As a leftist millennial I’d normally be the first person to take a Twitter dunk on an odious Republican politician. But when #MoscowMitch went viral, I didn’t want anything to do with it.

For those who don’t spend most of their days on social media, “Moscow Mitch” is a label coined in response to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s intransigence on passing election security legislation in response to concerns of Russian meddling. It started out as a Twitter hashtag, but has now become ubiquitous, being deployed by protesters in Kentucky as well as by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi herself.

While I couldn’t agree more with the liberal rage at McConnell — the bills in question include no-brainer proposals, like funding audits and ballot paper trails — I’m repelled by the language through which it’s been expressed.

That’s because “Moscow Mitch” is adding fuel to the fire of a disturbing but increasingly popular notion: that the problem with America is the influence of a foreign adversary, rather than our own domestic social, political, and economic structures. In the long-run, the expedient attacks on Republicans as Russian stooges will only weaken progressives’ own agendas.

Concerns about Russian meddling in US elections go all the way back to the earliest days of the Trump administration. While it seems likely that Putin’s vile, right-wing government did interfere in the 2016 election, the actual impact of this interference is murky (countries regularly seek opportunities to influence foreign elections — the US itself has done this many times), as is the coordination of the Trump administration with such efforts.

But instead of limiting finger-pointing at Russia to the obvious places — like social media giants taking Kremlin funds and the Trump administration’s attempts to obstruct Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation — liberals have engaged in xenophobic overreach.

Along with #MoscowMitch’s baseless suggestion that the Kentucky Senator is a Russian agent, “Resistance” Twitter accounts and liberal pundits alike have used Russophobia to bash other Republican politicians: #RedSquareRand baselessly accuses the Kentucky Senator of taking Russian funds in exchange for opposing the election security bills, and #LeningradLindsey puzzlingly suggests that the South Carolinian rammed through a draconian asylum bill as part of a…Soviet plot?

And it’s not just Republicans: after grilling Senator Kamala Harris on her prosecutorial record in last week’s Democratic debates, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was called out by liberal commentators, like the New York Times’ Wajahat Ali, as enabling “Russian bots” — never mind that a similar critique of Harris had been published in The Times’ own pages earlier this year. Accusations of Russians sowing “racial discord” have similarly muddied otherwise erstwhile progressive support for racial justice movements like Black Lives Matter.

Shockingly, it’s now become normal for liberals to assume that if a politician does something bad — or even acknowledges the existence of something bad in American society, or in a Democratic politician — Russia must be responsible. And that has dire consequences for our politics.

For one, lazily citing Russia in response to Republican policymaking masks the real incentives behind it, making such efforts even harder for progressives to stop.

Take the election security bills. As The New Republic’s Alex Pareene pointed out in a recent essay, Republicans have long benefited from the control secretaries of state — many of whom are Republicans — hold over electoral procedures. In taming the chaos and subjecting it to consistent national standards, McConnell fears that a partisan advantage necessary for Republican dominance could be lost. Moreover, Republicans have natural reason to fear such legislation would curb the dominance of big money in politics.

The logical response from progressives should be calling out the domestic, right-wing billionaires who have poured large sums into fighting campaign finance reform and election oversight. But instead, we get Joe Scarborough harping on about “Moscow Mitch,” while the Koch Brothers gleefully escape the spotlight.

Over-relying on Russophobia has even more dangerous consequences for liberals: it could actually boost the prospects of Republicans. By framing the conservative agenda of money in politics, draconian immigration policies, and white nationalism as one imported from Russia, it subsumes issues that are deeply rooted into the fabric of American society to an aggressive foreign policy — hardly a liberal cause. And particularly as necessary debates over issues like mass incarceration and systemic racism are being dismissed as discord sowed by Russians, liberals make themselves ever more vulnerable to Republicans who rattle sabers at Putin with one hand while supporting billionaires and racists with the other.

Indeed, this has already begun. Liberals have exhibited a bizarre fascination with Republican foreign policy hawks, like former Trump Chief of Staff John Kelly, former National Security Adviser H R McMaster, and former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats. George Conway, who made his name working with right-wing hitmen Matt Drudge and David Brock against the Clintons in the 1990s, is now applauded as a hero of “the Resistance.” Even my father, a red diaper baby and lifelong liberal, has become an ardent defender of New York Times climate change denier and immigration opponent Bret Stephens.

The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege” Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty

These are the types of figures liberals have, rightly, loathed for years, thanks to their consistent right-wing politics. But nowadays they’ve become progressive folk heroes simply for stating their concerns about Russian electoral interference. While that is no doubt an issue that must be addressed, this embarrassingly low bar for liberal approval is corrosive to the progressive agenda.

Liberals would do well to remember how Ronald Reagan, the destroyer of progressive worlds and leader of America’s historic shift to the political right, took and held power: by appealing to Russophobia. It may seem cute to photoshop McConnell into a KGB uniform, but, from the purging of labor militants in the late 1940s’s to Hubert Humphrey’s support for the Vietnam War in 1968, there is a dangerous precedent for Cold War nationalism wreaking havoc on the progressive agenda. If liberals do not dial back the Russia-baiting, they may enable a future racist, white nationalist, Republican president who just happens to support sanctions on Moscow.

Right-wing, conservative politics is as American as apple pie. While Scarborough may call McConnell “un-American,” he, and the wider Republican agenda, is supported by social tendencies with deep roots in this country: capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy, xenophobia. The most important Republican backers are not Vladimir Putin and his cabal of oligarchs, but American billionaires like the Koch brothers, the Mercer family, and Sheldon Adelson.

To defeat them, and the conservative policies they yield, liberals need to focus on the enemy within this country. That is a winning strategy for the left. But appealing to nationalism—even against a repugnant foreign government—is winning terrain for the right.