The recent revelation that Russia attempted to intervene in the US Presidential election has generated all kinds of news over the last few months. However, like many things these days, there seems to be more of a focus on partisanship than focusing on the issue at hand. Democrats are too busy trying to tie Russian interference with members of Trump's administration or campaign. While there seems to be evidence for this, it's hardly concrete and, quite frankly, distracts from the bigger issue. Similarly, those on the far right are too busy trying to protect the Trump administration from the allegations of possible collusion with the Russians. Sadly, their efforts seem to be based on the conspiracy theory that the "deep state" is trying to destabilize and discredit the Trump administration. Republicans, in general, seem like a deer in headlights and can't seem to figure out how to respond. They seem to be all over the map with some showing concern about the Russian interference, some trying to protect the Trump administration, and some sitting on the fence and waiting to see what happens next.
One major problem is that much of what the media is reporting has come from leaks. Our President and his administration have rightfully complained about this and the FBI and Justice Department should be investigating this, as these leaks MAY have broken the law. However, rather than being concerned about the leaks themselves and what might be motivating them, the administration seem to be more concerned about the impact it has on their positions. Sadly, it's these leaks that feed the conspiracy theory about the "deep state" that concerns the far right. However, these individuals must understand that the actions of the President and his administration seem to only feed the need to leak information to the public. The distortion of facts and outright lies by our President and his administration have not helped his current situation.
On the other side of the fence, Democrats have been too eager to embrace these leaks to make their case about possible collusion between Russia and members of the Trump administration. Sadly, leaks aren't facts, and need to be viewed with a suspicious eye until verified. Also, these are only small tidbits in a wider and more complex web of events. Taking these isolated reports and trying to build a wider narrative borders on irresponsible. In fact, I'm guessing the Russians are sitting back and laughing at our response to their handy work. These leaks are almost no different than rumor, a tool widely used in the history of warfare to confuse your opponent. Sadly, partisanship has gotten so bad, both sides of the aisle are grasping at anything to support their claims, which simply falls into what the Russians probably want.
The thing that has gotten lost in this whole mess is the fact that Russia has tried to interfere with the US election. We have yet to see evidence of how Russia did this (lots of speculation in the press based on leaks, but no hard evidence has been presented to the public) and we have yet to ascertain how this interference might have affected the election (despite what Hillary supporters might think). Remember, the only we've been told in public testimony is that there is strong evidence the Russians have interfered and that the investigation is on-going. Nothing more, nothing less. All the other stuff circulating in the media has been from leaks, speculation, and basically fake news perpetuated by those trying to protect the administration. We have also not seen any comments on how we might prevent any future interventions by Russia or any other party. All the other stuff people are talking about is secondary to the main issue. Did Russia interfere, if so, how, and how to we prevent it in the future. The key thing here is the erosion of confidence in our elections. We've already got Republicans, and mostly our President, talking about massive voter fraud; something that is not supported by any evidence. We don't need our confidence to be further eroded by intervention by a foreign entity. It's why I keep saying that Hillary has to stop partly blaming her loss on Russian interference. There's no evidence to support that contention. The evidence suggests the Russians did favor Trump, but as far as I'm aware, there's no evidence the Russians actually tilted the election in his favor. This is the thing that we should all be concerned about....left, right, Republican, Democrat, Green, Libertarian, or independent....how did the Russians intervene in the election and did it have an effect on the outcome? Everyone should be concerned about this question and we should all be supporting the various investigations to answer and understand this question. Besides, answers to all the other stuff is likely to come out of those investigations.
This is something all Americans should consider to be a serious matter that deserves a serious examination. We should not be politicizing this, because the stakes are too high regardless of your political affiliation. We keep telling other countries how they should be conducting elections and how elections should be free and fair. It's very problematic when we have to start questioning our own elections. Let the various investigations move forward in a fair and non-partisan manner to get to the truth. Only then, can we stop worrying if the Russians are coming. I grew up in the Cold War era where as kids, we had "drop drills" in case of nuclear attack, regular testing of warning sirens, and people digging nuclear shelters. We don't need to go back to those days and we don't need our democracy to be destabilized by outside interference. The last thing we need is something like this.
#LetsMakeAmericaBuenoAgain
