Gaslit Nation

Remember this shocking story from the 2016 election? The Trump campaign gutted Ukraine aid in the official RNC platform. Today this is mainstream for the GOP, with McConnell folding on Ukraine aid. This is catastrophic for the US and the world.

The recent transformation of the GOP into the Party of Putin began gradually, with only a few in Congress, like former Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who the Kremlin considered an asset, according to the FBI. In 2018, current House Speaker Mike Johnson took tens of thousands of dollars in dark money campaign donations linked to a Russian oligarch close to Putin who was part of the larger Kremlin operation exposed in the Mueller Report. The oligarch is Konstantin Nikolaev, who bankrolled Kremlin spy/GOP honeypot Maria Butina, who was arrested as part of the Mueller investigation, after pretending to be in love with NRA/GOP operative Paul Erickson.

After Mike Johnson got caught taking donations linked to Nikolaev and other Russians (Oops!), he gave it back. But it was part of a wider operation used by the Russians in countries around the world to entrench their power in, known as “the golden handcuffs.”

Johnson blames other extremists in his party, like concentration camp guard Marjorie Taylor Greene, for "slowing down" Ukraine aid. They're not slowing down aid; they're blocking it, to help their financial backers in the Kremlin win.

Johnson and Trump are part of the Kremlin's long game. They develop their assets, then spread their influence deeper and deeper. This began with a few fringe people, like Rohrabacher. Now it's mainstream. This is state capture.

What happens if we lose our country? No place is safe. If you think things are bad now, the entire world will be forced to live under the Kremlin's mafia state: violence and terror win, deciding everything. No more laws and elections.

Many Republicans watched in shock as the Kremlin hijacked their party. But it was Republican operations, like Citizens United, that helped Russian dark money entrench the Kremlin's influence in the United States.

More Americans must wake up that the loss of Ukraine is also the loss of our democracy. What's happening in Ukraine and the U,S. is an ongoing crime of state capture. The KGB-style operation started decades ago with Trump as a Russian asset. Where will we be if we and our institutions don’t stop it?

Call your rep in Congress today to demand aid to Ukraine (202) 224-3121!

This week’s bonus episode includes Andrea sharing her own stories of navigating the misogynistic labyrinth of Hollywood, and why, despite some big wins for women and representation (Yay Lily Gladstone and America Ferrera! Boo for no Fantasia nomination for The Color Purple!), why the Barbie Oscar snub matters. Olga Lautman, a Russian mafia expert and the co-host of the Kremlin Files podcast, continues her conversation with Andrea about what America will look like if Trump, and Putin, win the 2024 election.

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Mark your calendars! Tristan Snell, the prosecutor who led New York State's case against Trump and Trump University and the author of "Taking Down Trump: 12 Rules for Prosecuting Donald Trump by Someone Who Did It Successfully," will join Andrea for a live-taping of Gaslit Nation for our community of listeners on February 12 at noon ET. An event link will be sent to our Patreon community at the Truth-teller level or higher on the day of the event. We look forward to seeing you there! To join us, sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!

Show Notes:

Call your rep in Congress today to demand aid to Ukraine (202) 224-3121!

CORRECTION: There appear to be no East Asian Barbies in the Barbie movie. There is a Southeast Asian Barbie played by Ritu Arya.

Mike Johnson's Campaign Contributions From Company Tied to Russia https://www.newsweek.com/house-speaker-mike-johnson-donations-russia-butina-1838501

2016 RNC Delegate: Trump Directed Change To Party Platform On Ukraine Support https://www.npr.org/2017/12/04/568310790/2016-rnc-delegate-trump-directed-change-to-party-platform-on-ukraine-suppo...

Putin is weak and getting weaker. In this special live taping of Gaslit Nation, Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman, who has a long history of investigating and exposing the Russian mafia state’s active measures in the U.S. and Europe, joins Andrea to discuss where things are headed in Russia’s escalating power struggle, what it means for Ukraine, and how the world needs to start preparing for a post-Putin Russia.

“Putin is finished,” Olga warns in this urgent discussion. Putin may be forced into retirement in a dacha on the outskirts of Russia or “die in his sleep,” with Shoigu or another tool of the Russian security forces becoming the new strongman. Prighozin’s attempted military coup was the inevitable escalation of growing tensions between warring factions, but as Olga points out, the siloviki–the ruthless, imperialistic, genocidal security forces–are in charge, and always have been, even during the collapse of the Soviet Union. They are the kingmakers, and it’s clear that they want Putin gone. Prigozhin served a purpose of striking Putin with a fatal blow, and the months ahead will continue to weaken him as Russia continues to lose an unwinnable war in Ukraine.

