• Welcome to the new Internet Infidels Discussion Board, formerly Talk Freethought.

Why the Russia Story Is a Minefield for Democrats and the Media

Will Wiley

Will Wiley

Veteran Member
Joined
May 24, 2012
Messages
1,692
Location
Mincogan
Basic Beliefs
naturalist
Why the Russia Story Is a Minefield for Democrats and the Media
Hypothesize for a moment that the "scandal" here is real, but in a limited sense: Trump's surrogates have not colluded with Russians, but have had “contacts,” and recognize their political liability, and lie about them. Investigators then leak the true details of these contacts, leaving the wild speculations to the media and the Internet. Trump is enough of a pig and a menace that it's easy to imagine doing this and not feeling terribly sorry that your leaks have been over-interpreted.
If that's the case, there are big dangers for the press. If we engage in Times-style gilding of every lily the leakers throw our way, and in doing so build up a fever of expectations for a bombshell reveal, but there turns out to be no conspiracy – Trump will be pre-inoculated against all criticism for the foreseeable future.
The press has to cover this subject. But it can't do it with glibness and excitement, laughing along to SNL routines, before it knows for sure what it's dealing with. Reporters should be scared to their marrow by this story. This is a high-wire act and it is a very long way down. We might want to leave the jokes and the nicknames be, until we get to the other side – wherever that is.
Click to expand...
 
If we engage in Times-style gilding of every lily the leakers throw our way, and in doing so build up a fever of expectations for a bombshell reveal, but there turns out to be no conspiracy – Trump will be pre-inoculated against all criticism for the foreseeable future.
Click to expand...
Except that didn't work for Clinton, did it?
If the first vault proved to be empty, they just kept pushing to open the second vault, and the third, and the fourth, until the investigation into WHitewater turned up a stained dress and a cigar....

So, no, no worries, there. Once you convince the media that there will be a bloodbath, you just keep poking until blood flows. No one builds up an immunity to scrutiny....

The Russian deal may turn into some other conflict of interest deal or his taxes or the money he's spending on his golf weekends, but it'll never go away.
 
But the manner in which these stories are being reported is becoming a story in its own right. Russia has become an obsession, cultural shorthand for a vast range of suspicions about Donald Trump.

The notion that the president is either an agent or a useful idiot of the Russian state is so freely accepted in some quarters that Beck Bennett's shirtless representation of Putin palling with Alec Baldwin's Trump is already a no-questions-asked yuks routine for the urban smart set.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's my impression too.
I remember watching long time ago some news about Pakistan, how they are not good and why, and I remember agreeing with them. Then same about Russia is bad, blah blah blah invaded Georgia that time I think (not sure though). But the thing is, I happened to be better informed about Russia than these TV heads, and I knew they were talking utter bullshit. Then I thought what about Pakistan? how do I know they are not talking utter nonsense about them too?
 
Russia is becoming an obsession?

They hacked the US Presidential election. Fake Twitter accounts, hacking the DNC, etc... The Russian broke the law. So yeah, that is worth investigating. And European intelligence caught the Trump campaign coordinating with Russian operatives. So yeah, that is also worth investigating.

At the surface, this appears much bigger than any scandal in this nation since Benedict Arnold.
 
Jimmy Higgins said:
Russia is becoming an obsession?

They hacked the US Presidential election. Fake Twitter accounts, hacking the DNC, etc... The Russian broke the law. So yeah, that is worth investigating. And European intelligence caught the Trump campaign coordinating with Russian operatives. So yeah, that is also worth investigating.

At the surface, this appears much bigger than any scandal in this nation since Benedict Arnold.
Click to expand...

You did not read the article, did you?
 
Pre-inoculated? No. There is a small core % who feel he can do no wrong; many of them think he was sent by God. But the willingness of the rest to believe the accusations will grow as they slowly realize how badly they're going to be screwed. If anything resembling the current health care bill and budget are passed, those people will eventually find it plausible that it was actually SCROTUS who ran that DC pizza parlor.
 
I don't see any danger yet for Dems and Russiagate.

Not as long as Comey testifies to Congress that there's an active investigation.
 
barbos said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
Russia is becoming an obsession?

They hacked the US Presidential election. Fake Twitter accounts, hacking the DNC, etc... The Russian broke the law. So yeah, that is worth investigating. And European intelligence caught the Trump campaign coordinating with Russian operatives. So yeah, that is also worth investigating.

At the surface, this appears much bigger than any scandal in this nation since Benedict Arnold.
Click to expand...

You did not read the article, did you?
Click to expand...
Russia is inserting itself into European and American elections. They are trying to put into doubt the integrity of democracy to justify their shit government.
 
Jimmy Higgins said:
barbos said:
You did not read the article, did you?
Click to expand...
Russia is inserting itself into European and American elections. They are trying to put into doubt the integrity of democracy to justify their shit government.
Click to expand...
No exactly, Democrats are inserting Russia everywhere, They are trying to distract people like you from their piss poor track record. I am not saying republicans are better.
 
barbos said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
Russia is inserting itself into European and American elections. They are trying to put into doubt the integrity of democracy to justify their shit government.
Click to expand...
No exactly, Democrats are inserting Russia everywhere, They are trying to distract people like you from their piss poor track record. I am not saying republicans are better.
Click to expand...
Piss poor track record? You mean the largest non-war time growth period and then a successful recovery from the Great Recession? The Democrats actually have a pretty good record. The Republicans however, and most recently thanks to the Russians, have been able to convince America that Gore and Clinton shouldn't be voted for because umm.... socialism or something. The modern Democrat Party has done a relatively great job and have won the popular vote in 6 of the last 7 elections. Last time the Republicans had complete rule, they lost it in 4 years.

