'Gaslighting again?' WaPo's Aaron Blake tries to do damage control for Soviet tool Bernie Sanders by making a complete tool of himself

Sarah D | 11:28 AM on March 06, 2020

As Twitchy told you last night, the New York Times published documents from the 1980s suggesting that when Bernie Sanders visited the USSR to make Yaroslavi a sister city to Burlington, Vermont, the Soviet government was actually using Sanders “to cultivate a relationship to serve their own political ends.”

So basically, Sanders was a willing useful idiot.

But if you thought this was a bad look for Sanders, let the Washington Post’s Aaron Blake serve up a little food for thought:

3 years before Bernie Sanders's trip to Yaroslavl to set up a sister city, Reagan encouraged things like sister cities with the Soviets.

From 1985: pic.twitter.com/nGytDqaWpj

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) March 6, 2020

So WaPo’s really leaning into the “Bernie Sanders is just like Ronald Reagan” narrative, huh? Weird flex, Aaron, but OK.

Yes, Bernie and Reagan were ideological twins. This totally proves it.

— Brad Pade (@BradPade) March 6, 2020

"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" — Bernie, apparently

— It's still 2016 apparently (@jtLOL) March 6, 2020

Seriously, how does Aaron think his comparison is even remotely good?

LOL, Aaron, stop. Are you seriously equating the attitudes of Reagan and Sanders towards the Soviet Union?

— Jaihawkk (@Jaihawkk) March 6, 2020

Aaron’s entire gig is explaining away Democrat controversies by trying to make you believe republicans did the same thing sometime somewhere. He’s literally trying to gaslight people into thinking Reagan supported the Soviet Union like Bernie did. https://t.co/bEEFf5a92b

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) March 6, 2020

One, it's the diametric opposite of Reagan's approach to travel to the USSR, bash the US, & praise the Soviet system. Every single person who was alive in 1985 could tell you this. Reagan wanted *us* to export *our* values.

Two, it's Bernie who chose to make this his honeymoon. https://t.co/3FYBSbjdex

— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) March 6, 2020

Aahh…big difference is Reagan was hoping to Americanize Soviets, not Sovietize Americans.

— JeffHanson (@IronLeagueThug) March 6, 2020

Aaron,

Reagan was trying to teach Soviet citizens the benefits of capitalism.

Bernie was trying to undermine American capitalism by gaslighting the horrors of Communism.

Thank you,
Guy old enough to remember this https://t.co/DJgWwSmwU2

— Oh THAT Guy (@NathanWurtzel) March 6, 2020

The slight difference:

Reagan wanted to bring America to the Soviet Union, Bernie wanted to bring the Soviet Union to America.

You are not a reporter. https://t.co/Oan0v483q5

— Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) March 6, 2020

Aaron’s take is genuinely amazing. And not in a good way.