With Alex Vindman and George Conway’s losses, Democratic voters are forcefully rejecting the notion that Russia is to blame for America’s ills.

Alexander Vindman lost to Angie Nixon in the Florida Democratic senatorial primary on Tuesday, marking a long-overdue end to one of the worst liberal mass delusions of the Trump era: Russiagate.

Over the past decade, these conservative Democrats and “Never Trump” Republicans relied on liberal fears of Russian election interference and shadowy Moscow kompromat over the president to leverage influence in the party.

From the beginning, Russiagate was used by a shellshocked liberal establishment to explain away Trump’s victory in a way that didn’t implicate the Democrats. Rather than address what it was about Hillary Clinton’s political platform — and the preceding eight years of President Barack Obama — that opened the door to MAGA, many Democrats and their allies in the media fully bought into the idea that only a nefarious, Kremlin-driven plot could have led to America electing Trump.

This was an attractive proposal, and it found an enthusiastic, if niche, audience. Democratic voters responded well, notably to commentators at MSNBC like Rachel Maddow, who went all in on the conspiracy and pushed it far beyond what was plausible.

As MSNBC and, to a lesser extent, CNN, found ratings success with the largely fabricated scandal, the infection spread across legacy media. The New York Times published Louise Mensch, a serial fabulist whose Twitter feed was a laundry list of delusions, in the opinion section. The Washington Post reported an implausible story that Russians were targeting the Vermont energy grid. ___

  • UsernameHere
    3·
    3 days ago

    They could easily pushed to ban him from running again via simply majority.

    This take isn’t based in reality. Trump still had enough voters to win another election and the support of the Supreme Court.

    They needed more than 7 Republican for the 2/3rd majority.

    They failed to enact section 3 of the 14th amendment, which they had the ability to do, and lost the opportunity when the Supreme Court ruled on Trump vs. Anderson.

    You said it yourself the Supreme Court ruled that section 3 of 14th amendment couldn’t be used so obviously it never would’ve made it past the Supreme Court. Especially since Trump was able to delay the insurrection charge using Judges that he put into place. So there was never an insurrection charge to use for the section 3.

    For you to lie and claim that these things are possible despite the proof otherwise shows your intent to blame dems for the actions of Trump and the GOP. A common GOP shill tactic.

    They chose not to steamroll the investigation proceedings, as they didn’t want to be seen as “partisan.” The “Olive branch” strategy is the dumbest strategy against an opponent who is will to go scorched earth, and punish their opposition, once they gain power.

    Using propaganda Trump convinced the majority of voters that every attempt to hold him accountable has been a partisan witch hunt. It has been successful enough to get him reelected even with felony charges.

    There are still people who think Covid was made up just to hurt Trump.

    Again, for you to pretend otherwise shows your true intention. To redirect blame for GOPs actions onto democrats. A common GOP bot tactic.

    To top it all off, the party’s message of “Trump sucks vote for us,” without addressing the real economic frustrations at the time was one of the biggest failures.

    This wasn’t the message at all. Matter of fact Harris campaigning to tax billionares is what caused Elon Musk to start paying people to vote GOP.

    Progressive platforms turn out voters, polls show they’re consistently popular with a majority of voters.

    Elections results showed any poll you might be referring to was wrong.

    That’s not the message Dems were selling.

    Why would the dems sell the message “progressive platforms turn out voters” when progressives can’t win enough elections or even have enough candidates to support the claim. Who would this message be directed to? It isn’t the dems jobs to tell voters who is popular. It is their job to try and win the elections. Something progressive haven’t been able to do on a nationwide scale. But democrats have.

    they did a really lousy job of making it be known

    It was literally the main talking point against Trump. It didn’t work because the majority of voters don’t know economics so when the GOP propaganda machine blamed Biden who was in office at the time, for the lingering economic fallout of Trump’s Covid response, voters didn’t know any better.

    • hoppeduponcoffee@lemmy.zip
      13·
      2 days ago

      I’m not going to waste my time engaging with you on individual arguments anymore, because you’re now accusing me of being a GOP shill, which means you are now arguing in bad faith. Just know the gaslighting is why the actual left will push most of the libs out of the Dem party, then break and leave them high and dry when the time comes.

      When Dems refuse to use the same tactics as the gop to aggressively fight and get their way, they will always lose. Trying to use the “high road” and extending olive branches, and not pushing the limits of the law - the GOP uses dirty tactics - is weak against an opponent who will do anything to win. And now, because they seized power, they can act with complete impunity.

      I want to you take a long and hard look at Schumer, Manchin, Pelosi, Jeffries and their ilk, and see what they’re up to nowadays. Tell me with a straight face they’re fighting for their constituents. Explain to me how they ever cared about leftism or progressivism.

      • UsernameHere
        2·
        2 days ago

        you’re now accusing me of being a GOP shill

        Nope, I’m stating a fact: you’re using the same talking points the GOP uses

        you are now arguing in bad faith

        Bad faith arguments are when you lie about what could be done to pretend dems didn’t do enough.

        Just know the gaslighting is why the actual left will push most of the libs out of the Dem party, then break and leave them high and dry when the time comes.

        Wow you speak for “the actual left”? Are they in the room right now?

        When Dems refuse to use the same tactics as the gop to aggressively fight and get their way, they will always lose.

        So you feel dems should commit an insurrection to stay in power turning this country into a dictatorship? Dems should promise tax cuts to billionares like Elon Musk so they pay voters to vote for their party? Dems should claim election fraud when there is none to degrade the integrity of our election system? Dems should try to throw out votes that aren’t for them? Dems should remove regulations for the fossil fuel industry and many others to get access to their propaganda machine? Dems should make it harder to vote for the voters that don’t agree with them so they can win without the support of the people?

        “If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy”

        This is what you think Dems should emulate while you claim to speak on behalf of “the actual left”.

        But you clutch your pearls when I point out that you’re saying the same shit as the GOP.

        I want to you take a long and hard look at Schumer, Manchin, Pelosi, Jeffries and their ilk, and see what they’re up to nowadays. Tell me with a straight face they’re fighting for their constituents. Explain to me how they ever cared about leftism or progressivism.

        I want you to take a long and hard look at Sinema, Fetterman, Cotham, Gabbard, Adam’s and their ilk, and see what they’re up to nowadays. Tell me with a straight face they’re fighting for their constituents. Explain to me how they ever cared about leftism or progressivism.

        By cherry picking the actions of the individual like you are I can use your bad faith argument to claim that progressives are doing the same things you blame the entire Democratic Party for.

        Because you’re arguing in bad faith.