Our bonus episode this week includes our extended audience Q&A at our live taping, with a focus on Russia’s influence campaigns in U.S. elections. As mentioned in this week’s show, there’s going to be a special live taping of Gaslit Nation held in New York City at the Lower East Side venue Caveat, hosted by Kevin Allison of the popular and provocative storytelling podcast RISK! on Saturday August 5th at 4pm EST. The discussion will include the making of the brand new Gaslit Nation graphic novel Dictatorship: It’s Easier Than You Think!, and include an opportunity to order signed copies. For tickets to join the event in person or wherever you are by watching the livestream, get your tickets here!

In this week's Gaslit Nation Bonus Q&A, Sarah answers questions from our listeners, including sharing a personal story about her impressions from her 2017 trip to Hungary as Orban, a hero of the Republican Party, tightened his grip on crushing democracy there. We'll be back with an all new Q&A next week, so if you didn't hear your question answered this week, look out for it next week, as our Q&As continue! To submit your questions, subscribe to the show at the Democracy Defender level or higher on Patreon.com/Gaslit, and to join our live-taping on Tuesday June 27 at 12pm EST with Russian mafia expert Olga Lautman, be sure to subscribe to the show at the Truth-teller level or higher to get access to the virtual show link on the morning of the event.

Thank you to everyone who supports the show! We could not make Gaslit Nation without you!

It’s November – the beginning of the end, the end of the beginning. We at Gaslit Nation have been through this such a long long time, just trying to kill the pain, and we have mitigated it somewhat together. And now we enter a new phase, where the key digital platform that allowed documentation of the crimes of the powerful and literally made our show possible – Twitter – is being steamrolled by a billionaire shitposter. (We are refusing to cede our ground and will remain on Twitter despite Musk; for more on that, listen to our Patreon bonus episode.) The attempted destruction of Twitter arrives in the midst of waves of political violence: the bludgeoning of Paul Pelosi, violent threats nationwide to poll workers and election officials, and the continuation of the election day “bloodbath” promises that criminal elites have been making for years – and the DOJ is letting it happen. We are dreading the midterms and the violence that will very likely follow; we mourn the violence that is here and the corrupt enablers in government who refused to take action when it really mattered, years ago, when we still stood a chance. Never forget that this all could have been prevented: what’s predictable is preventable. They made their choice, and we made ours. We discuss the landscape of streamlined political violence and then provide some last minute updates to our midterms coverage. Vote early, if you can. Gaslit Nation needs support! If you like our show, spread the word, because we are on our own and may be impacted by the Twitter takeover. Gaslit Nation is entirely funded by our audience. If you appreciate the work we’ve been doing these past six years, consider joining at the Truth-Teller level and getting bonus episodes every week. You can also join at the Democracy Defender level to ask us a question and get it answered in a weekly Q & A. (We are working through your questions now, if you’ve submitted one, and we’ll have a new Q & A next week.) Also stay tuned for special election episodes that we will run next week depending on the condition of the proto-fascist hellscape! And please be good to each other in this dark November – everybody needs somebody, no you’re not the only one... Show Notes: Company Backed by J.D. Vance Gives Platform for Russian Propaganda https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/31/us/politics/jd-vance-peter-thiel-rumble.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&fbclid=IwAR0iMuBP9JtMDIVZ2k3U92G2gx-W1Zh2yH0MWc7y0H777R_gQrs2PcK7x1A

On Friday March 11 at 1pm EST, we're holding a fundraiser with Agnieszka Holland, the director of Andrea's film Mr. Jones, and Mr. Jones himself, British actor James Norton, in support of The Kyiv Independent -- journalism on the frontlines of Putin's war -- and Proliska -- a humanitarian relief organization serving Donbas, a region in eastern Ukraine under Putin's invasion since 2014. Get access to the event by making a donation here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meet-agnieszka-holland-james-norton-the-kyiv-independent-tickets-291927923277

The rest of this clip is a teaser of Gaslit Nation's Early Show. Subscribe today to access all episodes of Gaslit Nation by signing up at the Truth-teller level or higher. You won’t hear every weekly episode unless you subscribe: https://www.patreon.com/gaslit