A Congressional delegation that included wingnuts Dana Rohrabacher, Steve King and Michele Bachmann visited Russian security officials and lawmakers last week to discuss dealing with terrorist threats and investigate the Boston bombings. Straight-to-video action movie actor Steven Seagal was credited with setting up the meetings:
[Rohrabacher] repeatedly thanked Seagal, who took credit for arranging the congressmen’s meeting at the FSB, and said it helped avoid the experience of past foreign trips when all of the meetings had been arranged by the U.S. Embassy.“You know what we got? We got the State Department controlling all the information that we heard,” Rohrabacher said. “You think that’s good for democracy? No way!”
Seagal has special expertise in Russian foreign policy in general and relevance to the Boston bombings investigation in particular, having once played a former Russian mobster named “Ruslan” in the 2009 thriller “Driven to Kill.” Alert readers will recall that the Tsarnaev brothers’ outspoken uncle is also named “Ruslan,” making Seagal’s involvement a no-brainer for the US congressional delegation.
Sans the nanny squad from State, Rohrabacher found he likes the cut of Putin’s jib (perhaps peering into his soul as George W. Bush once did) and feels that Putin-backed Chechnyan strongman Ramzan Kadyrov has been unfairly criticized for torture, kidnapping and murder by namby-pamby human rights groups who don’t understand the nature of the enemy:
“Radical Islam is at our throat in the United States, and is at the throat of the Russian people…
“If you are in the middle of an insurrection with Chechnya, and hundreds of people are being killed and there are terrorist actions taking place and kids are being blown up in schools, yeah, guess what, there are people who overstep the bounds of legality.
“We shouldn’t be describing people who are under this type of threat, we shouldn’t be describing them as if they are Adolf Hitler or they’re back to the old Communism days.”
Seagal, who received “a lavish welcome in Kadyrov’s palace,” noted that the strongman has not been indicted.
Rohrabacher & Co. aren’t the first wingnuts to tap Seagal’s cinematic crime and terrorism-fighting expertise to address real-life issues: A couple of years ago, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio enlisted Seagal’s aid in an operation that successfully slew dozens of menacing chickens and a puppy at an alleged cockfighting ring.
Rest easy, America.
[X-posted at Rumproast]
aimai
Holy shit. That’s all I’ve got to say.
jibeaux
Does it keep him from making movies? Okay then.
Tonybrown74
We are an incredibly STUPID nation …
JPL
Why do the repubs continue to pal around with movie stars?
Higgs Boson's Mate
And people still speculate that peak wingnut can be reached. Maybe, maybe right around the time my 14 year old Miata breaks the sound barrier on level ground..
Villago Delenda Est
So, you’ve got Dana Rohrabacher, Steve King and Michele Bachmann going to meetings with Russians set up by Steven Segal.
What is the deal here? Trying to set a new gold standard for useful idiots in the service of Russian autocrats?
Cassidy
It’s not really as crazy as it sounds. Seagal is a regular at MMA events and, supposedly, teaches at Black House where some prominent Brazilian mixed martial artists train, including former champions Junior Dos Santos and Lyoto Machida, The Noguiera Brothers, and current Middleweight champ (and widely considered the best in the world) Anderson Silva. Anyway, Putin is a regular attendee of MMA and Sambo events in Russia, friend swith Fedor Emelianenko (widley considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time) and no slouch in the Sambo dept. himself.
It’s not unlikely their paths cross at somewhat regular intervals.
I’ve got nothing on the paranoia of the State Dept. controlling information by doing their jobs.
? Martin
You know who else wasn’t indicted…
maya
His brother, Johnathan Livingston, is a much better actor.
? Martin
@Villago Delenda Est:
Obviously Big Hollywood is conspiring to destroy America again.
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Cassidy:
Thanks for the background. Maybe this wasn’t complete lunacy. Barely.
Villago Delenda Est
@maya:
WIN
Maude
@maya:
Thank you.
Villago Delenda Est
There is some good news on the Steven Seagal front: He’ll never be an SNL fiver, apparently his one guest host appearance doomed that possibility. Loren Michaels was negatively impressed, it seems.
Violet
From the article:
Is Rohrabacher getting Russian oil money or something? Why’s he such a fan of Putin and Russia? “Sinister way”? WTF?
MattF
“… a no-brainer for the US congressional delegation.”
That’s an observation with a lot of potential applications.
Gary
Nobody tell the wingnuts Seagal was an environmentalist in On Deadly Ground. On second thought, do tell them.
Cassidy
@Higgs Boson’s Mate: It’s still speculation, but at least they connect in a Venn Diagram.
Patricia Kayden
Onion article, right? No way does anyone take Seagal seriously. No dang way!
Cassidy
Nevermind the
murdersudden deaths of journalists, state sponsored torture, atate approval of Alpha Group committing murder and genocide, imprissoning young girls to a lifetime of rape and degradation for having “offensive” lyrics….no, the real mark of freedom is church’s being open.gogol's wife
This is truly vomit-inducing.
The Republic of Stupidity
Well… at least Rohrabacher wasn’t claiming Radical islam was FORCING itself down our throat…
gogol's wife
@Violet:
Yes, churches are open and THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IS OPPRESSING THE POPULATION! Does he not know the first thing about what is going on in that country?
These people have brains the size of a pea.
Cassidy
@Patricia Kayden: Oh no. Google “steven seagal black house”. At first we (MMA fans) thought it was a joke, but no. He’s down there actively teaching some of the best martial artists in the world. People forget that he’s a legit martial artist with incredible credentials.
Amir Khalid
“Steven Seagal is not really a lawman”, while perfectly true, is not going to persuade the people who believe 24 was reality TV.
Roger Moore
@MattF:
Considering the delegation consists of Republicans, no-brainer can be taken pretty much as a given.
Cassidy
Sorry, I can’t spell today. I can’t spell on a good day, but today seems worse.
Violet
@gogol’s wife: I think it’s a “follow the money” situation. Who in Russia is paying him? That kind of fawning doesn’t come free.
liberal
Slightly OT: I don’t get TalkingPointsMemo. The rate at which they post new stuff, they could do it with about one intern.
That’s aside from the silly sensationalizing they do. (IIRC it used to be better awhile back.)
maya
Why didn’t they bring Ted Nugent along?
Frankensteinbeck
An alliance of assholes. This truly sums up the modern Republican party.
@Violet:
On the contrary. Fawning often comes free. Think of Putin and Kadyrov as celebrities on the Islam-hating circuit.
kuvasz
Has anyone seen Steven Seagal run? He looks like a spastic, little girl with his legs splaying outward behind him. The only people I have ever seen run like usually wear crash helmets so they don’t hurt themselves when they fall.
Shortstop
This situation ain’t funny, but Betty sure as hell is.
Violet
@Frankensteinbeck: Nothing is free.
Betty Cracker
@Cassidy: In that case, I’d fully support his involvement in setting up global MMA tournaments. His involvement in US foreign affairs? Not so much.
bemused
I’m surprised they didn’t accompany Dennis Rodman to North Korea…oh well, maybe they can tag along next time Dennis visits his bff.
Rightwingers have made the US the laughing stock of the planet.
Todd
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/953
This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply, himself or his agent, to any foreign government or the agents thereof for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.
Cassidy
@Betty Cracker: I’m with ya. Just pointing out that most people only remember the horrible acting and bad movies. He moves in different circles than the usual washed up D-list actors circuit.
AliceBlue
@gogol’s wife:
Same as it ever was. If I remember my Russian history correctly, the Russian Orthodox Church was just another arm of the state in the pre-revolution years.
SatanicPanic
@Violet: They want to live in a dictatorship of scary white men
Frankensteinbeck
@Violet:
Free in the sense you meant originally, of direct compensation. A rock star does not pay his fans to swoon and demand his autograph. Unless you twist the word to extremes, yes, fawning is often – even usually – free.
Mind you, there’s probably some corruption in there somewhere. These are people who don’t have to settle for half a loaf. But Michelle Bachmann needs no compensation other than the tingles she gets in her withered naughty bits when she stands next to a man who has people murdered for annoying him and tortures Muslims for the fun of it.
Villago Delenda Est
@Amir Khalid:
Which includes an associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Punchy
Holy mother of sentences I thought I’d never, ever see:
From this article…
MomSense
@maya:
What about Chuck Norris? Was he snubbed or were his karate stretch jeans in the wash or something?
Ruckus
@JPL:
Why do the repubs continue to pal around with movie stars?
Because their reality is a bad movie.
It’s full of gratuitous violence, bad acting, stars whose prime never happened, bad writing, and no plot.
ruemara
@Todd: I think we need to start enforcing this law.
Villago Delenda Est
@Ruckus:
Well, on the bright side, there is no gratuitous sex in their movie.
eric
@Cassidy: I remember the WTF when Silva said Seagal taught him the Belfort front kick….i am still not sure whether to believe it.
rda909
@Tonybrown74: No we’re not. Republicans are stupid. Important distinction.
Ruckus
@Villago Delenda Est:
Trying to imagine that or indeed just writing it down would probably make my head esplode.
rda909
@maya: Teddy is too sane for that bunch.
Hoodie
@Cassidy: You mean this tub o’guts? Gimme a break. He’s just a publicity hound that hangs around MMA like has-been celebrities used to hang around boxers. Promoters keep him around for the dipshits who like his stupid movies.
Yatsuno
@rda909: I was thinking protection for the underage girls of Russia. But you know, either way.
Just One More Canuck
@Cassidy: you mean this one?
http://vagabondscholar.blogspot.ca/2010/11/stupid-evil-crazy-vortex.html
WereBear
Which I’ve never understood. He walks like his joints have been replaced by Tinkertoys and then stuffed into jeans that are three sizes too small.
Eric U.
@Shortstop: If Seagal could read, this post would hurt. Some of Seagal’s later movies show him barely able to lift his leg to kick. I have to wonder if he demonstrates anything when he’s teaching
Cassidy
@eric: Yeah it was surreal. Supposedly, the story goes that Machida and Anderson invited him to come teach. That’s their story and they’ve stuck to it. Maybe it’s a back to basics approach? I don’t know. But yeah, it was wierd.
@Hoodie: Okay. I’m not trying to convince you of anything. I was simply providing background. You are free to believe what you want. Regardless, and I think he’s an oddball domestic abuser, the man is a high level martial arts teacher and practitioner. is what it is.
@Just One More Canuck: Nice.
D58826
So our GOP congress critters, heirs to the great commie slayer Ronald the Great, are paling around with the former head of the KGB!!!!!! Shot me now, I really don’t want to see where these fools do for an encore.
Keith
His show ‘Steven Segal Lawman’ was comedy gold. I loved it.
Elie
Every week, I am just amazed at how much more bizarre the Rs are and continue to demonstrate without any self consciousness or even a tinge of shame. You know that there is just no basement to where they could go to — “peak wingnut” is a conceptual boundary that they just might “blow through”. There may be no “peak wingnut” — just wingnut to infinity — a state of being that makes its own rules of physics in its own universe…
muddy
Motherfucking Dana Rohrabacher was for the Taliban, oops I meant “freedom fighters” in Afghanistan. from Wikipedia:
It’s the same old song and dance.
Redshirt
Google “Seagal and Putin” and you’ll find plenty of pictures of the two hanging out.
Makes me trust Putin way less.
muddy
@Redshirt: I’m afraid to google it in case I see pics where they are both topless.
RSA
@Todd: I wondered about that. And…
So foreign policy should be in the hands of individual members of Congress, apparently, plus B-movie actors. I vaguely remember Republicans being opposed to the idea (the first part, at least) when W. was in office.
Redshirt
@muddy: There is a sexy pic of a shirtless Putin striding boldly in a stream, but that’s it.
Seagal looks like a mobster. He’s also wearing Bono glasses these days.
muddy
@Redshirt: There were a bunch of Putin topless shots for a while, riding a horse etc. I bet W was really jealous. “Now, George, your mother would be furious.”
Yatsuno
@RSA: Back then the RIGHT kind of people were controlling the information from the State Department. You know, those people who are represented by the elephant? They’re the only legit governours you know.
Hoodie
@Redshirt: Putin looks like he’s putting up with Seagal because it’s part of the bullshit macho image he’s cultivated in Russia, and Seagal’s movies are popular with that crowd. Chuck Norris is more legit.
Shakezula
@Elie: They love them some totalitarianism. They’d praise the Taliban if they could get away with it. Russia’s brand of freedom stomping has the benefit of being conducted by the white, sorry, RIGHT people.
Redshirt
@muddy: I’ve got the whole collection in the archives. They’re glorious. Here’s a taste.
Redshirt
@Hoodie: Chuck is too pro-America to pal around with Putin.
That is, until the Freepers go all the way around the bend and become huge fans of Putin’s Russia. They’re heading strongly in that direction, believe it or not.
muddy
@Redshirt: I had not seen all of these previous. Oh dear. I particularly like the one where the dolphin is humping him, they both look so happy.
Patricia Kayden
@Cassidy: Not disagreeing with his martial arts skills, but what does Seagal’s expertise in martial arts have to do with him setting up foreign affairs meetings between Congress people and foreign leaders? Not getting the connection.
Cassidy
@Patricia Kayden: Absolutely nothing. It’s completely absurd, but in this instance, their paths crossed in the combat sports community. It’s one of those weird 1 time out 100 connections, but it’s there. My comment at #7 is the bare bones of it. Somehow, his interaction with Putin and his interaction with RWNJ’s crossed and here we are.
Bill in Section 147
@kuvasz: Fastest kid at my grammar school was a little girl so I am not sure what you mean.
Trollhattan
Seagal, (and what Seahawks fan doesn’t love that name?) Steven’s finest moments came long ago, with his contribution to the art of wine.
http://www.collegehumor.com/video/3736230/steven-seagal-wine-tasting
Mumon
Segal’s mobbed up…or at least lacks cred
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/scams/steven_seagal/index.html
gene108
@Redshirt:
Putin is a fascist at heart. Our right-wingers have fascist tendencies. No surprise at the admiration.
Redshirt
@gene108: Yeah, no doubt. It’s just so striking to see the Freepers and Wingnuts – the “I love America more than you” crowd – singing the praises of Putin and Russia and lamenting the terrible socialist hellhole that is Obummer’s America.
Bill in Section 147
@Redshirt: Just need some high-up in the Church to say Russian Orthodox is just like Bible-worshippin’ Xtians and the circle will be complete and Putin will be the true heir to Reagan.
JR in WV
So which doctor should I consult for my getting older pains? Dr. Kildare or Dr. Ben Casey?
Or maybe that guy from the Enterprise, Dr. McCoy? He would be more modern, but his forefathers were probably on the wrong side of the feud. The McCoys were from Kentucky IIRC.
No, no, I know who, House!!! YES – answer arrived at.
Or, maybe, just go to a guy who’s been to Dr School? Board certified and all that? Like trusting the person who has been in the Diplocatic Corps for 35 years, kinda? Instead of a guy who played one of the TV? Nah, that’s no fun!
People are (some of them) really dumb!
Chris
Yet another one in the “liberal Hollywood” list, eh?
It’s interesting that while liberal actors do exist and do, from time to time, make movies that reflect their point of view (if they can), they usually have enough sense to realize that their movie roles don’t actually qualify them for real life. Conservative actors… don’t seem to realize they’re in a movie. Not a problem limited to their actors, unfortunately. As Ronald Reagan demonstrated most graphically thirty years ago, and Steven Seagal is demonstrating now on a (thankfully) lesser scale.
Mnemosyne
@Chris:
What’s a little odd about Seagal is that IIRC he’s a strong environmentalist — at least one of his shitty action movies (On Dangerous Ground?) revolved around bad corporations hurting the environment.
I’m not sure he fits into the “conservative celebrity” box as well as, say, Ted Nugent or Kelsey Grammar. He’s got quite a few odd tics in his beliefs that don’t quite fit the mold. Though he has managed to stay true to the “flaming asshole” stereotype, so there’s that.
Odie Hugh Manatee
@Cassidy:
Now if he could only act. On his worst day, Jean Claude Van Damme is a better actor and IMO he flat out sucks.
But at least he isn’t Seagal-level of suck.
Drew Funk
De-lurking to confess that I actually enjoyed Seagal’s earlier work because it was A) hilariously ludicrous and B) somehow enjoyably liberal. The standard formula was that Steven Seagal was a truth-teller being hunted down by an evil conservative government/business conspiracy, and he enforced his liberal beliefs by kicking lots of conservative asses.
Above the Law: Seagal is upset about the CIA abusing its power and trampling on freedoms, and has to start a campaign of ass kicking.
Hard to Kill: Seagal is shot by the mob who is working hand in hand with a corrupt politician who is a very poorly disguised George HW Bush.
On Deadly Ground: Seagal was some kind of oil rig regulator/firefighter/I don’t know what specialist who knew the villain’s company was cutting corners and safety regulations endangering the lives of the workers and the environment at large. OSHA regulations were enforced via broken limbs and kicked asses. Naked Eskimos are involved somehow.
Fire Down Below: Seagal is an EPA officer who discovers toxic waste is being dumped in abandoned coal mines. Needless to say, the hillbillies and corrupt businessment responsible find themselves in traction after dealing with Seagal’s EPA. At the end, Seagal even goes on a rant about how EPA fines are laughably ineffective and need to be strengthened considerably.
So, while yes, the man can’t act, and yes he shouldn’t be setting up meetings between crazy Republicans and the Russian government, I think we all owe him a debt of gratitude for mercilessly beating up job creators back in the 90s. (He’s also a vegan and actually has done real work with PETA on some animal rights issues too, I believe.)
kuvasz
@Bill in Section 147:
bill just read my description. its all there. thanks for your memory though.