135
submitted 10 months ago by girlfreddy@lemmy.ca to c/news@lemmy.world

Senior Heritage officials had advocated for months in conversations with DeSantis' team that he oppose policies that could move the U.S. toward direct confrontation with Russia, the people said.

While officials at Heritage have been in contact with almost every 2024 Republican presidential campaign, including that of former President Donald Trump, the think tank's proximity to DeSantis is unique, eight people involved in the discussions said.

all 27 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] protist@mander.xyz 47 points 10 months ago

The Heritage Foundation's Wikipedia page reads like they're responsible for all the absolute worst political decisions of the last 50 years. Here's just one example:

The Heritage Foundation supported the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. According to a 2004 study in the journal International Security, the Heritage Foundation confused public debate by challenging widespread opposition to the Iraq War by international relations scholars and experts by contradicting them "with experts of apparently equal authority...this undermined the possibility that any criticisms [of the war] might be seen as authoritative or have much persuasive effect." The organization defended the Bush administration's Guantanamo Bay practices.

[-] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 46 points 10 months ago

It's funded by billionaires like the Kochs, Mercers, and Waltons to make America a theocratic oligarchy. The Heritage foundation is one of the original quiet, evil "think tank" that generates conservative talking points. Ever wonder why conservatives all share the same talking points? It's coordinated by the Heritage Foundation.

[-] treefrog@lemm.ee 8 points 10 months ago

Yup. These are propaganda masters bent on cementing oligarch power. And they don't care who they hurt in the process.

[-] GreenMario@lemm.ee 22 points 10 months ago

Heritage is always code word for white supremacy too when you think about it. Confederate "heritage not hate" bullshit too.

[-] onionbaggage@lemmynsfw.com 2 points 10 months ago

Well yeah. They're Republicans.

[-] Beetschnapps@lemmy.world 31 points 10 months ago

It’s weird how the GOP went from singing “bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran.” a la The Beach Boys, to plainly saying “No matter what, I side with Putin”…. All in what like an 8 year time span?

[-] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 21 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

The answer is money. It's hard to invest in Iran but easier in Russia. Both are right wing governments, but Russia is more open to outside money.

I bet people at the Heritage Foundation have bought Russian bonds on the cheap or have business contacts there. It's that simple.

[-] Changetheview@lemmy.world 5 points 10 months ago

Without a doubt, money is the answer. I think for many policy makers, it’s as simple as taking in campaign contributions (money or more creative help. See 2016 Trump campaign DNC hacking for a well-known example). A simple little $10k investment is probably enough to payoff most of these schmucks, but Russian oligarchs are willing to drop big dough because the return is worth it.

And for others, it’s access to Russian projects AND access to Russian capital.

These fucking sellouts would rather hop in bed with the enemy than lose out on a potentially lucrative deal. And these are often people with so much wealth already, they will quite literally never be able to spend it. Greedy, selfish assholes that are addicted to watching their personal charts and numbers rise - even as their country and geopolitical stability crumbles due to their actions. They’re mentally ill and have zero regard for the life of others.

[-] GreenMario@lemm.ee 14 points 10 months ago

They see Russia as the perfect model to be. 2 classes: the elite and the peasants that know their place. Heavy Christian control. Illegal to be gay or trans. The elite can do whatever they want whenever they want and the peasantry has to suck it up. No one's investigating them. No court is gonna hold them accountable. All you gotta do is kiss the ring of the Top Guy so he doesnt have you thrown out a window or make special Tea.

If I was a rich Republican I too would want to be like a Russian Oligarch.

[-] Buelldozer 1 points 10 months ago

“No matter what, I side with Putin”….

To echo the words of our current President "C'mon man...". If what you said was true then the overwhelming majority of Republican politicians wouldn't keep voting to send Ukraine more weapons and more money.

[-] cedarmesa@lemmy.world 14 points 10 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)
[-] girlfreddy@lemmy.ca 13 points 10 months ago

Conservative think tank is one of the most notable oxymorons in use today.

They should call them GOP meddling sessions instead.

[-] _wintermute@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago

You poke fun but this is where the real evil happens. This is the powerful elite coming together to manipulate the fuck out of reality, because, yes, they're that rich.

[-] Hylactor@sopuli.xyz 2 points 10 months ago

Scheme hatching tank? Mustache twirling tank? Hunched skulking tank? Atrocity enthusiasts tank?

[-] Carvex@lemmy.world 0 points 10 months ago

"Ok guys, how can we continue to keep all the power and the money?"

"The usual way, keep the poor fighting to survive from all angles."

"Good job guys!" eats baby

[-] motorheadkusanagi@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Can we stop saying think tank, as though these dummies actually think..?

[-] ikapoz@sh.itjust.works 4 points 10 months ago

You have to admit it’s a bit catchier than “Room of Blowhards Making Shit Up for Useful Idiots”

[-] motorheadkusanagi@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

Maybe daft raft would roll off the tongue more easily

[-] ikapoz@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago

A “Cluster of Fucks”, maybe?

[-] treefrog@lemm.ee 2 points 10 months ago

Well they do think a lot about how to destroy democracy and cement the power of oligarchs.

They don't use well reasoned arguments to justify what they're doing but don't assume they're dummies.

Heritage helped climate change denial a lot iirc.

[-] motorheadkusanagi@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

The presence of some intelligence is not sufficiently persuasive for changing terminology when the point is to insult them. Duhhhh.

[-] justdoit@lemm.ee 6 points 10 months ago

We should really have another name other than “think tank” because I’m not convinced there’s a lot of thinking going on here.

Suggestions?

[-] Changetheview@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago
[-] RobertOwnageJunior@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

Dummy Trabant.

[-] treefrog@lemm.ee 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Don't discount them as dumb.

They spend a lot of time and money spreading propaganda. Yes, the arguments they use in their propaganda don't stand up to reason. But that's not the target. The target is emotions.

They don't need reasonable arguments if they can get their base worked up.

But yeah, propaganda generator would be more accurate. But again, they know what they've doing and it's a mistake to discount our enemies as dumb. Even if we can see how irrational and emotionally charged their arguments are, their base can't.

[-] Buelldozer 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Not to defend Heritage but I'd like to see some evidence of the claim that "Senior Heritage officials had advocated for months in conversations with DeSantis’ team that he oppose policies that could move the U.S. toward direct confrontation with Russia."

I went over to Heritage's website and everything I found is almost direct conflict with what these anonymous "people familiar with the discussions" are saying. They've been advocating that the US assist Ukraine in their conflict with Russia from the beginning.

They pushed for Washington to engage better with NATO regarding Ukraine and deterrence after the War started in 2022 and then again in 2023.

There's a whole bunch of other reports, articles, and interviews about Ukraine over there and I can't find a single one where Heritage is calling for the US to stop helping or pushing politicians to withdraw support for Ukraine.

I'm open to the idea that they are saying one thing publicly and doing something different in private but there needs to be evidence besides "Trust me bro..." I've had all of that I can stomach over the past 6 years.

this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2023
135 points (96.6% liked)

News

21654 readers
4522 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS