The right’s jarring drift toward Russia

The following column by E.J. Dionne, Jr., was posted on the Washington Post website April 2, 2017:

(Don Emmert/Agence France-Presse; Natalia Kolesnikova/Getty Images)

It is jarring to see pro-Trump conservatives indifferent or even hostile to investigations of Russian intervention in the 2016 campaign. Just a few years ago (it feels like an eternity), conservatives were jumping all over President Barack Obama for his Russian “reset” and his first-term eagerness to negotiate with Moscow.

Even further back, conservatives hailed President Ronald Reagan’s description of the Soviet Union as “an evil empire.” Reagan ran a brilliant ad during his 1984 reelection bid that showed a bear roaming through the woods. Without mentioning the words “Russia” or “Soviet Union,” an announcer intoned: Continue reading “The right’s jarring drift toward Russia”