You have no bloody clue what you are talking about with American politics.
 
Jimmy Higgins said:
barbos said:
No exactly, Democrats are inserting Russia everywhere, They are trying to distract people like you from their piss poor track record. I am not saying republicans are better.
Click to expand...
Piss poor track record? You mean the largest non-war time growth period and then a successful recovery from the Great Recession? The Democrats actually have a pretty good record. The Republicans however, and most recently thanks to the Russians, have been able to convince America that Gore and Clinton shouldn't be voted for because umm.... socialism or something. The modern Democrat Party has done a relatively great job and have won the popular vote in 6 of the last 7 elections. Last time the Republicans had complete rule, they lost it in 4 years.

You have no bloody clue what you are talking about with American politics.
Click to expand...
Democrats have piss poor record in foreign policy - Syria, Libya, Ukraine. You mentioned election meddling, well, US and Obama administration did that too. So it's you who has no bloody clue.
And one more thing, there is no evidence that Russian government had anything to do with alleged hacking.
 
barbos said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
Piss poor track record? You mean the largest non-war time growth period and then a successful recovery from the Great Recession? The Democrats actually have a pretty good record. The Republicans however, and most recently thanks to the Russians, have been able to convince America that Gore and Clinton shouldn't be voted for because umm.... socialism or something. The modern Democrat Party has done a relatively great job and have won the popular vote in 6 of the last 7 elections. Last time the Republicans had complete rule, they lost it in 4 years.

You have no bloody clue what you are talking about with American politics.
Click to expand...
Democrats have piss poor record in foreign policy - Syria, Lybia, Ukraine.
Click to expand...
Wow, Syria and Libya. Geesh, and here I was thinking 100,000+ dead Iraqis would have squashed that.
 
barbos said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
Piss poor track record? You mean the largest non-war time growth period and then a successful recovery from the Great Recession? The Democrats actually have a pretty good record. The Republicans however, and most recently thanks to the Russians, have been able to convince America that Gore and Clinton shouldn't be voted for because umm.... socialism or something. The modern Democrat Party has done a relatively great job and have won the popular vote in 6 of the last 7 elections. Last time the Republicans had complete rule, they lost it in 4 years.

You have no bloody clue what you are talking about with American politics.
Click to expand...
Democrats have piss poor record in foreign policy - Syria, Lybia, Ukraine. You mentioned election meddling, well, US and Obama administration did that too. So it's you who has no bloody clue.
And one more thing, there is no evidence that Russian government had anything to do with alleged hacking.
Click to expand...
Wait! Did I miss something? The Dums have a foreign policy regarding small crabs? :D
 
barbos said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
Wow, Syria and Libya. Geesh, and here I was thinking 100,000+ dead Iraqis would have squashed that.
Click to expand...
Russia has nothing to do with that.
Click to expand...

Yet.

I am sure Putin will be letting Trumplethinskin know what his foreign policy on these issues should be, as soon as the smoke clears and we have executed those traitorous leakers who have put Trumpsky in this precarious position with regard to Russian influence.
 
barbos said:
Jimmy Higgins said:
Russia is inserting itself into European and American elections. They are trying to put into doubt the integrity of democracy to justify their shit government.
Click to expand...
No exactly, Democrats are inserting Russia everywhere, They are trying to distract people like you from their piss poor track record. I am not saying republicans are better.
Click to expand...

This just in regarding Paul Manafort...Barbos, it's not "the Democrats"...

https://www.apnews.com/122ae0b5848345faa88108a03de40c5a/Manafort's-plan-to-'greatly-benefit-the-Putin-Government'
 
Who needs fire when there's a seemingly endless supply of smoke?
Maybe if Cheato's buddies didn't keep lying about their Russian connections, there would be less enthusiasm for investigating their dealings.
If they didn't keep trying so very very hard to minimize the appearance of their involvements with Russia by saying silly stuff like "Paul Manafort had a very limited role..."

I guess it's hard for some people to understand why such antics make people even more curious than before.
Meanwhile, we have a so-called president who is under investigation by the FBI, which Republican wisdom has already taught us means a guaranteed "severe constitutional crisis". :hysterical:

Maybe we should hold off on confirming a SC Justice nominated by a guy who is under investigation by the FBI? I'm sure that would be cause for much tearing of hair and gnashing of teeth, if the shoe was on the other foot, right?

The GOP, in the able hands of El Cheato, has devolved into an embodiment of hypocrisy. Good thing that FBI counter-intelligence investigations can go on for years!
I don't think they'll ever find the smoking gun, unless Cheato is even more of an idiot than he seems. But that doesn't really matter, does it? As long as there remains a "RussiaGate!" rallying cry, no basis in fact is required.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom