re: " What does the USSR and China have to do with Western liberals?"
Everything. The Western Liberals kowtowed to the USSR at every opportunity during the Cold War. They spoke as if the Soviet System was a legitimate alternative to democracy, which it clearly was not. They glorified Mao and his "Great Leap Forward" that resulted in millions of deaths. They glorified Che Guevera, and Fidel Castro. Don't you remember? I do.