2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumThe Kremlin’s Candidate
Back when he hosted a prime-time talk show on MSNBC, Ed Schultz divided the world into heroes and villains. The heroes usually included Democrats like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The villains were most Republicans, and especially Donald J. Trump. When Trump obsessed over Obamas birth certificate and academic credentials in 2011, Schultz branded him a racist. When Trump flirted with running for president the next year, Schultz ridiculed him. Who has shown any interest in Donald Trump being the next president of the United States other than Donald Trump? he fumed. Mr. Trump, stop embarrassing yourself!
Another bad guy was Russian President Vladimir Putin. Schultz delighted in ripping conservatives for what he called their love affair with the Russian leader and his ability to make Obama look weak on the world stage. They hate Obama so much they will even embrace the head of the KGB ... Putie is their new hero! Schultz said in one 2013 segment. In another, he smugly reminded conservatives about Putins nasty human rights record and the way his reckless behavior was crippling Russia. More generally, Schultz often framed GOP opposition to Obama as anti-American or unpatriotic.
That was all before last July, when MSNBC abruptly canceled The Ed Show after a six-year run and dumped the 62-year-old prairie populist from the network. By the time Schultz resurfaced this January, he had been reincarnated in a very different journalistic form: as a prime-time host, reporter and political analyst for RT America, the U.S. branch of the global cable network formerly known as Russia Today, funded by the Russian government.
Gone is the praise for Obama and Clinton. Gone, too, are the mocking references to Putie. And gone are the judgments about others patriotism. Schultzs 8 p.m. RT show, The News with Ed Schultz, now features Putin-friendly discussions about the failings of U.S. policy in the Middle East, Americas bloated defense budget and the futility of NATO strategy.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/04/donald-trump-2016-russia-today-rt-kremlin-media-vladimir-putin-213833
More "useful idiots" on the left... Always interesting to see how much political overlap they have with Putin's regime...
Trump being advised by ex-U.S. Lieutenant General who favors closer Russia ties
Donald Trump is receiving foreign policy advice from a former U.S. military intelligence chief who wants the United States to work more closely with Russia to resolve global security issues, according to three sources.
The sources, former foreign policy officials in past administrations, said retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, who was chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama from 2012-2014, has been informally advising Trump.
Trump, who is leading the Republican race to be the party's presidential candidate in November's election, said earlier this month that he would soon release a list of his foreign policy advisers, but has yet to do so. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment about Flynn.
Flynn declined to comment when asked by Reuters whether he is advising Trump. Asked to describe his views about ties with Russia, he referred Reuters to his public statements.
The question of who has been advising Trump on national security issues has become more pertinent as prospects that the New York real estate mogul will secure the Republican nomination, possibly within weeks, have increased.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-advisor-idUSMTZSAPEC2Q6G3JRH