sourcing someone calling themselves Angry Staffer is a bit of a red flag for me, I must admit.
But this also reminds me of a tempest in a teapot from a few years ago, when Senator Cruz (R-TX) endorsed the idea of McCarthyism. McCarthyism was putatively about stamping out Communism in the United States in the 1950s, a position from which being anti-Russian is a very small stretch. Those who study the era will know that McCarthyism was really about Senator Joe McCarthy’s (R-WI) frantic clutching after power & influence; once a few politicians stood up to him and he was revealed for what he was, his influence waned and he eventually died, in office, an alcoholic.
The tempest was a brief return – maybe a week long – to endorsement of the tenets of McCarthyism. How that is incompatible with the concept of Young Republicans becoming intertwined with the successors of the Soviets is the motivation for me to laugh. The intellectual incoherence of the Republicans is certainly a topic worthy of pursuit.
Another reader remarks:
“Great Power” by Molly McCew on Substack has a lot of this information.
Thank you.
