Another Reason Russiagate Matters
I think the No. 1 reason is that foreign money in elections was a foreseen consequence of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, and I hope I don’t have to convince you this is a bad thing.
Leftists who think Russiagate is no big deal seem to believe it’s all just political. But leave aside who the Russians were trying to help and whether or not they succeeded. The point is that the Russians are infiltrating more than the American Republican Party. They have also made inroads in leftist Green parties both here and in Europe. They are backing both left and right, against the established order and each other. Unlike in the Soviet days, I don’t think they want either side to win. They want them to keep fighting, and they’ve been damn successful at getting us to do it. Remember that incident during the 2016 campaign in which Russian cutout accounts organized and promoted conflicting rallies on the same issue at the same time and place? That was their goal in a nutshell.
Everyone saw how Jill Stein fell into Putin’s arms during the campaign, so I won’t belabor that here. As it turns out it’s not an isolated case, as this Daily Beast story about a top Green Party EU lawmaker who flip-flopped on sanctions. The Russians also support far-right nationalist parties, so they are doing the same thing on the continent.
Yes, I realize the US does this more than anyone, if a lot more clumsily. I’m not calling for anything but vigilance. But you can’t be vigilant if you think it doesn’t matter.
Excellent points. Overheated antipathy is fertile ground for Russia. It may not seem like it, but I’ve already talked myself down from attacking people I have 98% in common with.
If you aren’t as smart or self-aware as me, you are a sitting duck for Putin.
I heard that Aaron Burr was actually tricked by Czar Alexander I to dual Hamilton.
(This idea that violent political acrimony is a grand foreign conspiracy is getting quite stale. Never is the history of human governance have people needed much outside influence to bludgeon each other over politics – or anything else for that matter. But what do I know. I’m an agent of Putin.)
Jason… Come on the podcast to discuss this!
“This idea that violent political acrimony is a grand foreign conspiracy is getting quite stale.”
You seem wedded to the idea that because certain things — egging on whites against Black Lives Matter, for example — don’t matter to you, they therefore are not worthy of attention. I don’t care that you don’t care about it, but mocking it as unworthy of attention makes you an asshole, not a rebel.
You think the people who egg on BLM would otherwise be fine if they weren’t tricked by Putin?
The violent divisiveness is a big problem. Pinning it on Russia is silly.
I am concerned. And conflating it with the boogeyman doesn’t help.
So you think such things have no effect. Do you think Fox News doesn’t affect them?
Or do you think that Russia isn’t doing it?
Dismissiveness is not a convincing position, but it’s all you’ve shown so far.
PS: Reading comprehension. The people egging them on are the Russians. The people I’m talking about are the egged.
Fox News is definitely doing it.
It’s not a conspiracy. Racists didn’t need Russia Twitter memes to hate on BLM.
Yet that doesn’t mean they can’t make it worse. It’s not a black or white world.
Or do you deny the existence of their troll farms?
REV Imagine the 4 quadrant graph. The Y axis is DIdn’t Happen (DH) to (H)appened with Absolute DH = 0. Abosulute H = 10
The X axis is Doesn’t Matter (DM) to (M)atters Absolute DM = 0. Abosulute M = 10
Where are you on that graph?
I just want my damn social security and medicare mailed to me in some warm beach town
Direct deposit. Then go to the ATM and get Pesos. But no Medicare outside the states, but in some places medical is so cheap you don’t need Medicare.
You should ban yourselves.
You should learn how to argue instead of pretending everyone else is an idiot.
Russia pushes on race relations and nationalism because they are sore spots. You’re saying they don’t have to push on them because they’re sore spots, totally missing the point that it’s possible to cause more pain if you press on them.