Why allegedly anti Communist pols, including McConnell gave Putin a pass; i.e. the alternative is so damning as to be incomprehensible to them.
The enduring mystery, is why those whom allegedly were "against" the USSR, have given a pass to a Prior KGB officer, namely Vladimir Putin.
To answer this question we can review this at times shocking article
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/07/trump-putin-russia-collusion.html
Quote
The first intimations that Trump might harbor a dark secret originated among America’s European allies, which, being situated closer to Russia, have had more experience fending off its nefarious encroachments. In 2015, Western European intelligence agencies began picking up evidence of communications between the Russian government and people in Donald Trump’s orbit. In April 2016, one of the Baltic states shared with then–CIA director John Brennan an audio recording of Russians discussing funneling money to the Trump campaign. In the summer of 2016, Robert Hannigan, head of the U.K. intelligence agency GCHQ, flew to Washington to brief Brennan on intercepted communications between the Trump campaign and Russia.
The contents of these communications have not been disclosed, but what Brennan learned obviously unsettled him profoundly. In congressional testimony on Russian election interference last year, Brennan hinted that some Americans might have betrayed their country. “Individuals who go along a treasonous path,” he warned, “do not even realize they’re along that path until it gets to be a bit too late.” In an interview this year, he put it more bluntly: “I think [Trump] is afraid of the president of Russia. The Russians may have something on him personally that they could always roll out and make his life more difficult.”
End of quote
The operative word is normalcy bias. It is, the above, shocking to the extreme, and even more that allegedly conservative activists find the fact that Trump has OPENLY consorted with ex KGB spy Putin openly at G 20, to be something which they cannot parse, hence they minimize it and hope it goes away.
Where have we seen this before ? The easiest example of such was the blow out caused by Johnnie Walker, the purported "admiral of the Soviet Navy " , as stated in KGB face to face communications with him, whereas he posed as a "Reagan conservative" to mask his on going espionage.
The take away is this, NOMINAL anti Soviet positions, were no guarantee against the possibility of being a Russian intelligence asset.
A more recent example, Robert Hanssen, whom was a member of Opus Dei, etc.
Description
Robert Philip Hanssen is a former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent who spied for Soviet and Russian intelligence services against the United States from 1979 to 2001. His espionage was described by the Department of Justice as "possibly the worst intelligence disaster in U.S. history."
End of quote from Wikipedia
Hanssen created an anti Communist facade which was bullet proof in the FBI for 20 years.
The break in his case only came when an ex KGB worker whom later had access to Hanssen material provided verbal recordings with Hanssen saying "the purple pissing Japanese"--- etc. i.e. highly colorful language they heard HANSSEN say to THEM at FBI parties. Until they heard the recording, and then got finger prints of Hanssen on plastic bags lifted from a Moscow spy vault, FBI counter intelligence was shooting its wad chasing a CIA officer as a traitor, not Hanssen. i.e. Hanssen had nearly bullet proof deniability to the near end of his FBI tenure from espionage suspicions. Due to NORMALCY bias.
When one is shocked to their core as to the inconceivability of betrayal of the country , as many GOP operatives are about the POTUS being an espionage asset, the excuses get fast and furious.
Aside from the very likely heavy compromise of Mich McConnell by Russian oligarths , is the datum that thinking ones supreme LEADER is an active traitor is well nigh nearly INCONCEIVABLE.
To those whom think that convicting a working member of their ruling cadre is simple, I invite them to review how Hanssen evaded detection for TWO DECADES.
In so many words, aside from very real compromise of GOP leaders, even without the compromise, the facts of Trump's betrayal are almost inconceivable and normalcy bias will make it almost impossible for certain people to accept the horrid truth.
Having said that, it is time to out Trump for what he is, and to wrap all this up. Hence, parsing first the multitude of GOP idiots giving PUTIN a pass due to his association with Trump, and this association has to be faced down and stopped. For the good of the nation.
Andrew Beckwith, PhD